Exploring Play: The Importance of Play in Everyday Life (FutureLearn)

We’ll discuss definitions of play and current debates about how the nature of play changes. Does play help us to learn? Can it prepare young people to be successful in the adult world? Are all forms of play good for us?

What topics will you cover?

• The history and diversity of play.
• Definitions and rhetorics of play.
• Play across lifespan, cultures and contexts.
• Play in outdoor and indoor environments.
• Emotion, gender and play.
• Trauma and play.
• Disability and play.
• Teenagers, adults and play.
• Intergenerational play.
• Modern technology and play.
• The relationship between virtual play and the outside world.
• Play, curiosity, creativity and innovation.

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

• Describe Brian Sutton-Smith’s seven rhetorics of play.
• Explore the history of toys and games.
• Identify continuity and change in play across centuries.
• Compare play activities across cultures.
• Debate the impact of modern technology on play.
• Investigate where children and teenagers play in your neighborhood.
• Discuss the provision and exclusion of play spaces in society.
• Explore the role of emotion and gender in children’s play.
• Evaluate the role of play during times of illness, trauma or accident.
• Investigate types of play in virtual worlds.
• Summarise the experiences of activists, practitioners and parents in relation to disability and play.
• Demonstrate an understanding of serious play through playful missions.
• Reflect on the relationship between play, creativity and innovation in the workplace.