{"id":59292,"date":"2021-09-10T16:24:22","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T20:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=59292"},"modified":"2021-09-10T16:24:22","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T20:24:22","slug":"how-to-design-a-public-play-space-where-kids-practice-reading-and-stem-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/how-to-design-a-public-play-space-where-kids-practice-reading-and-stem-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"How to design a public play space where kids practice reading and STEM skills"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nA park bench can be so much more than just a place to sit and wait. Perhaps it has a puzzle built into it, or weights that allow children to make measurements.<\/p>\n

As\u00a0researchers<\/a>\u00a0who study the connections<\/a>\u00a0between play and development<\/a>, we are interested in how reimagining public spaces can infuse playful learning opportunities into children\u2019s time spent outside of school.<\/p>\n

In a July 2021 article we wrote for the peer-reviewed journal Trends in Cognitive Science, we outline how experts can help communities create fun public spaces\u00a0where children can learn as they play<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To support children\u2019s learning, public play spaces need to be designed in line with the\u00a0six principles of learning<\/a>, which reflect how children\u00a0absorb new information<\/a>\u00a0most effectively.<\/p>\n

According to the six principles, activities should be active or \u201cminds-on,\u201d not passive. They should require participants be engaged, not distracted. They should be meaningful, connecting to kids\u2019 previous experiences and knowledge. They should prompt social interaction with caregivers and friends. They should be iterative \u2013 updating understanding based on new information \u2013 rather than repetitive. And finally, they should be joyful and generate positive feelings or a sense of surprise.<\/p>\n

The following public space projects illustrate how these principles come to life. We provided scientific consultation for the first two projects, and this work helped inspire the creation of the nonprofit\u00a0Playful Learning Landscapes Action Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Urban Thinkscape bus stop<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In the\u00a0Belmont neighborhood<\/a>\u00a0of Philadelphia, an installation called\u00a0Urban Thinkscape<\/a>\u00a0transformed a\u00a0bus stop<\/a>\u00a0into a space for playful learning.<\/p>\n

In concert with a\u00a0neighborhood civic association<\/a>, a group of psychologists and architects teamed up with community members, city leaders and nonprofits to redesign a\u00a0plot of land<\/a>\u00a0where Martin Luther King Jr. led the\u00a0Freedom Now rally<\/a>\u00a0in 1965.<\/p>\n

\u201cStories\u201d consists of a climbable wooden deck with embedded images of familiar objects, like a book and the sun, designed to help kids create and narrate original stories. \u201cHidden Figures\u201d is a metal sculpture with hidden images like fruit and shapes designed to exercise spatial skills. By reading the shadows on the ground, families can find figures that shift as the sun moves across the sky. \u201cJumping Feet\u201d is a version of hopscotch that requires executive function skills like attention, memory and self-control. And the \u201cPuzzle Wall\u201d is a series of four puzzles featuring different images of important figures and events chosen by the neighborhood civic association. It also fosters spatial skills.<\/p>\n

The project involved hiring and training community members to observe adults and children using the space. They found that caregivers and children at the location\u00a0interacted more<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 both with one another and with the space \u2013 than they did before the installation was created. In fact, the level of interaction was similar to that at a neighborhood playground a few blocks away.<\/p>\n

Play-and-Learn libraries<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Also in Philadelphia,\u00a0Play-and-Learn Spaces<\/a>\u00a0reimagined three children\u2019s library spaces.<\/p>\n

The design process, led by\u00a0Studio Ludo<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Digsau<\/a>\u00a0and assisted by\u00a0Smith Playground<\/a>, began by inviting families who regularly visit the libraries to reenvision what a children\u2019s library could be. One of the installations is a climbing wall where children create words by climbing different paths up the wall\u2019s surface. Another involves seating with large movable puzzle pieces. And the third is a stage with\u00a0magnetic letters<\/a>\u00a0where children can create stories on the wall.<\/p>\n

By observing how people used the spaces, researchers found that adults and children in the Play-and-Learn spaces\u00a0had more literacy-related conversations<\/a>, such as sounding out and spelling words, and used more spatial talk, such as talking about objects being \u201cover\u201d or \u201cunder\u201d other objects, compared with libraries where Play-and-Learn Spaces were not installed. The\u00a0installations also increased<\/a>\u00a0positive emotions and physical interactions, and decreased use of cellphones and tablets.
\n

\"\"

A spelling climbing wall at the Cecil B. Moore public library in Philadelphia. Halkin Mason, CC BY-NC-ND
<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

MathTalk sidewalks<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A final example comes from the Port neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the nonprofit\u00a0MathTalk<\/a>\u00a0and community members co-designed six temporary play sites for a neighborhood sidewalk. For example, a Gigantic Number Line stimulated counting and measurement talk by presenting opportunities to measure the length of items in the environment and play games like Simon says. Sidewalk Math encouraged children to hop, jump and skip to learn more about counting and patterns.<\/p>\n

MathTalk interviewed and observed community members using the site and documented how the activities supported math conversations and learning. Based on the project\u2019s\u00a0successes in encouraging families to find math in everyday places<\/a>, MathTalk has since expanded into libraries, health clinics and other spaces.<\/p>\n

By working with local communities and basing designs on the six pillars of learning, these locations serve as models of how neighborhoods can create new family-friendly play sites in everyday spaces.<\/p>\n

Author Bios:<\/strong> Brenna Hassinger-Das is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Pace University, Jennifer M. Zosh is Professor of Human Development & Family Studies at Penn State and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek is Professor of Psychology at Temple University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A park bench can be so much more than just a place to sit and wait. Perhaps it has a puzzle built into it, or weights that allow children to make measurements. As\u00a0researchers\u00a0who study the connections\u00a0between play and development, we are interested in how reimagining public spaces can infuse playful learning opportunities into children\u2019s time […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[421981],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-59292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-playful-learning"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to design a public play space where kids practice reading and STEM skills - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/how-to-design-a-public-play-space-where-kids-practice-reading-and-stem-skills\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to design a public play space where kids practice reading and STEM skills - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A park bench can be so much more than just a place to sit and wait. 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