Collaborative Play Research Articles

Designing Collaborative Technology for Intergenerational Social Play over Distance

Collaborative play not only provides entertainment but also nurtures connections and strengthens community ties. In family and intergenerational contexts, collaborative activities and play can engage family members in quality conversations and meaningful connections over distance. To explore participants' preferences, practices, and interaction dynamics when playing remotely, we conducted a design probe study with 15 groups of parents and children from 16 families. Our findings highlight both similarities and notable differences in the use of communication methods, workspaces, and objects between parents and children. Specifically, we observed distinct patterns in gestural and verbal communication and identified specific challenges encountered by children in a simulated remote setting. Our findings also revealed the dynamics of play sessions, particularly when co-located participants are involved, shedding light on the complexities of remote intergenerational communication and play. Our work contributes empirical insights into designing more effective and engaging remote collaborative platforms for families.

DIGITAL AND NON-DIGITAL GAMES IN YOUNG LEARNER EFL CLASSROOMS AT WARTIME IN UKRAINE

The present study aims to investigate the gaming habits of young learners (YLs) in the process of learning English as a foreign language and examine the role non-digital or conventional and digital games play in teaching English to young learners. It examines both conventional games used in the classroom and digital games played outside of formal instruction. Reasons for playing these two types of games were elicited from the children who were additionally asked about the preferences concerning playing games alone (solitary play) or with peers (collaborative play), in the English classroom or beyond it, i.e. preferred contexts for gameplay (classroom vs. home). The survey was conducted in Ukraine in a particularly challenging period in February and March, 2023, marked by the aftermath of COVID-19 and the subsequent declaration of martial law in the country. An online questionnaire was designed to collect data from our participants aged 10-13. The questionnaire was then administered to the children, and a total of 175 completed questionnaires yielded valuable results that formed the foundation of the study’s analysis. Findings revealed that in the current war-torn Ukraine most frequently preference is demonstrated for conventional games which are played within the structured environment of the English classroom. These games were perceived by YLs as a means offering them to alleviate the burdens of everyday stress while simultaneously facilitating lively and engaging peer interaction in English. Conversely, digital games were preferred for home-based play primarily due to their inherent entertainment value, essentially bringing them pleasure and enjoyment. One of the most crucial implications to be gleaned from this research lies in the urgent need for educators to actively integrate age-appropriate and educationally sound digital games and applications into their existing EFL curricula. By strategically incorporating these digital tools, educators can effectively supplement formal language instruction, fostering a more multifaceted and engaging learning experience for their young learners.

Interactional space for agency: Discussing photography with preschoolers

According to the latest research in both arts education and childhood studies, young children's agency is relational, entangled and negotiated. However, in early childhood visual arts education, modernist practices emphasising the independent and self-expressive child–agent are still recognisable. In this article, early childhood artistic activities are seen as a shared venue for interaction, social exchange and joint meaning-making, thereby providing a specific forum for displaying agency. Informed by conversation analysis, we explore discussions between 14 preschoolers and a researcher on contemporary art and children's self-authored photographs in a workshop in an early childhood education and care centre. By examining our discussions as turn-by-turn procedures, we identify children's displays of agency. The findings illustrate children's agency as a multifaceted and complex interactional phenomenon based on verbal and non-verbal communication and demonstrating both imaginative, progressively oriented talk and modes of resistance. While a shared playful stance appeared as a suitable means to approach art/creative photographs, it simultaneously became an essential interactional resource for inviting and promoting children's agency. Collaborative play with photographs provided an interactional space in which the fixed child/children–adult binary could be questioned and different types of agency were available for both children and the adult.

