December 2, 2024 Harvard University Podcast Focuses on Building Resilience Through Play Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child recently hosted a podcast on the importance of resilience and how play can help to build it. Learn More According to the Center on the Developing Child, play helps to create sturdy brain architecture and contributes to the foundations of lifelong health. It is also an important building block for resilience. In the podcast, Dr. Jack Shonkoff explains the role of play in supporting resilience and five experts discuss ideas and personal stories. The discussion revolves around applying the science of play in homes, communities, and crisis environments around the world. Panelists include professors, directors, and researchers from the University of California Irvine’s School of Education, Institute for Museum and Library Services, Harvard Graduate School of Education, BRAC Institute of Educational Development, and Harvard Medical School’s Cambridge Hospital. The podcast is coupled with a variety of resources – including those focused on play in humanitarian settings and information on how to prevent childhood toxic stress. Both the podcast and its transcript are available on the Center on the Developing Child’s website.
September 10, 2024 Harvard University Center Releases New Science X Design Learning Toolkit Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child has released a new learning toolkit for Science X Design users. About Science X Design Science X Design is an open-access, self-paced learning module that is designed to help service providers improve outcomes for young children and their caregivers. Pronounced “science by design,” the toolkit aims to empower service providers in such fields as healthcare, education, and child welfare. It helps to identify new opportunities to improve services in these fields. The toolkit also offers curated information on three design principles informed by the science of early childhood development and guides users in gathering input from the people involved in services. Through an interactive learning, listening, and synthesis process, users can identify opportunities to adapt early childhood programs to support the healthy development of young children and their caregivers. The module takes about four to six weeks to complete and was designed to be completed as a team. A course overview and information on who should participate in the module can be found on Harvard’s website as well as information on how long it will take and what outcomes to expect.