Learning physics often requires overcoming common misconceptions based on naïve interpretations of observations in the everyday world. One proposed way to help learners build appropriate physics intuitions is to expose them to computer simulations in which motion is based on Newtonian principles. In addition, playing video games that require…

In a previous work the author created the Education and Entertainment Grid by combining various taxonomies from the fields of play and learning. In this paper, a section of this grid known as the Entertainment Grid will be extended by including previously unused elements of Richard Bartle's online player types and Robert Caillois' play complexity.…

Since the National Education Goals Panel was convened in 1991, school readiness for all children has remained a high priority across our nation. The Foundations of Learning Framework is a tool to understand what it means for a child to be "ready." Preparation for educational success requires two key ingredients--relationships and play. In the…

The outdoor area is now an integral part of many early years settings and schools, but is it being used to its full potential? This book clearly explains the learning potential of the outdoor environment and practically demonstrates how the "Outdoor Classroom" can be developed in early years settings and schools. Drawing on the Forest…

"Igniting GameZombie TV" utilizes an accessible, energetic, postmodern style to recall how Spencer Striker founded GameZombie TV at Indiana University in the fall of 2006, built the project into an award-winning game media studio, and then expanded the initiative to the University of Wisconsin in the fall of 2009. Through grit and a…

Predation games--games in which the player is actively encouraged and often required to hunt and kill in order to survive--have historically been the purview of male players. Females, though now much more involved in digital games than before, generally play games that stress traditionally feminine values such as socializing with others, shopping,…

Can young children, forming expectations about the social world, capture differences among people without falling into the pitfalls of categorization? Categorization often leads to exaggerating differences between groups and minimizing differences within groups, resulting in stereotyping. Six studies with 4-year-old children (N = 214)…

Aluba is a campus activity popular among adolescent males in Taiwan in which four boys lift up another boy by his arms and legs and make a show of pushing or rubbing his genitals against a pole-shaped object. The "alubaee", nearly always a willing participant, is expected to put up a show of resistance for the satisfaction of all…

The purpose of this study was to examine play and joint attention in children with autism (n = 27) as compared to children with other developmental delays (n = 28) in public preschool special education classrooms. The participants were observed in their classroom environment for 2 h over 3 separate days. Results show that children with autism…

This article discusses the creative, educational, and musical growth that comes from manipulating pieces of a music game. The importance of child-centered play is discussed, with a focus on children using icons to change the melodic and word order of a song. They then "read" the icons to sing their new creation. The music manipulatives are the…

Water is fascinating, fun, and multifaceted. Children can play with it endlessly. But play, for play's sake, is not water's only value (Crosser, 1994, Tovey, 1993). Indeed, water play is a compelling focus of study for young children (Chalufour & Worth, 2005). The concepts that young children learn from water play are essential for early childhood…

Students today may have less time for free play, but new research suggests their imaginations have actually sharpened compared with those of children two decades ago. In an analysis published in May 2011 in the "Creativity Research Journal" and posted online in May, researchers from Case Western University in Cleveland found elementary school…

Synthesizing research with practice in a meaningful manner continues to be a challenge, particularly in relation to securing the place of play in the school setting. The struggle for early childhood teacher educators in dealing with the realities of this research-to-practice dilemma requires constructive action. A theoretical framework that is…

Writing is a critical emergent literacy skill that lays the foundation for children's later literacy skills and reading achievement. Recent work indicates that many early childhood programs offer children materials and tools for engaging in writing activities but teachers rarely are seen modeling writing for children or scaffolding children's…

This paper sets out to examine the place of theory in preschool education, considering the theories to which practitioners and providers have access and which provide a rationale for everyday practices and shape the experiences of young children. The paper reflects the circumstances of preschool provision, practices and thinking in the UK in…