Learning To Play

In this textbook the author takes as inspiration recent breakthroughs in game playing to explain how and why deep reinforcement learning works. In particular he shows why two-person games of tactics and strategy fascinate scientists, programmers, and game enthusiasts and unite them in a common goal: to create artificial intelligence (AI). After an introduction to the core concepts, environment, and communities of intelligence and games, the book is organized into chapters on reinforcement learning, heuristic planning, adaptive sampling, function approximation, and self-play. The author takes a hands-on approach throughout, with Python code examples and exercises that help the reader understand how AI learns to play. He also supports the main text with detailed pointers to online machine learning frameworks, technical details for AlphaGo, notes on how to play and program Go and chess, and a comprehensive bibliography. The content is class-tested and suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on artificial intelligence and games. It's also appropriate for self-study by professionals engaged with applications of machine learning and with games development. Finally it's valuable for any reader engaged with the philosophical implications of artificial and general intelligence, games represent a modern Turing test of the power and limitations of AI.

The innovative and creative games in "Learning to Play, Playing to Learn foster social skills to help young people deal with conflict without resorting to violence. It guides parents and educators in helping children identify their own set of values and feelings while playing with others. It also discusses several ways to modify popular games to encourage fairness and trust in children and encourages the use of healthy play techniques to increase self-esteem, cooperation, personal responsibility, and emotional and physical health.

When trainers use games, learners win big. As a trainer interested in game design, you know that games are more effective than lectures. You've seen firsthand how immersive games hold learners' interest, helping them explore new skills and experience different points of view. But how do you become the Milton Bradley of learning games? Play to Learn is here to help. This book bridges the gap between instructional design and game design; it's written to grow your game literacy and strengthen crucial game design skills. Experts Sharon Boller and Karl Kapp share real examples of in-person and online games, and offer an online game for you to try as you read. They walk you through evaluating entertainment and learning games, so you can apply the best to your own designs. Play to Learn will also show you how to: Link game design to your business needs and learning objectives. Test your prototype and refine your design. Deploy your game to motivated and excited learners. So don't just play around. Think big, design well, and use Play to Learn as your guide.

Describes play workshop experiences that give educators a deeper understanding of play-based learning and illustrate the power of play.

By highlighting the learning potential with different play activities, this book shows how play can complement and enhance the social, emotional, perceptual motor and intellectual development of children in their early years.

This book provides the background, theoretical underpinnings and the process and principles of Learn to Play Therapy. Learn to Play Therapy has been developed and refined for over 25 years. This book is written for therapists who work with children aged 12 months to 8 years. It is a therapeutic approach for children with autism spectrum disorder, developmental difficulties, and children who find playing spontaneously, perplexing. Learn to Play Therapy focusses on building a child's ability to self-initiate spontaneous pretend play ability. Pretend play is associated with social competence, narrative, language, self-regulation, creativity and problem solving. The book is a complete revision of the first edition Learn to Play book which was published by Co-ordinates Publications. The second edition is 314 pages and includes 114 play activities, parent handouts, and a Play Background Checklist. A USB is provided with the book and contains the printable pages. Play assessment is the first step in Learn to Play Therapy as an understanding of a child's self-initiated pretend play ability informs which play activities to choose to begin the therapeutic process. The Pretend Play Enjoyment Developmental Checklist (Stagnitti, 2017) and the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment 2 (Stagnitti, 2019) are recommended to be used with Learn to Play Therapy. The theoretical underpinnings of Learn to Play Therapy are informed by Axline, Vygotsky, and the neurobiology of play. The process and principles are explained in depth with Chapters 1 to 3 providing an unfolding explanation, starting with an overview and becoming more detailed across the three Chapters. This second edition also has a chapter on working with parents, questions and answers, and case studies. The play skills cover: engaging activities for those children who show no enjoyment or understanding of play; pre-pretend play activities for children who require therapy to begin on the very early levels of play; and the pretend play skills of sequences of play action, describing and explaining, object substitution, doll/teddy play, play scripts, role play, social pretend play, attributing properties and absent objects, problems in the play and predicting what will happen next. An extensive reference list is included.

This timely and accessible text introduces, theorises and practically applies two important concepts which now underpin early years practice: those of ‘playful learning' and 'playful pedagogies'. Pat Broadhead and Andy Burt draw upon filmed material, conversations with children, reflection, observation, and parental and staff interviews, in their longitudinal study of outdoor and indoor play environments in an early years unit. This research-based text offers extensive insights into related theories, as well drawing on the authors’ skills and knowledge as researcher and as class teacher in order to provide opportunities for personal reflection and possibilities for practical application in early years classes and settings. Discussing both indoor and outdoor environments, the text explores ideas surrounding ‘open-ended play’, and ‘the whatever you want it to be place’. It illustrates how the themes of children’s play reflect their interests, experiences, knowledge gained at home and in school, and their cultural heritages. By showing how children become familiar and skilful within open-ended play environments, the authors illustrate how the children’s co-operative skills develop over time as they become connected in communities of learners. Alongside the examples of children’s playful learning, the book also considers the implications for resourcing and organising playful settings through playful pedagogies that connect with the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum (DfES 2007) and with the Tickell Review, ongoing as the book went to press. Understanding Young Children's Learning through Play uses children’s perspectives on their play to illustrate how rich their personal understandings are. It also includes parental reflections on what may initially appear a risky and unusual outdoor environment, and it draws attention to the importance of conflict resolution in play in order to extend children’s resilience and assertiveness. This insightful text will be of interest to students of early years education, early years practitioners, academics and researchers.

Learning Through Play translates the theory of play into practice while seamlessly integrating the Australian Curriculum, government policy and current trends. It aims to create a shared understanding of play and play-based pedagogies that positively influence the everyday practices of educators and improve the learning experiences of children. The book extensively covers the various contexts that children may engage with during the early years - the period from birth to age 8. Learning Through Play is structured to complement the Early Years Learning Framework and early childhood education studies. It begins by drawing on theories to discuss the centrality of play to children's development and learning, then delves into the practicalities and challenges of implementing these play-based approaches, and finally discusses the future of play in early childhood contexts. With several learning features that blend theory, context and practical skills, Learning Through Play will not only help pre-service teachers to understand play in principle and in practice, but also to advocate articulately for play-based approaches.