Play, Simulation, Games, Constructivism, Science communication

Even while science educators often advocate fun in science, at times these efforts are disparaged as just 'amusement' with little value for authentic science learning. The questions; do games and fun activity result in any learning outcome, and if so, what are its theoretical basis; is of importance to science communicators. Traditionally, work and play are considered to be diametrically opposite activities, one leading to productive outcome and the other mere amusement. Consequently, play and learning are often treated as being opposed to each other. Patently, humans are not just Homo sapiens, but also Homo ludens; nonetheless, often this aspect is overlooked when considering how human beings acquire knowledge. This paper attempts to focus on the role of ‘play’ in acquisition of knowledge and presents a brief theoretical basis of the role of plays in learning process. Some typologies of plays are also described; their functions thus illustrated.

Play and teaching science: a brief historical overview

Puzzles, paradoxes and riddles involving mathematical concepts occupy an important part of mathematical literature. In India they are available in abundance and in varied forms and importantly are part of the heritage and culture. In a traditional society, villagers, after their strenuous day’s work, used to come together in a common place to participate in fun making and recreational activity that included exchange of paradoxes, puzzles, riddles, many of which involve mathematical complexities.

‘Leelavati,’ a classic Indian text of 1100 AD, presents problems in mathematics not as rigorous but as recreational. Albeit, the fable states, Bhaskarachaya-II, to cheer up his widowed daughter Leelavati, composed the text. Riddles, puzzles and fabrication of amusing paradoxes, appear to be frequently used T/L tool in mathematics in particular through the oral culture.

The use of toys and kits in communicating basic concepts of modern science and technology actually dates way back to Victorian period. Scientific lecture demonstrations to literate audiences from about 17th century AD in Europe set a pattern for the demonstration of the fundamentals of science that frequently resorted to use of 'toys'; and is quite understandable considering it is during this period quite a many counter intuitive concepts were advocated in science, in particular modern physics. Some of these set pieces used by the early lectures passed into recreational use during the Victorian period, and became toys in the twentieth century. Science popularisers during the Victorian period attempted to instruct weird concepts of modern science through amusement. Their skill was to show that the strange and fearful can be readily explained, and so they appealed to impressionable adults in the eighteenth century, to youngsters in the nineteenth, and to school children in the twentieth.

Education and amusement go so closely together that it is not surprising how many of the pieces of demonstration apparatus used in the eighteenth century lectures were the direct forerunners of toys and amusements made for children and family entertainment in the Victorian period. A child's spinning top is almost as old as play itself, but the demonstration of the gyroscope provides an explanation of the dynamics behind the top's motion, and also that of the Earth. The facts of dynamic motion may be absorbed by a child through watching a gyroscope, or he may simply be fascinated to watch it, and try to make it spin evenly.

The 'Drinking Duck' is based on the thermoscope of Galileo. The way in which yesterday's science so often becomes today's recreation does not make it any the less scientific. Indeed, much scientific, and makes amply clear that how knowledge is absorbed consciously or unconsciously through play.

Table 1 : Traditional assumptions of play and learning

A desire to play and in tandem learn, is a fundamental part of human psychology and is a potentially powerful resource innate in children. Consequently, from early childhood, we learn through play, which at a later stage may be disparaged as recreation or hobbies. The obsession with rote learning as well as the privilege the society places on 'quick recall' of inane information further reinforce this trend of looking down upon the playful exploration of the world around us. The premium the society places on various kinds of 'entrance tests' whose kernel is 'memorisation' of fragmented information further buttress this mania. However, for discovering how the natural world works, that is, in basic science, in short for inculcation of 'scientific creativity' a distinctly different type of attitude is required.

Celebrations of playful exploration are prolific in the autobiographical essays of many contemporary scientists (particularly those who do not wish to present themselves as stiff faced); and Richard Fyenman is an exemple. 'I could solve my most complex problems in Physics if I had not given up the ways of thinking common to children at play' argued J. Robert Oppenheimer further evidencing the postulate.

In fact, playful exploration is not just an attitude required for higher scientific creativity, but is indeed a strategy adopted by almost everyone to come to terms with novelty. Play is undoubtedly a mechanism by which humans and animals explore a variety of experiences in different situations for diverse purposes. For example, a good number of people who buy new equipment such as video or washing machines would rather prefer 'to play' with the controls and functions than to actually read the operation manual verbatim. Humans often prefer to come to terms with novelty or familiarise themselves with new things through ‘hands-on’ experience. This experience of a real situation
with a real purpose normally leads to the intuitive understanding of the operations of instruments and machines, which is reinforced subsequently by reference to the manual and consolidated by practice.

The proliferation of science based toys and kits during the early Victorian England may be dismissed as mere amusement and not as use of science and technology in any significant way for development. Considering the incredible and the spectacular brought before the public eye (such as vacuum, electricity, microscopy, etc.) by the developments in science during the eighteenth century, the very fabrication of toys for amusement could alternatively be seen as an attempt by the 'public' in coming to terms with the new reality domains.

