Play in Development and Early Childhood Education

Explore the role of play in cognitive, physical and social-emotional development, and the way in which play is incorporated into educational and other programmatic settings.

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Why take the Play in Development and Early Childhood Education Course?

This course explores the role of play in cognitive, physical and social-emotional development, and the way in which play is incorporated into educational and other programmatic settings.  Students will explore how assessment of play indicates a child's development, and they will use assessment to promote Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) for PreK-Grade 3 (ages 0-8) learners.

You have 3 to 9 months from your enrollment date to complete 8 lessons. There are no proctored exams.  During the course you will complete various types of assignments, which include readings, analysis of videos, and critiquing articles. Some activities offer the choice or submitting a written reflection or a video reflection. Here are a few of the activities in the course: 

• Lesson Activities Complete the quiz, activity, or write a response to questions posed by the instructor. 
• What is Play?  Each Student will contribute descriptors relating to play as though describing the concept of PLAY to an alien (someone who has NO IDEA about play) what words, descriptions, activities would you use to describe the concept of play.
• Play Theory Expert  Choose one modern or post-modern theory to study in-depth and create a presentation to share information about the theory.
• Culture & Play: Review scenarios about culture and play and examine how culture affects children’s play.
• Technology for Documentation:  Consider how technology like video can support authentic assessment and how play enhances the reliability and validity of assessment.
• Screen Sense:  Review the Screen Sense documents from Zero to Three and the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for young children. Consider ways to reduce technoconference and the pillars to help caregivers in choosing media carefully for young children.
• Play-Based Assessment: View videos of preschool children playing and use play-based assessment skills to identify learning within developmental domains.
• Assessment in Kindergarten:  Consider formative assessment in kindergarten through play and how information can be shared with caregivers.
• Developmentally Appropriate Practice:  Consider developmentally appropriate practices and demonstrate how play can support these strategies.
• Intergenerational Play Interview:  Select a child to interview about their play- the child should be between the ages of 5-12 years old. Select an adult to interview that is at least one generation older than you (20-25 years.)  Prepare a list of open-ended interview questions to be answered by the child, the adult, and yourself.  Prepare a paper that summarizes the interviews for peer review and discussion.
• Play Advocacy Project: Take the perspective of various participants in the educational process, i.e. business person, parent, politician, principal, school board member, teacher/educator. Develop a strategy to promote, defend, and advance the use of play in the classroom and educational process.

Lesson Topics

• Theories of Play
• Play as Development
• Observing and Assessing Play
• Supporting Play for Infants and Toddlers
• Supporting Play for Preschool Children
• Supporting Play in Kindergarten
• Supporting Play in Primary Ages; Supporting Play for Children with Special Needs
• Outdoor Play; Inclusion

Required Course Textbook

Required text: Sluss, D.J. (2019). Supporting play in early childhood: Environment, curriculum, assessment (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage. ISBN: 9781337568036

Recommended Text: Masterson, L. & Bohart, H. (Eds.). (2019). Serious Fun: How Guided Play Extends Children’s Learning. National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). ISBN: 978-1938113390

How will the course appear on my transcript?

You may enroll at any time and have up to 9 months to complete this online course. The credits earned will be recorded on your UND transcript based on the date you registered for the course. It will appear on your transcript in the same way as a course taken during a regular semester. There is no indication that the course was taken online or that you completed it at your own pace. 

Why Take Online Classes at UND?

Here are a few reasons why you should take an online enroll anytime course at UND:

• Great customer service – Our registration team is ready to answer questions quickly so you can focus on your coursework.
• Affordable – UND's enroll anytime courses are priced at North Dakota's affordable, in-state tuition rate.
• Accredited – UND is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
• Easily transfer credits – Transferring credits is always at the discretion of the institution to which the credits are being transferred. In general, credits from schools/universities that are regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission transfer to other regionally accredited institutions. UND's online courses appear on your UND transcript in the same way as other courses.

Flexible 100% Online Course

You'll take this online course at your own pace. Some students thrive in this environment, while other students may struggle with setting their own deadlines. If you have successfully taken an independent study or correspondence course previously, UND’s enroll anytime courses may be right for you. Still not sure? Take our online quiz to help determine if online enroll anytime courses are right for you.

Course information including tuition, technology requirements, textbooks, lessons and exams is subject to change without notice.