David S Ramsey | Lesley University (original) (raw)
I am a program director in the Department of Early Childhood in the Boston Public Schools in Boston, Massachusetts.
I received my Ph.D. in Educational Studies from Lesley University in 2016, where my dissertation research examined the impact of play with loose parts materials on children's language usage at school recess.
My particular areas of interest include adventure playgrounds; play in natural spaces; creativity and motivation.
less
Uploads
Papers by David S Ramsey
1. (number of materials) plus (degree to which each material is open---or closed, expressed as a ... more 1. (number of materials) plus (degree to which each material is open---or closed, expressed as a percentage) 2. (amount of autonomy over time, expressed as a percentage) plus (amount of autonomy over space, expressed as a percentage) plus (amount of autonomy over how materials are used, expressed as a percentage)
An adventure playground is not simply a space or an environment that provides children the opport... more An adventure playground is not simply a space or an environment that provides children the opportunity to play. It is the physical, living embodiment of a particular philosophical and theoretical orientation towards children's place in society and the idea of childhood itself.
A key characteristic of play is that it is self-initiated and internally and intrinsically motiva... more A key characteristic of play is that it is self-initiated and internally and intrinsically motivated. The purpose of this paper is to explore theories and practices that support opportunities for children to engage in self-initiated, autonomous, and intrinsically motivated play both at school and at home. I examine these ideas through the lens of what has been referred to as " children's ways of knowing " (Ramsey, 2011). These ways of knowing are unique to children and often go unnoticed, unheard, and unobserved by adults. It is not enough to simply state that children's play is self-initiated and internally and intrinsically motivated; it is necessary to push further and think about both what play behavior illuminates about children's ways of knowing the world and also how in the context of play these children's epistemologies can be understood and interrogated. The idea of children's ways of knowing goes beyond the idea of developmental stages as described by Piaget (1962). This concept also is not a mere consideration of differences in children's ways of learning. The framework of children's ways of knowing encompasses the idea that children know the world, encounter the world, experience the world, and make sense of the world differently from adults. This moves further than simply thinking about how children learn, or how children interact with each other and with adults. Children have ways of being and existing in the universe that are fundamentally different from adult ways of being in the world.
In children's play there are at least three variables over which children have varying degrees of... more In children's play there are at least three variables over which children have varying degrees of autonomy. These three variables are space, time, and matter/ materials. It is possible to conceive of these three variables as each having three potential levels of purpose.
We all play occasionally, and we all know what playing feels like. But when it comes to making th... more We all play occasionally, and we all know what playing feels like. But when it comes to making theoretical statements about what play is, we fall into silliness.
1. (number of materials) plus (degree to which each material is open---or closed, expressed as a ... more 1. (number of materials) plus (degree to which each material is open---or closed, expressed as a percentage) 2. (amount of autonomy over time, expressed as a percentage) plus (amount of autonomy over space, expressed as a percentage) plus (amount of autonomy over how materials are used, expressed as a percentage)
An adventure playground is not simply a space or an environment that provides children the opport... more An adventure playground is not simply a space or an environment that provides children the opportunity to play. It is the physical, living embodiment of a particular philosophical and theoretical orientation towards children's place in society and the idea of childhood itself.
A key characteristic of play is that it is self-initiated and internally and intrinsically motiva... more A key characteristic of play is that it is self-initiated and internally and intrinsically motivated. The purpose of this paper is to explore theories and practices that support opportunities for children to engage in self-initiated, autonomous, and intrinsically motivated play both at school and at home. I examine these ideas through the lens of what has been referred to as " children's ways of knowing " (Ramsey, 2011). These ways of knowing are unique to children and often go unnoticed, unheard, and unobserved by adults. It is not enough to simply state that children's play is self-initiated and internally and intrinsically motivated; it is necessary to push further and think about both what play behavior illuminates about children's ways of knowing the world and also how in the context of play these children's epistemologies can be understood and interrogated. The idea of children's ways of knowing goes beyond the idea of developmental stages as described by Piaget (1962). This concept also is not a mere consideration of differences in children's ways of learning. The framework of children's ways of knowing encompasses the idea that children know the world, encounter the world, experience the world, and make sense of the world differently from adults. This moves further than simply thinking about how children learn, or how children interact with each other and with adults. Children have ways of being and existing in the universe that are fundamentally different from adult ways of being in the world.
In children's play there are at least three variables over which children have varying degrees of... more In children's play there are at least three variables over which children have varying degrees of autonomy. These three variables are space, time, and matter/ materials. It is possible to conceive of these three variables as each having three potential levels of purpose.
We all play occasionally, and we all know what playing feels like. But when it comes to making th... more We all play occasionally, and we all know what playing feels like. But when it comes to making theoretical statements about what play is, we fall into silliness.