What is Play

1.

Human behaviours which are intended to be intrinsically enjoyable and not primarily directed towards useful outcomes. Learn more in: Art and Technology for Health

2.

It is any activity that is carried out with the purpose of having fun and enjoying. Learn more in: Globalized Physical Education Teaching Proposal for Five-Year-Olds Knowing the World Pirate

3.

Physical or mental intrinsically motivated activity eventually beneficial for engaging children in enjoying the new learning. Learn more in: Building Socio-Emotional Skills Through Play to Cope With Hospitalization

4.

Activity engaged in for enjoyment and recreation, especially by children. Learn more in: Play in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Development and Characteristics

5.

Acting in particular ways possibly aligned with rules that govern an imaginary space. Learn more in: Designing BioSim: Playfully Encouraging Systems Thinking in Young Children

6.

Play has been defined as any activity freely chosen, intrinsically motivated, and personally directed. Play is not a specific behaviour, but any activity undertaken with a playful frame of mind. Learn more in: Does Gadget Usage Hamper the Psychological Aspects of Pre-Schoolers?

7.

Activity for the purpose of enjoyment and recreation. Learn more in: The Importance of Play for Parents of Hospitalized Children

8.

Exploratory activity which involves curiosity, active imagination and interaction with the body and other bodies and objects in an environment for the pursuit of joy, development of creative tasks, problem solving and social/emotional bonding. Learn more in: Corporeal Architecture: A Methodology to Teach Interior Design and Architecture With a Focus on Embodiment

9.

The active engagement in an activity for enjoyment. Learn more in: An Embedded Approach to Equipping Pre-Service Teachers to Leverage Technology in Practice

10.

The freedom of curiosity and movement within a bounded structure. Learn more in: I Play I Learn: Introducing Technological Play Theory

11.

An experience that must have the following features: it must be voluntary, it must be superfluous (it can be suspended/deferred at a moment’s notice), it creates order and has rules, it promotes the formation of social groupings, and it differs from ordinary life in terms of duration and/or location (Huizinga, 1955). Learn more in: Unifying Instructional and Game Design

12.

It is a physical or mental activity that engages the individual either for enjoyment or recreation. Learn more in: Play Therapy for Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders

13.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes that free play is not an optional extra for children: it is fundamental to their physical, social, mental, and emotional development and intrinsic to their health and happiness in the present moment. Learn more in: An Update Proposal for Article 31 of the UN Convention: Play Is a Human Right in All Life Settings

14.

As university instructors and former K-12 educators we believe that learning should be enjoyable, generally collaborative, and should lead students to want to learn more. Students should be given time to experiment with ideas - what can be called “play.” We do not mean that “play” in this sense is necessarily competitive, although we do not exclude the idea. Learn more in: Breakout of a Traditional Classroom Reality With Game-Based Learning Pedagogy

15.

Play is the most powerful, the purest, and the most effective form of communication language and self-expression available. It is critical in a child’s physical, social and intellectual development. Learn more in: Play and Play Therapy

16.

“something one chooses to do as a source of pleasure, which is intensely and utterly absorbing and promotes the formation of social groupings” (Prensky 2001, p. 112). Learn more in: The Use of Electronic Games in Distance Learning as a Tool for Teaching and Learning

17.

Behavior of exercising abilities in and of the abilities themselves, in which the cognitive, affective or perceptual exploration by individuals of the act of exercising the ability suffices as the motivation for exercising the ability. Play is defined by the agent’s initiative in that its outcomes as an activity are never pre-determined. Play furthermore is not limited by constraints of space or time. Play is free and non-obligatory and non-productive at least in itself – play can lead to benefits, but these are never its ostensive purpose. Finally, play is fundamentally abstract from the standpoint of concrete physical rules and goals of the objective world that is external to play. Learn more in: PLAYER: A European Challenge Game to Discover Young Entrepreneurs

18.

Experience of performing activities within a context governed by rules. Learn more in: Fidelity and Play Model: Balancing Seriousness

19.

We define pla y and dramatic play interchangeably to mean the transformation of objects, situations, or identity through active engagement in role-playing ( Rubin, Fein, & Vandenberg, 1983 ). Learn more in: Play-Based Literacy Instruction: Interactive Learning in a Kindergarten Classroom

20.

A fun, spontaneous, and adaptive activity whereby a subject learns by exploring and experiencing. Learn more in: Simulations in Business Education: A Case Study of Cesim™ Global Challenge

21.

A voluntary activity that is conducted for its own sake, for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose. Learn more in: Games We Play: Wellbeing of Players of Live and Digital Games

22.

Something fun and that all children do. A way in which children learn. Learn more in: Understanding Culturally Responsive Play Through Drama-Based Pedagogy

23.

Is the element in an activity that allows for experimenting with reality and learning from it, without facing the harshest level of consequence; play usually elicits positive emotions and even flow; a crucial part of human development (children especially learn by playing) and experience it permits testing attitudes, behaviors and strategies because it temporarily suspends the effect of consequences, while informing subjects of what the results of their actions would be. Learn more in: Fun and Games: How to Actually Create a Gamified Approach to Health Education and Promotion

24.

Play is defined as child-directed activities that provide enjoyment and recreation, while promoting children's development. Learn more in: Children's Development: A Glance Into Early Childhood Education and Family Dynamics

25.

Activities in which individuals and groups engage that stimulate various aspects of personal and social functioning without necessarily being related to particular utilitarian outcomes. Learn more in: Enhancing Workplaces with Constructive Online Recreation

26.

A child-centred activities that is fun and a way of learning by a child. Learn more in: Play Work and Play Therapy

27.

A behavior that is not always fun but involves thinking (i.e., cognition), strategy, rules, and often imagination and creativity in the context of a game setting and mechanics (e.g., scores, timed responses, competition). Learn more in: Stories, Games, and Learning through Play: The Affordances of Game Narrative for Education

28.

A simulation of reality that can help children explore their world and build knowledge. Learn more in: Play Interventions for Hospitalized Children With Disability

29.

Play is described as having the following elements: (1) intrinsically motivated and self-initiated, (2) non-literal and pleasurable, (3) process-oriented, (4) exploratory and active, and (5) governed by rules. Learn more in: Conceptual Play Spaces

30.

Involved, intrinsically-motivated exploration of situations which are not perceived by the individuals as leading to survival decisions. Learn more in: Crossing the Chasm: Hurdles to Acceptance and Success of Serious Games

31.

A written work of drama intended to be staged as a theatrical performance rather than just read. Learn more in: Staging Theatrical Child-Centric Violence: Aesthetic Ownership in The Pillowman

32.

The creativity and flexibility within mathematics. Often useful when initially engaging with a manipulative. Learn more in: Integrating Mathematics and Science Methods Classes With an Afterschool STEM Club

33.

Engagement in open ended, autonomous work that is viewed as purposeful and fun. Learn more in: Application of Playful Robotics to Advance Cognitive Development and Meaningful Learning Among Early Learners

34.

(1) As opposed to “work,” a pleasurable activity pursued for its own sake. (2) The free range of movement allowed before work becomes possible. Learn more in: New Media and the Virtual Workplace

35.

A learning-based voluntary activity that encompasses experience and is not just a biological or physical condition. Learn more in: Investigating Current Sustainability Issues Through Play and Future Scenarios: Play to Save