Socio-emotional Development

Summary of Socio-emotional Development

“Playing” has become a prominent role in education. After examining the readings myself. This is especially noticeable when “playing” helps these individuals develop their understanding of emotions, as well as how to behave in certain circumstances. “Playing” has become so important the groups, such as the “United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, has stated that it is a right for all youth (Ginsburg, 2007). This summary will reveal what I discovered as I examined the texts that correlate with the concept of “play”.

Today youth are being raised in a lifestyle that demands a lot from them. This kind of pressure can prove dangerous to them, as they will be limited to how they will be able to learn and prepare for a life outside of school. “Play” is an important component for learning because it contributes towards the youth’s “cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being” (Ginsburg, 2007). While “play” helps develop these particular areas of a youth, it also allows them to build skills. This includes encouraging them to use their creativity to expand on their imagination (Ginsburg. 2007). As evident thus far, “play” is not just about giving youth a break from work, but it is a different kind of learning. It helps to develop them, while improving their skills outside of school.

Another advantage of the concept of “playing” is that can help youth understand and regulate emotions. There are three important areas to consider when youth learn about emotional regulation:

1) Since emotions are “responses to stimuli or situations that affect a person”, it is important for youth to require the skills necessary to express and control certain emotions.

2) Youth can be vulnerable to emotions, whether the problem ranges from learning difficulties to attentional deficits, which need to be addressed.

3) Family support within a youth’s environment is crucial to their development (Webster-Stratton).

With these three elements in mind, it is understandable as to why “play” is important for the learning and development in youth.

Teaching Strategies

Activist Learning: Activist learning can be described as individuals being fully invested in a particular situation. They are willing to tackle “very practical open and flexible learning programmes” (PD How2, 2015). This works especially well in the concept of “playing” as it allows the opportunity for students to immediately engage in the activities. Students can learn and develop strategies based on the “playing” through different activities.

Experiential Learning: This form of learning is suitable for “playing” as it involves in providing opportunities to “engage students in critical thinking, problem solving and decision making” (Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future, 2010).. Students can attain this type of experience through “playing”, as it would otherwise be not so easily accessible in work-based environment. They can develop important skills to help advance themselves while having fun in what they engaged with.

Self-Regulated Learning: Self-Regulated learning is based on a student’s ability to generate their own “thoughts and behaviours that are oriented systematically toward the attainment of their goal” (Schunk, 2009). Students are not being taught or given instructions while they are “playing”. In this manner it is up to them to develop their own ideas and strategies based on what they can learn through engaging in the different activities.

Digital Tool

References

Ginsburg, K. R. (2007). The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. Illinois: American Academy of Pediatrics.

Positive Penguins (2012). Positive Penguins. Retrieved November 7, 2015 from http://positivepenguins.com/

PD How2 (2015). Learning Styles. Retrieved October 25, 2015 from http://www.pd-how2.org/doing/learning-styles/

Schunk, D. (2009) Self-Regulated Learning. Retrieved October 25, 2015 from http://www.education.com/reference/article/self-regulated-learning/

Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future (2010). Experiential Learning. Retrieved October 25, 2015 from http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/mods/theme_d/mod20.html

Webster-Stratton, C. Helping Children Learn to Regulate Their Emotions. University of Washington.

Positive Penguins - http://positivepenguins.com/

"Positive Penguins" is an Ipad app that was “developed for children to help them understand why they feel the way they do and help them challenge their negative thinking” (Positive Penguins, 2012). It provides children with the opportunity to expand their understanding of emotions, as well as creating strategies to help maintain an optimistic view on the world around them; which includes challenging the negative emotions that they, or other people, experience.

While is this an app can be seen as a ‘kid’s game’, "Positive Penguins" can be also used to understand how it is required to help both children and adolescents understand the emotions they are experiencing. At the same time it can inspire individuals to develop strategies to assist those who have difficulties coping with negative emotions.

Summary of "Playing"

It has become more important to teach students how to recognize and cope with the different emotions that they will experience. This is due to the fact that the world is becoming more complex, which requires students and other adolescents to possess strong emotional regulations. Teachers and parents have an important role to help ensure that the younger generations possess the skills to cope with their emotions and the negativity that they will confront as they mature.

It is important to first understand how emotional reactions can occur from students before developing strategies to expand on their emotional intelligences. There are three levels of emotional responses that need to be recognized, which are:

1) Neurophysiological and biochemical: Refers to the bodily functions that correlate with an individual’s nervous system. This includes how emotions can influence the physical aspects of the body such as heart rate, blood flow and neural responses.

2) Behavioral: Referring to the immediate expression of emotions such as crying and withdrawal from interacting with others.

3) Cognitive: Involves the use of language to label the emotion that one is experiencing (Webster-Stratton).

These three levels are important for the development of emotional regulation, as they help students improve their ability to control the emotions they are experiencing (Webster-Stratton). However, it is also important that students and other adolescents receive the necessary support to help regulate their emotions. The proper form of parent socialization and environmental support are required to help students develop stable emotional regulations (Webster-Stratton). Teachers can also help students regulate their emotions by creating a positive environment where the latter can feel more safe and capable of interacting with others without much negativity.