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〈Helping children stay connected in times of challenges” Result Announcement Online Symposium〉22 Feb 2022《Mirage.News》.
The Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project (the Project), implemented by the Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education (CAISE), Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, organised a project-end online symposium entitled Social-emotional learning through play: Helping children stay connected in times of challenges on February 22, 2022. The event was attended by more than 560 participants, including educators and parents. The pre-recorded opening address was conducted by the Guest of Honour, Mrs Chan Siu Suk-fan, Deputy Secretary, Education Bureau, HKSAR.
The Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project (the Project), implemented by the Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education (CAISE), Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, organised a project-end online symposium entitled Social-emotional learning through play: Helping children stay connected in times of challenges on February 22, 2022. The event was attended by more than 560 participants, including educators and parents. The pre-recorded opening address was conducted by the Guest of Honour, Mrs Chan Siu Suk-fan, Deputy Secretary, Education Bureau, HKSAR.
The two keynote speeches highlighted the importance of interactive play in children’s learning and health. Professor Nirmala Rao, Serena H C Yang Professor in Early Childhood Development and Education, Academic Unit of Human Communication, Development, and Information Sciences, Faculty of Education, HKU, delivered a speech entitled Supporting playful learning in the early years: Challenges and opportunities in the COVID-19 era. She discussed the pandemic’s impact on children’s leisure and learning activities. Citing international examples, she provided suggestions as to how schools could continue to engage their children in learning and how parents can be supported to facilitate play at home.
A group of trained volunteers and game ambassadors are full of confidence in this event, leading the visitors to play interactive games, including parents of kindergarten students, volunteers from the Agency for Volunteer Service, game trainers and game ambassadors of a senior citizen association.
The Project Director, Dr Sylvia Liu of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, CAISE, The University of Hong Kong gave a speech at the seminar on early childhood education: Learning experience (online and offline) O2O².
The visitors to Booth B22 of the Jockey Club "Play n Gain" Project included experienced educators, school teachers and parents that they tried out the "Game Theory Corner" and interactive games. They enjoyed it very much and exchanged ideas with each other.
Organizers of the "Day Day Play at Tai Kwun" event are delighted with how it worked on Saturday for kindergarten kids and parents.
Play n Gain's Yuen Man-tak said the event at Tai Kwun showed play can make learning fun with no props or special venue required.
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Through these parent-child activities, we spread the value of play education from kindergarten to the community, breaking through generational and geographical boundaries. Regardless of age and background, adults and children could together learn key interactive game skills that will benefit their social and emotional development.
The school actively makes use of "game language" in the classroom, and at the same time provides training for parents. Through close home-school cooperation, children can get used to this happy communication language, making parent-child communication fun, and parents no longer "勞氣"(exhausted).
Playing for Keeps - Education Matters 2020 (Volume 17 No 1), The University of Hong Kong. Published online in 2020
Principal Investigator of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, Dr Mantak Yuen, explained that “Playing games is merely the medium used to achieve social and emotional benefits.”, since the objective of the project is to use interactive games to promote children’s social-emotional development, not necessarily for them to become skilled in each game.
“Most importantly, in the Jockey Club ‘Play n Gain’ Project, everybody gains, ” said Dr Sylvia Liu. “Play is a happy language connecting people together.” Dr Liu highlighted the best part of the Project.
Co-investigator and parental support specialist of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, Mrs Kit Chan, pointed out that the children nowadays play electronics games, yet lack chances to play together with companions. She also shared how to nurture the social-emotional competence of children through “Play everywhere with anyone at any time” - to play interactive games that do not necessarily need props, and to catch the children’s good behaviour (precise praise with reasons). (Extracted English translation)
Parent Seminar of Education Bureau 19/20 website
(15 December 2019)
教育局家長講座19/20─正向的我正向孩子（編號：1915)
Parent Seminar of Education Bureau 19/20 website
(15 December 2019)
家長錦囊重溫連結，教育局家長講座19/20─正向的我正向孩子（編號：1915）
Parent Seminar of Education Bureau 19/20 website
(15 December 2019)
精華重溫短片連結，教育局家長講座19/20─正向的我正向孩子（編號：1915）
Parent Seminar of Education Bureau 19/20 website
(15 December 2019)
投影片重溫連結，教育局家長講座19/20─正向的我正向孩子（編號：1915）
“The Way We Are”@881903, The Commercial Radio Hong Kong,
24 November 2019
(雷霆881商業一台「同途有心人」) (In Chinese Only) (Radio Interview Recap)
The Project Director of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, Dr Sylvia Liu, parent volunteer, Mr. Tall and Teacher Helen who participated in the project, they joined together to share their insights, first-hand experiences and warm lively testimonies about Play Education.
(Extracted English translation)
教育局「正向的我 正向孩子」家長講座 現接受報名〉
The “Social famine” that could be observed in how the children nowadays have forgotten how to play is partly a result of a collective immersion happening in the digital world now - when interactions as play mostly only happen between the child and digital devices.
The Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, therefore, was sparked by the need to facilitate the children’s play and aid them in learning how to socialize again by providing training to teachers and parents.
To extend this social-emotional learning from kindergartens to the community, the project has been developing human resources for game training to achieve sustainability in the long run.
「遊共情」- 如何支援幼童情緒社交發展教師講座（Public Talk for Teachers）
Dr Sylvia Liu, Director of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, explained what are the “5P” (Play, Positive Reinforcement, Parent Training, Programme and Point of Breakthrough). These five elements in The Social Star Mirror Model (「社交閃星星」學習概念模型 ) devised by her which structured the programme.
The positive impact on teachers, parents and especially children has also been recapped by Dr Sylvia Liu and Dr Mantak Yuen, co-Principal Investigator of the Project. From social skills, cognitive skills to self-control, the children are better equipped, better not only in maintaining friendships with others and more effective communication but also the ability to resolve conflicts. Social-emotional learning of children has been fostered in natural ways, meanwhile parents’ understanding of the role of play has also been improved.
“Diligence” has its reward but ‘Play’ could gain too - turns out play would benefit the development of children:
● The Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project supports parents and teachers as change agents as well as ambassadors to arouse learning interest of students
● Encourage the teachers to intervene appropriately as remedy of blind spots during teaching
● 1 plus 1 is more than 2: with more interactions, more inspiration in learning
● Through games, children could accept the rules and reasons behind easier
● With less wrestling, the parent-child relationship could be smoothened
● Play at anytime, anywhere with anyone
(Extracted English translation)
The Project Director of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, Dr Sylvia Liu pointed out that:
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“Play at anytime, anywhere with anyone. Pupils could learn social skills like taking turns to play and wait, accepting different points of view and to appreciate the others, through interacting with their schoolmates, parents and teachers in play.”
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Anything can be a good game as long as it includes the 3 principles: Fun, Safe and Respect.
Principal Lo Sau Fun of The Salvation Army Hing Yan Kindergarten said:
“Previously, the students tended to play by themselves in the free play session provided previously. Now after joining the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, they know that with proper interventions like increased visual stimulations and spacing, that “these simulations would lead to collaboration among students facilitating each other’s creativity, to create some new ways to play and enhance communication.”.”
(Extracted English translation)
The Project Director of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, Dr Sylvia Liu pointed out that many children nowadays are “3-NOers” (「三無人士」), which means No chance (to play), No companions and No environment. “Even though there are birthday parties, the environment is (tailor) made for them, not many children or adults could play together, nor knowing how to play. ” said Dr Liu. (Extracted English translation)
The Project Director of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, Dr Sylvia Liu pointed out that Play is a naturally pure form of education (遊戲是純天然教育). “Through some Fun, Safe interactive games with Respect, the children could systematically learn how to care for others and develop creativity.” said Dr Liu. (Extracted English translation)
In the launching ceremony of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project on 22 May 2019, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, the then Permanent Secretary for Education, Education Bureau, HKSAR, expressed her admiration that the Project could take care of different aspects, for example, kindergartens, families and communities. (Extracted English translation)
The Project Director of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, Dr Sylvia Liu pointed out that Play is an international language - children could play with everything they are interested in. Adults could participate in the game first, then to let the children create. When the children are in free play, they can enjoy themselves even if there is nothing in their hands. (Extracted English translation)
The Project Director of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, Dr Sylvia Liu shared information about Play Education to parent and children on the public talk held on the ferry, “Ferry Floating Classroom” (「海上飄流教室」). (Extracted English translation)
The Project Director of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, Dr Sylvia Liu illustrated how interactive games could benefit early childhood development through classic games “Rock-paper-scissors”, supported by academic research. “Paper” means flexibility; “Scissors” means memory; and “Rock” means control. It is a great example to illustrate why interactive games do not necessarily need props but the game itself could be developed into various ways to play. (Extracted English translation)
〈「細路愛玩營」營造「幻想遊樂場」〉,
10 January 2019《星島日報》(Sing Pao Daily News) (In Chinese Only)
The Project Director of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, Dr Sylvia Liu suggested adults should utilize their time to play interactive games with children to develop their social competence. (Extracted English translation)
計劃總監廖秀卿博士認為大人應善用時間與兒童玩遊戲
計劃總監廖秀卿博士認為大人應善用時間與兒童玩遊戲
〈細路愛玩營：海上教室體驗親子遊戲〉,
10 January 2019《經濟日報》(Economic Times) (In Chinese Only)
The Project Director of the Jockey Club “Play n Gain” Project, Dr Sylvia Liu pointed out the importance of face-to-face interactive games to the development of social competence in our children along with providing simple but interesting games for parents and children. (Extracted English translation)
計劃總監廖秀卿博士分享遊戲對兒童發展的重要性和提供簡單有趣的親子遊戲
計劃總監廖秀卿博士分享遊戲對兒童發展的重要性和提供簡單有趣的親子遊戲