Constructing Toys to Integrate Knowledge about Child Development

Abstract

To help students in developmental psychology integrate various theories and increase awareness of children's developmental needs, they built toys suitable for newborn to 4-year-old children. Students were required to write a paper describing the play value of the toy, developmental areas it was designed to stimulate, and age appropriateness, as well as positive and negative uses of their toy. In an evaluation, students rated the Make a Toy project useful for integrating theoretical knowledge with practical use. Although the project was positively rated by all students, it would probably be best used as one of a few possible projects for a class in developmental psychology.