Online complementary interventions for the development of social communication in children during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic

For elementary school children, engaging in diverse communication experiences with peers of varying ages during free play is crucial for developing social adaptability. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented interruption to this learning process, as the new school year in Japan, which typically starts in April, began with widespread school closures. A novel intervention was implemented to address the ongoing societal constraints of the “stay-at-home” mandate and the uncertainty surrounding its duration. This intervention aimed to facilitate and promote peer communication while minimizing the risk of COVID-19 infection. It utilized then-unfamiliar Internet-based conferencing systems on Children’s Day, 1 month into the new school year. We explored two main analytical aspects to enhance the efficacy of this communication method: first, the types of play proposed by children that attracted the highest participation from unfamiliar peers; second, the duration of participation and communication, particularly regarding age and gender differences. Remarkably, despite only 2 days’ notice, 15 children aged 4 – 14 from five different, previously unknown communities located 1,000 km apart participated enthusiastically. In the first investigation, 12 types of play were introduced by the children. The most engaging activities included collaborative drawing on a shared online whiteboard and a scavenger hunt for specified objects. Notably, older children participated significantly longer in the online presenter’s activities, while younger children preferred to play within their own community. This study proposes that online conferencing can facilitate social interaction among children during pandemics. The intervention successfully fostered collaborative play among children of varying ages and from distant locations. In addition, the findings indicate the necessity to adjust the quality and focus of interventions based on age-specific psychological development. Further verification with more implementation examples and a larger participant pool is required.

Intervention Proposal: Using Lego in Collaborative Play as an Intervention for Intergenerational Trauma in Chinese-Canadian Families

Intergenerational trauma is traumatic events experienced by ancestors which passed down through generations of descendants. While there has been published literature on intergenerational trauma, there lies a gap for culturally appropriate interventions for immigrant families that experience this type of trauma. This intervention proposal aims to utilise published research as well as Lego in therapy to bridge the gap in cross-cultural psychology by creating a treatment intervention for immigrant families experiencing intergenerational trauma, more specifically, Chinese immigrant families. Participant criterium are immigrant families with one or more children between the ages of eight to twelve-years-old and can commit to a minimum of 18 consecutive weekly sessions at two hours per week in a supervised therapeutic setting with a trauma-informed mental health professional. Sessions are divided into two interview sessions, 12 pre-determined Lego building tasks with increasing difficulty, and four free-building sessions. The supervising professional will conduct pre- and post- intervention interviews to assess the participants’ baselines, promote constructive and concise communication during sessions, and debriefing with the family after each session. Expected outcomes of this Lego intervention for immigrant families experiencing intergenerational trauma are improved interpersonal communication skills, increased levels of trust, a better recognition of emotions with higher levels of emotion regulation skills, and living in a healthier family environment.

Archiving the Ephemeral in Digital Public Space: Using Speculative Design to Consider Collaborative Fan Play in the Metaverse

Looking at fan activity through the lens of play, this paper considers the archiving opportunities and challenges posed by new technology for playful ephemeral fan co-creation in multiplatform digital contexts. These include technical concerns such as platform fragility and how to capture inherent liveness and temporality, but also ethical concerns such as sustainability, consent and content moderation. To examine this, the paper takes fan-created alternate reality games (ARGs) as a particular example of such archiving challenges. It first describes a real example of such a game, ‘Blow the Man Down’ before introducing speculative design as a method to consider a potential future where emerging technologies such as the metaverse and artificial intelligence form part of online collaborative play and how it is archived. A speculative design scenario is presented where players can choose to recreate the experience of initial interactive play either as a dream-like replaying of the original player choices, or as a branching experience where a new story and experience is created each time; an ever evolving and updating archontic text. In such a context we can then consider, is archiving possible, or even desirable?

El juego colaborativo como estrategia de cuidado; hacia una educación integradora y para la paz

This writing seeks to make visible the importance of playful activities as individual and collective care strategies for school-age children. In addition, it is intended to promote education for peace from a Latin American approach. The methodological strategy consisted of carrying out two workshops with recreational activities previously validated from a qualitative approach. In the article, first, a description of the context of the participating population is provided; immediately, the theoretical exposition is given where reference is made to the elementary concepts to understand the subject: pedagogy of care and affection, solidarity, peace, collaborative play, etc. Afterwards, the analysis of results is carried out taking as a reference the expressions and feelings (feelings) of the participating children according to each activity.

