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The power of play
遊戲的力量
Virtually every child, the world over, plays. The drive to play is so intense that children will do so in any circumstances, for instance when they have no real toys, or when parents do not actively encourage the behavior. In the eyes of a young child, running, pretending, and building are fun. Researchers and educators know that these playful activities benefit the development of the whole child across social, cognitive, physical, and emotional domains. Indeed, play is such an instrumental component to healthy child development that the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights (1989) recognized play as a fundamental right of every child.
實際上世界範圍內每一位兒童都會遊戲。遊戲的動力如此強烈以至於孩子們會在任何情況下做遊戲，比如在他們沒有真實的玩具或者父母並不主動鼓勵這種行為時。在兒童的眼中，奔跑、假扮和搭建都是樂趣。研究者和教育者認為這些遊戲活動對兒童的社交、認知、身體和情感等領域的發展有好處。實際上，遊戲對兒童的健康發展而言是一個重要的要素以至於聯合國人權高級委員會(1989)將遊戲作為每一位兒童的基本權利。
Yet, while experts continue to expound a powerful argument for the importance of play in children 』 s lives, the actual time children spend playing continues to decrease. Today, children play eight hours less each week than their counterparts did two decades ago (Elkind 2008). Under pressure of rising academic standards, play is being replaced by test preparation in kindergartens and grade schools, and parents who aim to give their preschoolers a leg up are led to believe that flashcards and educational 『toys』 are the path to success. Our society has created a false dichotomy between play and learning.
然而，儘管專家們不斷地極力闡明遊戲在兒童生活中的重要性，但是兒童實際用來進行遊戲的時間卻在持續減少。如今，兒童每周用來遊戲的時間比 20 年前少了 8 小時(Elkind 2008)。 在不斷提高的學業標準的壓力下，遊戲在幼兒園和小學中正被準備考試代替，那些希望幫助自己的學齡前孩子提高的家長們被引導相信，抽認卡和具有教育意義的「玩具」才是通向成功的路徑。我們的社會在遊戲和學習之間創造了一種錯誤的對立關係。
Through play, children learn to regulate their behavior, lay the foundations for later learning in science and mathematics, figure out the complex negotiations of social relationships, build a repertoire of creative problem-solving skills, and so much more. There is also an important role for adults in guiding children through playful learning opportunities.
通過遊戲，兒童可以學習如何管理自己的行為，為之後學習科學和數學打下了基礎，學會處理複雜的社交關係，培養創造性解決問題的能力以及更多其他能力。通過遊戲化的學習機會，成年人同樣在引導自己的孩子方面扮演著重要角色。
Full consensus on a formal definition of play continues to elude the researchers and theorists who study it. Definitions range from discrete descriptions of various types of play such as physical, construction, language, or symbolic play (Miller & Almon 2009), to lists of broad criteria, based on observations and attitudes, that are meant to capture the essence of all play behaviors (e.g. Rubin et al. 1983).
研究遊戲的學者和理論家依然沒有就遊戲的正式定義達成完全一致的意見。這些定義從對各種遊戲類型的獨立描述，例如感覺運動、結構性、語言或象徵性遊戲(Miller&Almon 2009)，到基於觀察和態度的一系列寬泛標準，這些標準旨在抓住一切遊戲行為的本質(如 Rubin et al. 1983)。
A majority of the contemporary definitions of play focus on several key criteria. The founder of the National Institute for Play, Stuart Brown, has described play as『anything that spontaneously is done for its own sake』. More specifically, he says it 『appears purposeless, produces pleasure and joy, [and] leads one to the next stage of mastery』 (as quoted in Tippett 2008). Similarly, Miller and Almon (2009) say that play includes『activities that are freely chosen and directed by children and arise from intrinsic motivation』. Often, play is defined along a continuum as more or less playful using the following set of behavioral and dispositional criteria (e.g. Rubin et al. 1983):
當前多數有關遊戲的定義都集中在一些核心標準上。國家遊戲協會的建立者 Stuart Brown，將遊戲描述為「只為其本身考慮的、自發進行的行為」。更具體地來說，他認為遊戲「沒有目的，產生快樂和愉悅，(並)引導一個人進入下一個掌握能力的階段」(引用自 Tippett 2008)。類似地，Miller 和 Almon(2009)認為遊戲包括「由兒童自由選擇和進行並由內在動機所引起的活動」。通常，遊戲的定義伴隨著一個有關遊戲程度的連續體，並使用下面這一套「行為和意向的標準」(如 Rubin et al 1983):
Play is pleasurable: Children must enjoy the activity or it is not play. It is intrinsically motivated: Children engage in play simply for the satisfaction the behavior itself brings. It has no extrinsically motivated function or goal. Play is process oriented: When children play, the means are more important than the ends. It is freely chosen, spontaneous and voluntary. If a child is pressured, they will likely not think of the activity as play. Play is actively engaged: Players must be physically and/or mentally involved in the activity. Play is non-literal. It involves make-believe.