Perspectives of play

Play is a way of thinking and a vehicle for intuitive or metaphorical mind. It is a useful tool of teaching /learning process not only in a formal learning setting but also in informal learning institutions. For illustration, even mere process of collecting is a type of ‘play’. It is interesting that there are many similarities between the seemingly non-serious (not always!) play and serious collecting.

Piaget's theory of play is premised on the principle that ‘to know or to understand is to transform reality and to assimilate it to schemes of transformations’. According to this premise, interaction and doing things are the most important factors in the learning situation. Real learning and understanding is possible only when a person is allowed to manipulate and interact with the environment. This active process of learning is the basis of the science centre interactives or hands-on activities.

Adaptation, at all stages of learning – be it a child or adult – involves two very important processes that operate simultaneously – accommodation and assimilation. Assimilation is the process by which a child internalises external observations and fits them into his or her schemata. However, not all external observations would fit with the previously held schemata and the learner is bound to face a conflict between
his/her schemata and the external observations. Accommodation is the process by which learner come to terms with the external conflict in ideas and accept that the conflict is due to deficiency in his or her own internal mental structure and changes it. It is the dynamic equilibrium between the two fundamental processes that keeps the organism (the child or adult) developing.

It is evident that ‘play’ is a sort of state in which assimilation of external reality to pre-existing concepts are dominant over accommodation. However, ‘imitation’ is dominant when accommodation to external reality is dominant over assimilation. For instance a coming to terms with novelty often requires more of assimilation and not accommodation; but children coming to terms with ‘family’ or ‘school’ in their tender years are comfortable with ‘plays’ which imitate their emotional surroundings.

Therefore, as assimilation is an aspect of all behaviour, every behaviour has at least some play like aspects; there are only more or less playful behaviours rather than play or non-play behaviours

Theories of learning highlight that, a person has action capabilities, that is, skills, and the activity poses opportunities, that is, challenges. When a person believes that the challenges are too demanding for his or her skills, the resulting stress is experienced as anxiety; this anxiety reduces to worry if the level of challenges is reduced.

When skills are greater than the challenges posed, a state of boredom results; this state again fades into anxiety when the skills are too much as compared to the challenges. The state of flow (of learning or skill) is felt only when the challenges are in balance with the person's skills; the experience is autotelic.

Discussion : play, games and simulations

Though play, games and simulations are often used interchangeably, one can discern an increasing educational rigour from play to games to simulations. The working definition of play is a behaviour used during the development of children to learn about their environment (physical and social) which also results in enjoyment. Whereas games though are like play, except that they usually have an end, a closure and culmination. Games also have rules to be observed and they have to be strategically deployed to ‘win’ or accomplish the culmination. Simulation on the other hand is the imitation of conditions, pretending to have or to be something. They are detailed models intended to reflect a situation found in the real world.

Table 2 : Educational experiments / investigations possible through different types of games

Merely explaining to children about their environment in the course of a theory lessons may not be the best method for helping them to gain an understanding of why it is there or how the process at work in the environment has shaped it. Role-play is useful in particular to teach about moral or ethical issues. They provide scope for the children to interpret their place in the world.

Role plays based upon analogies help children to conceptualise and greatly increase learning. For children to both express themselves in scientific context and develop an understanding of difficult concepts, it is necessary to encourage them to be physically and intellectually involved in the T/L process.

Feeling of 'ownership' of whatever they learn is aroused when a strategy of role-play is deployed to teach science. Children, in a Role-play has to first reconstruct in her / his mind in the reality domain that s/he has to depict through the mime / action or other devices. Thus what is expressed, ideally (unless otherwise tutored by the teacher / facilitator), would be child's own expression. How people learn is also deeply influenced by the communities and cultures with which they interact, be it classroom communities, inner-city communities, and virtual communities. Thus role-play facilitates 'virtual' community and context, albeit as a fantasy, yet provides opportunity for community learning.

Conclusion

'Play is more than a mere physiological or a psychological reflex'. It is a function of culture, one of the main bases of civilisation, not associated with any particular stage of civilisation, but a universal and integral part of life, human as well as animal.

Play is central not only to the development of children but also to adults and to the whole community and society. While, educational system in India is
yet to fully realise the potential of Role-play in T/L process, other agencies, such as management
training, have already realised the effectiveness of Role-play for use in staff training, from healthcare, management and administration to training of marketing executives.

It is high time that science communicators pay adequate and careful attention to using play, games and simulations in creating an appreciation for science and communicating intricate values often described as 'scientific approach'.

Acknowledgements

Tyagi B K, NCSTC/DST, who drew my attention to the potential use of games and play, which encouraged me to write this paper that discusses the pedagogical perspectives.

Kamble Dr V B, NCSTC/DST and Vigyan Prasar for carefully reading the manuscript and providing critical comments.