Development, Validity and Reliability Study of the Play Preferences Scale (PPS) for Children Receiving Preschool Education

The aim of the study is to develop a Likert-type scale to determine the play preferences of children attending pre-school education. The research was designed and carried out according to the survey research model. Data collected from 3 different study groups were used in the scale development process. The study groups consist of parents of children attending pre-school education in Istanbul Province in the 2022-2023 academic year. The 33-item and 8-dimensional structure obtained after EFA was also confirmed with CFA. Dimensions were determined as solitary play, parallel play, together play, collaborative play, building-building play, dramatic play, games with rules and digital play. It is seen that the reliability coefficients of the scale after EFA and CFA vary between 0.757 and 0.900. In order to distinguish between the lower and upper groups and to make comparisons between the groups, an independent group t test was performed, and it was revealed that there was a difference between the 27% lower and 27% upper groups (p <.05). It was determined that the test-retest values of the game type preferences scale were significant. According to these values, it was determined that the scale gave consistent results. When all studies were evaluated, it was concluded that the play preferences scale is a measurement tool that can validly and reliably measure the play preferences of children receiving preschool education.

A Negotiation of Collaborative Play: asses.masses

What happens when an audience is presented with a video game and a single controller? Such is the conceit of the ongoing episodic performance asses.masses, developed by Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim. From the crowd, a player must step up to control a donkey tasked with the preservation of its animal workforce as new advancements in farm machinery threaten to displace the entire collective. In this piece of writing, the author discusses how the show cultivates an environment for emergent strategies of play and social negotiation. Situated within the context of returning to live theatre, the author blends influences from performance and game studies theory in an auto-ethnographic analysis of the player experience. In the process, notions of choice, leadership, and positionality are explored as key considerations in audience collaboration.

The what, where, who, why, which, and how of collaborative play involving autistic children in educational context: a contextual inquiry

IntroductionIn educational settings, autistic children often encounter barriers to engaging in collaborative play. Notably, play is an important component of a child’s development, and its pedagogical significance has been rigorously researched. This study endeavored to understand the dynamics of collaborative play among autistic children across various learning contexts, examining usual methodologies, associated challenges, and potential technological constraints influencing the collaborative play among autistic children.MethodsThe study was conducted in two diverse environments, an inclusive international school and a center for children with disabilities, both located in Qatar, and both with a significant population of autistic children. The data was gathered through a series of 45 interviews with a diverse group of proxies, including therapists, teachers, and parents. Furthermore, 48 observation sessions were conducted with the autistic children in both settings. The data from the interviews and observation sessions were analyzed using inductive reasoning to perform a thematic analysis.ResultsThe study elicited six key themes from the interviews, coined as ‘5 W-H’, which encompassed the aspects of who (Actor), where (Location), what (Tool), why (Purpose), which (Sense), and how (Process) in terms of how collaborative play was conducted. From the observation sessions, another four themes were derived, which centered on collaborative play, potential for collaboration, coordinated activity, and collaborative activity.DiscussionThe findings of this study provide valuable insights into the practice of collaborative play among autistic children, serving as a useful resource to guide future research agenda and educational practices. Understanding these dynamics can aid in developing more effective educational strategies and technologies to enhance the collaborative learning experiences of autistic children.

"Meeple-Centred Design" to Assess Collaborative Play: The Case of Team3

The social model of disability refers to the fact that disabilities occur when the surrounding environment isn’t prepared to accommodate the needs of People with Disabilities. Since accessibility has been given more importance in several areas of social life, we argue here that board games can also contribute to promoting the social life of People with Disabilities, since they can help combat their social isolation. As such, we will be doing an analysis of a game based on its accessibility. In this paper, we analyze the accessibility of the game Team3 in its two versions (green and pink), based on the guidelines ‘Meeple Centred Design’. Team3 is a cooperative board game developed to improve players’ collaboration, communication, and cognitive spatial reasoning abilities. The game is designed for three or more players, with each player taking on one of three roles: the architect, the builder, or the supplier. Upon examining both versions and their distinct challenges, we reached the conclusion that the game is accessible from both a physical and socioeconomic standpoint. We identified that the category related to intersectionality is where most issues arise. Furthermore, the game should come with a disclaimer saying that it can be challenging for neurodiverse people, people with the same sensory disability playing together, and people with multiple disabilities so that the players or the person that supports them can decide if the game is adequate for its intended purpose.