遊戲是令人愉快的：兒童必須享受這種活動，否則這就不是遊戲。遊戲是出於內在動機的：兒童進行遊戲只是為了這種行為本身帶來的滿足感。遊戲沒有外部動機的功能或目標。遊戲是過程導向的：當兒童遊戲時，過程比結果更為重妥。遊戲是自由選擇、主動發生並且自願的行為。如果兒童有壓力，他們或許不會認為這種活動是遊戲。遊戲是主動參與的：遊戲者必須在身體和/或心理上參與到活動中。遊戲是非文字行為。遊戲包含了偽裝。
According to this view, children’s playful behaviors can range in degree from 0% to 100% playful. Rubin and colleagues did not assign greater weight to any one dimension in determining playfulness; however, other researchers have suggested that process orientation and a lack of obvious functional purpose may be the most important aspects of play (e.g. Pellegrini 2009).
根據這種觀點，兒童遊戲行為的程度可以從 0%到 100%不等。Rubin 和同事們定義遊戲時並沒有更強調其中任何一個方面；然而，其他研究者認為過程導向和沒有明顯的功能性目的可能是遊戲最重要的特徵(如 Pellegrini 2009)。
From the perspective of a continuum, play can thus blend with other motives and attitudes that are less playful, such as work. Unlike play, work is typically not viewed as enjoyable and it is extrinsically motivated (i.e. it is goal oriented). Researcher Joan Goodman (1994) suggested that hybrid forms of work and play are not a detriment to learning; rather, they can provide optimal contexts for learning. For example, a child may be engaged in a difficult, goal-directed activity set up by their teacher, but they may still be actively engaged and intrinsically motivated. At this
mid-point between play and work, the child’s motivation, coupled with guidance from an adult, can create robust opportunities for playful learning.
從一個連續體的角度來看，遊戲可以與其他不那麼具有遊戲性的目的或態度結合，例如工作。與遊戲不同，工作通常被認為是無趣的，它是由外在動機驅動的(例如，它是目標導向的)。 研究者 Joan Goodman(1994)指出工作和遊戲的混合形式並不會妨礙學習；相反，這種形式可以提供最佳的學習環境。例如，一名兒童可能會參與一項由老師設置的、困難的且目標導向的活動，但他們依然可能主動參與並且是出於內在動機的。在遊戲和工作的中間點，兒童的動機，與來自成年人的指導一起，可以建立遊戲化學習的良好機會。
Critically, recent research supports the idea that adults can facilitate children’s learning while maintaining a playful approach in interactions known as 『guided play』 (Fisher et al. 2011). The adult’s role in play varies as a function of their educational goals and the child’s developmental level (Hirsch-Pasek et al. 2009).
很重要的是，最近研究支持的觀點是成年人可以在互動中通過保持遊戲化的方法促進兒童的學習，這種方法被稱為「引導式遊戲」(Fisher et al.2011)。成年人在遊戲中的角色隨著他們教育的目標以及兒童的發展水平會產生不同(Hirsch-Pasek et al.2009)。
Guided play takes two forms. At a very basic level, adults can enrich the child’s environment by providing objects or experiences that promote aspects of a curriculum. In the more direct form of guided play, parents or other adults can support children’s play by joining in the fun as a co-player, raising thoughtful questions, commenting on children 』 s discoveries, or encouraging further exploration or new facets to the child’s activity. Although playful learning can be somewhat structured, it must also be child-centered (Nicolopolou et al. 2006). Play should stem from the child’s own desire.
引導式遊戲有兩種形式。在一個非常基礎的層面上，成年人可以通過提供促進一門課程各方面的物品和經歷來豐富兒童的遊戲情境。在引導式遊戲更直接的形式中，家長和其他成年人可以通過下面的方式支持兒童的遊戲：作為合作玩家加入遊戲，提出引人思考的問題，對孩子們的發現進行評論，或是鼓勵兒童活動的進一步探索或新的角度。儘管遊戲化學習可以在一定程度上被精心安排，但它也必須是以兒童為中心的(Nicolopolou et al.2006)。遊戲應該源於兒童自身的渴望。
Both free and guided play are essential elements in a child-centered approach to playful learning. Intrinsically motivated free play provides the child with true autonomy, while guided play is an avenue through which parents and educators can provide more targeted learning experiences. In either case, play should be actively engaged, it should be predominantly child-directed, and it must be fun.
自由遊戲和引導式遊戲在以兒童為中心的遊戲化學習中都是至關重要的要素。內在動機驅使的自由遊戲為兒童提供了真正的自主性，而引導式遊戲則是一種途徑，通過引導式遊戲家長和教育者們可以提供更有目的性的學習體驗。無論何種情況，遊戲應當是主動參與的，是明顯以兒童為中心的，並且一定是快樂的。