Psychology 262 - Psychology of Play

This course will explore how children learn through play. The first part of the course will focus on defining play and exploring researchers’ differing perspectives on whether children can learn by playing. The second part of the course will involve visits to the Beneski Museum and the Holyoke Children’s Museum to explore the role of museums in studying and advancing children’s playful learning. Students will learn about the unique strengths and weaknesses of museum-based research and how socio-economic, educational, ethnic, and racial factors affect how children and families interact with museum exhibits. The third part of the course will be devoted to designing interventions that will encourage playful learning goals established in cooperation with the director and administrators at the Holyoke Children’s Museum. These interventions will be designed in small groups and implemented in the museum; therefore, there will be a significant amount of work and travel outside of class meetings.

Requisite: PSYC 100. Limited to 15 students. Fall semester.  Professor Palmquist.