Real-Time Deep Neurolinguistic Learning Enhances Noninvasive Neural Language Decoding for Brain-Machine Interaction.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)-based brain-machine interface (BMI) has been utilized to help patients regain motor function and has recently been validated for its use in healthy people because of its ability to directly decipher human intentions. In particular, neurolinguistic research using EEGs has been investigated as an intuitive and naturalistic communication tool between humans and machines. In this study, the human mind directly decoded the neural languages based on speech imagery using the proposed deep neurolinguistic learning. Through real-time experiments, we evaluated whether BMI-based cooperative tasks between multiple users could be accomplished using a variety of neural languages. We successfully demonstrated a BMI system that allows a variety of scenarios, such as essential activity, collaborative play, and emotional interaction. This outcome presents a novel BMI frontier that can interact at the level of human-like intelligence in real time and extends the boundaries of the communication paradigm.

Play brick therapy to aid the social skills of children and young people with autism spectrum disorder: the I-SOCIALISE cluster RCT

BackgroundSocial skills interventions are commonly recommended to help children and young people with autism spectrum disorder develop social skills, but some struggle to engage in these interventions. LEGO®(LEGO System A/S, Billund, Denmark) based therapy, a group social skills intervention, aims to be more interesting and engaging.ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical effectiveness of LEGO®based therapy on the social and emotional skills of children and young people with autism spectrum disorder in school settings compared with usual support. Secondary objectives included evaluations of cost-effectiveness, acceptability and treatment fidelity.DesignA cluster randomised controlled trial randomly allocating participating schools to either LEGO®based therapy and usual support or usual support only.SettingMainstream schools in the north of England.ParticipantsChildren and young people (aged 7–15 years) with autism spectrum disorder, their parent/guardian, an associated teacher/teaching assistant and a facilitator teacher/teaching assistant (intervention schools only).InterventionSchools randomised to the intervention arm delivered 12 weekly sessions of LEGO®based therapy, which promotes collaborative play and encourages social problem-solving in groups of three children and young people with a facilitator (trained teacher or teaching assistant). Participants received usual support from school and community services. Participants in the control arm received usual support only. Research assistants and statisticians were blind to treatment allocation.Main outcome measureThe social skills subscale of the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS), completed by the children and young people’s unblinded teacher pre randomisation and 20 weeks post randomisation. The SSIS social skills subscale measures social skills including social communication, co-operation, empathy, assertion, responsibility and self-control. Participants completed a number of other pre- and post-randomisation measures of emotional health, quality of life, loneliness, problem behaviours, academic competence, service resource utilisation and adverse events.ResultsA total of 250 children and young people from 98 schools were randomised: 127 to the intervention arm and 123 to the control arm. Intention-to-treat analysis of the main outcome measure showed a modest positive difference of 3.74 points (95% confidence interval –0.16 to 7.63 points, standardised effect size 0.18;p = 0.06) in favour of the intervention arm. Statistical significance increased in per-protocol analysis, with a modest positive difference (standardised effect size 0.21;p = 0.036). Cost-effectiveness of the intervention was found in reduced service use costs and a small increase in quality-adjusted life-years. Intervention fidelity and acceptability were positive. No intervention-related adverse events or effects were reported.ConclusionsThe primary and pre-planned sensitivity analysis of the primary outcome consistently showed a positive clinical difference, with modest standardised effect sizes of between 0.15 and 0.21. There were positive health economics and qualitative findings, corroborated by the difference between arms for the majority of secondary outcomes, which were not statistically significant but favoured the intervention arm. Post hoc additional analysis was exploratory and was not used in drawing this conclusion. Given the small positive change, LEGO®based therapy for children and young people with autism spectrum disorder in schools should be considered.LimitationsThe primary outcome measure was completed by an unblinded teacher (rather than by the facilitator).Future workThe study team recommends future research into LEGO®based therapy, particularly in school environments.Trial registrationThis trial is registered as ISRCTN64852382.FundingThis award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme (NIHR award ref: 15/49/32) and is published in full inPublic Health Research; Vol. 11, No. 12. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

