See all upcoming showings Get all times & tickets Find other TRITON location near youMovie review: ‘LEGO Batman’ has some laughs, but lacks depth Sign in if you're already registered.Work hard, play hard. Life is all about balance, but what if we told you that you can work for one of the most coveted institutions in the world and be in charge of playing? That's right, the University of Cambridge, in partnership with the Lego Foundation, are looking for the world's first professor of play. The position was created to head Cambridge's brand new Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development, and Learning, also known as Pedal. All applications for the role are due by this Friday, January 20. Read More: Spotify offers President Obama ‘President of Playlists’ position So what are the qualifications you might ask? The university plans to award the position to someone with a background in educational psychology in order to boost research on the topic of play in a child's development.
However, Prof. Anna Vignoles, who is the interim director of Pedal for the time being, noted that one does not need previous experience as a professor. “There may be people applying for this post for whom this will be their first chair – it’s more about what they can bring in terms of their research,” says Vignoles. The Lego Foundation elaborated further as their global head of research, Bo Stjerne Thomsen, noted that they are looking for someone with a "childlike mindset." Stjerne Thomsen went on to say that he's hoping for “an academic who is playful, extremely curious, open-minded, imaginative and creative – someone who can think of new ways of doing research and work across different disciplines.” The position is being funded by the Lego Foundation, who owns 25% of the Lego business. They have already invested an endowment of £4 million to the University of Cambridge, which will be split up with £2.5 million going towards the professorship, and the remaining £1.5 million to the Pedal Centre.
How the Pedal Centre will use this funding will be left up to the incoming professor of play, as the the foundation has pledged to commit to the final candidate even though they will not be involved in the hiring process. They will also continue to support the program for the indefinite future. Read More: Check out these custom Pop-Tarts with your favorite horror icons “Children are now increasingly accessing early-years provision at very young ages,” says Vignoles. “There are a number of scholars who are working on interesting aspects of that in developmental psychology. We’re confident that we’ll attract an outstanding scholar.” “The value of play is relatively under-researched,” Vignoles adds. “You have people who are claiming that it enhances learning, that it’s important, that it’s good for children’s wellbeing. All of that might be true, but actually there’s remarkably little evidence for that. The aim of the Pedal centre is to conduct rigorous research into the importance of play and how playful learning can be used to improve students’ outcomes.”
The collaboration between the Lego Foundation and the University of Cambridge was initiated due to the university's experience in interdisciplinary play research, while also having a successful history in translating this research to policy-makers and practitioners. Stjerne Tomsen went on to say that, “What we want is to get the UK government to encourage more playful learning in schools, rather than testing. If children are being taught with standardised assessments and results, those children will expect to receive assignments and be led towards pre-defined goals for the rest of their lives. But the skills you need now as an adult are collaboration, problem solving and coming up with ideas. In that sense, play is critical. You use your imagination to plan things, to predict outcomes, to understand how to solve a problem by looking at it from different perspectives. Read More: The internet thinks the new Starbucks latte looks like metalcore band’s logo Do you think you have what it takes to become the new professor of play at the University of Cambridge?
Stjerne Thomsen insists that you'll need to demonstrate a passion for research. “We hope the Lego professor will speak to the needs that exist in education right now – and we can point to what the attitudes to play are, how teachers teach and what parents expect from education. New research studies may fulfill gaps in academia, but we help our academic partners to address the question of how it would make sense for a government or teacher to use that research.” Applications for the professorship are due on January 20. Will you be applying?! Watch More: APTV Interviews: MIKE CORTADA (PTV, FOB, ect) Advance Tickets are now available at the following theatres: 16 Pine Street, in the heart of Downtown, Waltham, MA, 02453 COMING SOON / Boston This film will also be available at the following theatres with tickets available soon: In the irreverent spirit of fun that made the animated family comedy The LEGO Movie a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble—LEGO Batman—stars in his own big-screen adventure.
But there are big changes brewing in Gotham, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker’s hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up. Will Arnett reprises his starring role from The LEGO Movie as the voice of LEGO Batman, aka Bruce Wayne. Zach Galifianakis stars as The Joker; Michael as the orphan Dick Grayson; Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon; and Ralph Fiennes as Alfred.There are only three days left to apply for what could be the most coveted job in education: the Lego professor of play, development and learning at the University of Cambridge. The closing date for applications for the brand new, permanent post is this Friday, 20 January. The successful candidate will not only enjoy all the perks of a typical Cambridge professor – including a job that commands an average salary of £83,981 – he or she will also lead Cambridge’s newly established Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (Pedal).
“The value of play is relatively under-researched,” says Prof Anna Vignoles, interim director of Pedal and a member of Cambridge University’s faculty of education. Although the Lego Foundation, which owns 25% of the Lego business, will have no say over who is appointed, it is committed to funding the role in perpetuity and has already made a £4m endowment to the university. Of this, £2.5m has been put aside for the professorship. The remaining £1.5m is going to the Pedal centre, whose agenda will, in the future, be determined by the interests of the new professor. The university is planning to offer the role to an academic who specialises in educational psychology, to enable the centre to step up its research capabilities in this field. “Children are now increasingly accessing early-years provision at very young ages,” says Vignoles. The Lego Foundation is hoping for a candidate with a “childlike mindset”: “an academic who is playful, extremely curious, open-minded, imaginative and creative – someone who can think of new ways of doing research and work across different disciplines,” says Bo Stjerne Thomsen, global head of research for the Lego Foundation.
The foundation believes play has a critical role for children, particularly in high-quality learning. “Play should be part of education,” says Stjerne Thomsen. “What we want is to get the UK government to encourage more playful learning in schools, rather than testing. If children are being taught with standardised assessments and results, those children will expect to receive assignments and be led towards pre-defined goals for the rest of their lives. “But the skills you need now as an adult are collaboration, problem solving and coming up with ideas. “For us, this is a unique opportunity to build research and interventions that can inform government policy, and also teachers – who are very good at teaching, but need other perspectives on the curriculum.” Vignoles, though, emphasises that the professor will not be expected to become an advocate for play to policymakers. “This is a research and teaching role, not an advocacy role. We don’t know what the impact of play is on particular outcomes.
We’re going into this to investigate it.” And Stjerne Thomsen says: “We hope the Lego professor will speak to the needs that exist in education right now – and we can point to what the attitudes to play are, how teachers teach and what parents expect from education. The Lego Foundation chose Cambridge because of its interdisciplinary approach to play research and its expertise and credibility when communicating research to policymakers and practitioners, he says. “There is no department of play at any university and no institution takes responsibility for following the play literature and looking at interventions and outcomes in education. There is a lot of work even at the baseline for an academic institution to say what studies already exist and it’s very difficult to set up good studies.” Academics have under-researched the potential value of play because the line between play, teaching and learning is hard to pin down, Vignoles says. “Using the latest technology to carry out research and collect data will be important.