Learning through Play and Imagination

#LearnPlay20

Many have argued that children learn through playing, hearing stories, and engaging in a variety of imaginative activities. But how, exactly, does this process work? Which aspects of play sessions or fictional stories are particularly effective for children’s learning, and why? Which topics do children learn most readily through these kinds of activities, and at what ages? How do aspects of children’s individual temperaments or developmental environments impact this process? This special topic meeting examines these and other related questions, with the aim of identifying gaps in the literature and proposing evidence-based strategies for how play and imagination can best be used in early education.

This meeting will include topics such as:

• Physical Play and Play Space Design
• Non-Human Play
• Imagination and Media in Early Childhood
• Play and Imagination across Cultures
• And more!

Download the Call for Submissions

Questions? Email programoffice@srcd.org.

Invited Speakers

Confirmed Invited Speakers include: 

• JaNay Brown-Wood, Children’s book author
• Gordon Burghardt, University of Tennessee
• Mariana Diaz-Wionczek, Nickelodeon
• David Flanigan, Kaboom!
• Suzanne Gaskins, Northeastern Illinois University
• Vincent Janik, University of St. Andrews
• Jill Kaftka, Louisville Zoo
• Sheina Lew Levy, University of Cambridge
• Anne Lund, PBS Kids
• Meghan Talarowski, Studio Ludo
• Bo Stjerne Thomsen, LEGO Foundation
• Yalda Uhls, UCLA