Still Resisting Left Melancholy? Chinese New Leftist theatre’s inheritance and resistance in Che Guevara (Qie Gewala) (2000–1)

As the fin-de-siècle New Leftist champions of revolution, Zhang Guangtian, Huang Jisu and Shen Lin struck a melancholic note with their collaborative play Che Guevara (Qie Gewala) (2000-1) on the postrevolutionary, depoliticized Chinese stage. Why do these Chinese theatre-makers still carry on ‘left melancholy' amid the worldwide postrevolutionary arena that has bid ‘farewell to revolution'? Whose memories and histories do these artists attempt to reclaim and retrieve through this melancholy? How do affective and Marxist theories of ‘left melancholy' expand the perceptions of recurrent revolutionary pathos in post-revolutionary Chinese leftist theatre? How does the play's radical recuperation of leftist theatrical techniques, in turn, reinterpret ‘left melancholy' and resist the marketized, depoliticized trends? This article attempts to depart from and expand the current academic focus on ‘left melancholy', which has been largely confined to Western leftist theorists such as Walter Benjamin, Wendy Brown and Enzo Traverso, to the postrevolutionary Chinese context. Integrating Western theories with Chinese interpretations of the concept by New Left scholars such as Wang Hui, along with Judith Butler's theory of subjection (1997), I argue that Che Guevara extends the connotation of left melancholy as a ‘performative paradox’ between an existential, passive despair and a radical, active aesthetic agency of hope to counteract the depoliticized trend of commercial theatre, through an exploration of its affective, theatrical and ideological significance.

ICT Skills in the Deployment of 21st Century Skills: A (Cognitive) Developmental Perspective through Early Childhood

ICT technologies are an integral part of today’s digitized society. Therefore, it is important that children acquire ICT skills as part of 21st century skills education to prepare them for later life. Drawing on the literature, seven 21st century skills can profit from the addition of ICT skills, i.e., technical, information, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creative, and problem-solving skills. While many efforts have been made to integrate ICT skills as part of 21st century skills education into primary and secondary school curricula, the implementation of these skills in early childhood education and care remains a challenge due to developmental concerns. This paper aims to uncover developmental antecedents for ICT 21st century skills in early childhood, mainly addressing children’s cognitive development, and propose ways to implement these skills in child-friendly ways. Drawing on the literature on developmental psychology, seven cognitive developmental antecedents were identified: inductive, deductive, abductive, causal, and scientific reasoning, executive functions, and computational thinking. Moreover, five additional developmental antecedents were identified: fine motor skills, language development, self-regulation, social-emotional development, and creativity. On the backdrop of these antecedents, ways of implementing ICT skills as part of 21st century skills education in early childhood classrooms are proposed that include digital games and learning apps, collaborative play or problem-solving activities with toy robots.

(Role)playing soldier: LARP, simulated combat, and gender at war

ABSTRACT This paper examines pleasure and combat in the context of North American East Coast boffer combat larp. Based on ethnographic research conducted in US East Coast larping communities, I investigate how live-action role-players (larpers) use larp to explore fictional violence and the experience of the imagined combatant. I demonstrate how, through collaborative play and performance, larpers explore not only the tragedy of war but the pleasures of teamwork, community, and individual self-worth. I further explore how women and underrepresented genders make spaces for themselves by challenging sexist notions of physical fitness, capacity for violence, and leadership. I show how these interactions foster networks of personal and communal pleasure that depend on a/n (re)imagining of warfare, strife, and death: combat, creativity, and collaborative play generate complex relationships between violence, community, and the imaginary world of fictionalised battle. However, within this discussion, I ultimately suggest that ‘(role)playing at war’ creates spaces of camaraderie while simultaneously normalising violence. I problematise larp violence as an activity that resists generalised definitions of violent play and pleasure.

