Playlist #2: Four Free Short Courses on Learning through Play
September is the start of the new school year in many countries around the world. Whether you are a teacher, parent, policymaker, or advocate, this is a good time to learn about why play is important for children’s development and learning and how to support it in the classroom and beyond. With that in mind, I am happy to share the second post in a blog series of “playlists” (the first one is available here). This one introduces four free short courses about play. Each course is fully online and self-paced so you can complete the modules on your own timeline. You’ll need to sign up for a separate account on each learning platform, which only takes a few minutes, but gives you access to a range of courses to expand your knowledge and skills!
Play Matters: Advocating a World of Play (1 hour 30 min) - Earlier this year, UNICEF released a new course about play on the Agora Learning Management System which features e-learning for UNICEF staff and partners – including parents, caregivers, educators, and advocates. The course provides an excellent introduction to the science of play, what play looks like for children of different ages and across diverse settings, and how to champion play at the community level. One module provides a deep dive into why play is particularly important for children in crisis and conflict settings and how to reach this population through evidence-based interventions. Each of the 8 modules takes about 10 minutes to complete and includes a video, an interactive quiz, and opportunities to put learning into action by engaging in guided activities with children. The voices of children are featured throughout the course, which helps bring the material to life.
Learning Through Play (2 hours) - This second course is geared toward policymakers, World Bank staff, and Early Years Fellows and is available through the Bank’s Open Learning Campus. The focus is on why learning through play is important for children’s development and how countries are incorporating play into their early childhood education (ECE) systems. The course is organized around four 30-minute modules with narrated slide shows and quizzes to assess learning on each topic. The modules cover: (1) What is play and why is it important for young children’s development; (2) The spectrum of play-based practices; (3) Play at home and (4) Integrating a play-based approach in the ECE classroom. If you have time, check out one of the other four World Bank ECE e-learning courses too!
Learning through Play in Education in Emergencies (8 hours - though it didn’t take me this long to complete) - Designed for education practitioners, this module aims to expand knowledge about learning through play in education in emergencies (EiE) and build skills for how to implement it successfully. This module is part of the Humanitarian Leadership Academy on the Kaya platform. While there are links to other EiE online modules (e.g., child protection and teacher professional development), the module can be completed as a standalone course. In each section, there are videos with program examples from emergency settings, fact sheets for easy reference later, and links to more in-depth research and program materials. I found the quizzes and activities to assess learning in this module to be the most creative - and the most challenging. For example, one task asks you to match the playful learning activity with a learning objective. At the end of the module, there is a multi-step simulation exercise which provides the opportunity to win a gold, silver, or bronze badge (I won gold 🥇). Good luck!
Social Learning and Collaboration in School: Learning to Thrive through Play (3 hours) - One of 10 courses created by the LEGO Foundation on the Future Learn platform, this course is designed for individuals working with children aged 4-12. After an overview of learning through play principles, the course presents play-based activities that allow children to develop social and collaboration skills that are important for their wellbeing and lifelong learning. Through videos, teachers from around the world discuss their experiences facilitating activities such as the “tricky tower” for young children and “egg dropper” for older students. Facilitators’ handouts and guides encourage teachers to try these activities right away in their classrooms and share feedback with other course participants. These tools could also be easily adapted to training workshops for adults, given the importance of collaboration and teamwork at all ages.
What other short courses would you recommend? Please send suggestions to mneuman@fas.org.
