Landscape for children to play and learn: a conceptual comparison between natural stream and playground

Bermain dan bergerak adalah asas kehidupan kanak–kanak. Bermain dengan elemen landskap semula jadi dan buatan membangunkan kemahiran kognitif, fizikal dan sosial kanak–kanak. Pada persepsi kanak–kanak, semua elemen fizikal dan kuasa iklim di dalam alam lingkungan berupaya merangsang deria mereka. Hanya dengan bermain, kemanfaatan atau keburukan elemen atau kuasa tersebut dapat difahami. Kanak–kanak memahami landskap sebagai alam lingkungan secara tiga cara: kognitif, afektif, dan penilaian. Apabila seorang kanak–kanak bergerak, deria mereka dirangsang secara langsung lantas mereka mendapat feedback dan affordances. Dua set landskap yang berbeza iaitu sungai dan taman permainan dianalisa untuk menghuraikan perbezaan dan persamaan ransangan, ‘feedback’ dan ‘affordances’. Penghuraian ini jelas menyatakan bahawa landskap adalah satu entiti ekologi yang dinamik. Pengalaman secara terus dengan landskap menghasilkan pembangunan kognitif, fizikal dan sosial kanak-kanak. Adalah wajar bagi kita meneliti kesan rangsangan, ‘feedback’ dan ‘affordances’ apabila mereka bentuk landskap untuk kanak–kanak untuk pembangunan kemahiran kognitif, fizikal dan sosial mereka. Kata kunci: Kanak-kanak, landskap semula jadi, taman permainan, kognitif, bermain, affordances Playing and moving are the central of young children’s lives. Allowing the children to experience the natural and man–made elements in their living environment would generate cognitive, physical, and social skills development. To them natural forces such as rain and wind, natural features such as vegetation, animals and landform, and man–made elements such as buildings and road are ubiquitous elements in their living environment. By playing with those elements, they learn to perceive their benefits or adversities. Mobility and perception in the landscape stimulate the children’s senses and generate feedbacks as well as affordances. Through movement, the children perceive the landscape through three modes of learning which are cognitive, affective, and evaluative. Two contrasting landscape settings, a stream and a playground, are compared to explain the similarities and differences of stimulations, feedbacks, and affordances, and the modes of learning. The landscape is described as an ecological dynamic entity that through direct experience would generate the cognitive, physical and social developments of the children. In conclusion, it is important to design and develop landscapes for children that stimulate their senses, provide feedbacks and afford functional meanings to their cognitive, physical and social skills. Key words: Children, natural landscape, playground, cognition, play, affordances