Facilitating Social Inclusion of Migrant Students through Digital Games: Design Principles and Pitfalls in Wanderers

Schools are central in facilitating the inclusion of migrants and refugees in society. However, research from the LIM: Language, Integration, Media project has shown a lack of activities where students from various cultural backgrounds can come to know one other on equal terms. To meet this need, we designed a collaborative puzzle game – Wanderers – with the goal of facilitating low-stakes social interaction and cultural exchange between high school students with and without migrant backgrounds. This article outlines this design process and explores the design principles and pitfalls for digital games that support the social inclusion of migrants in a classroom setting. In the study, we use a design-based research methodology to address the research question: what design principles can be used to support social inclusion through cultural exchange in local collaborative play? We outline and discuss the following key design principles for games designed to facilitate social inclusion: 1) Facilitating cultural exchange through “safe topics”; 2) Promoting mutual dependency; 3) Diversity in representation and 4) A stimulating theme. We argue that these design principles can be used to design positive experiences that support the idea of inclusion as a two-way process. However, our discussion also shows how these design principles can also reinforce existing majority/minority configurations, and how conventional game design principles may fall short when applied in this specific context. The paper argues for the importance of low-threshold activities, such as small talk about food and holiday traditions, while also highlighting specific challenges in designing games for social integration.

The healer in the tower: Biddy Early and discourses of healing in the work of W. B. Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory

ABSTRACT The folk healer Biddy Early (1798–1874) is perhaps now best remembered in association with a mythical curse on the Clare hurling side. This article explores her healing practices and the significance of her life and legend to William Butler Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory. Writings by both these key revivalists, and their collaborative play The Pot of Broth (1904), testify to the continuing and ambivalent presence of Early’s memory in the decades after her death. Gregory and Yeats spread the fame of Early as part of their revivalist project, and the latter rebuilt the tower he christened Thoor Ballylee with, among other things, the “old mill boards” where she had once, according to local lore, gathered her ingredients. This article looks at the place of Early in Yeats’s and Gregory’s imaginations, and seeks to reposition this non-elite woman as one of the culture-givers of the Revival period.

Using Collaborative Play Adaptation and Performance Theater Techniques to Facilitate Authentic Foreign Language Learning

This qualitative study explores challenges and benefits of introducing theater techniques into Higher Education (HE) undergraduate intermediate Italian language classrooms. Drawing on student surveys and reflective essays, the study offers original insights into how collaborative, performance-based activities can result in greater student engagement, confidence and agency in foreign language settings. Data was analyzed comparatively between two cohorts of students: those who received instruction in a theater-enhanced classroom and those studying in a ‘traditional’ textbook-based format. While data gathered from the latter cohort focused on technical aspects of their learning (e.g., concerns over mastering vocabulary and grammar, etc.), students in the theater-based classroom focused on their experiences with the theater components, expressing an overall higher level of confidence in their linguistic ability. Challenges of incorporating theater techniques into curriculum and assessment structure are also discussed.

Examining Children’s Peer Play-in-Action: Micro Dramas and Collaborative Play Performances

In this study, particular focus is on micro-ethnographic studies of children’s peer play-in-action and how children create shared peer cultures through their collaborative performances in situated game activities. It will be shown how children create micro dramas in play that serve as cultural frameworks to i) dramatize and transform experiences from the outside world; ii) playfully subvert hierarchies and gendered orders; and iii) comment upon and unravel controversial issues in their social life. The data are drawn from three sets of video-recorded data of children’s everyday play activities collected during fieldwork in separate school and after-school settings located in middle-class and low-income multiethnic suburban areas in Sweden.