Play

I feel like when you have a flexible classroom, play, inquiry, projects, and hands-on tends to come in tandem. Growing up in an artists home, I was given a lot of opportunity for choice and play, and when a natural consequence took that away, it was deeply felt. It is empowering for kids to be in control for their learning. If you think about professional development or staff meetings, it wouldn't feel great if you were always told who you had to sit beside, or by yourself. I'm a talker. I love to chat. I talk to myself when I am sitting in a room that is empty. I need to talk through my thoughts to get to the end. This year my class is chatty, which I started off slightly dreading (that is hard for me to admit). The first thing my family said to me when I told them I had a chatty class this year, "hm, sounds like their teacher." Sitting back and thinking about myself as a chatty student, quickly made me excited for this year. It meant I have a class full of passionate story-tellers, inquisitive minds, and creative children. It just meant I needed to give them more talk time to digest what they are learning. Off topic discussion does not always mean they are completely off topic. My brain is not linear, and I go off topic often, just to come around and figure out what I need to do or where I need to go.

Last year I did some play, but this year I decided I was giving this group full unguided play time at the beginning of many units. At the start of our first Science unit, Magnetism, I gave 25 minutes of pure play time. I put out magnets and a variety of materials, both magnetic and non-magnetic. From here, I asked the students to share with me the questions they had about magnets. The questions were amazing!

Why does one side of the magnet not stick?

Why does metal stick to a magnet?

How is it still magnetic when covered?

Why don't magnets stick to certain metals?

How can the magnet move with something in between?

With their own inquiry, they covered many outcomes in the curriculum, and are more in control of what they are learning. From there I gave guided inquiry. Students had to then begin using the magnets to make a game or a sculpture. They did amazing with this, some working independently, while others worked together.

The noise volume was loud. That is not a bad thing, they were completely engaged, having fun, exploring their natural curiosity, and interacting with one another. I always need to remind myself, loud is not bad. The traditional quiet classroom does not always mean learning is occurring. I feel like I am constantly telling people this, and yet I don't take it in myself.

The feedback from parents? Their children were buzzing with excitement about the magnets. They were excited and learning, motivated and creative, and communicating.

After attending a LEGO serious play workshop this same day, it was amazing to see not only that the University business program is called Business Innovation, looking at flexibility, accessibility, and inclusivity in the business world, everything I am trying to incorporate into my classroom. The workshop itself looked at play and LEGO to solve serious business conflicts and problems. Using the hands to explore not only an item, but also yourself.

After this lengthy monologue, can you see how I am similar to my students? I love to chat! The point of all of this? unguided and unstructured play can be an amazing way to kickstart a unit. You will feel like you're slightly useless, just wandering and writing what you hear your students say, but I believe that is the point of a teacher. The goal is to be a guide and/or facilitator in the classroom. The more independent exploration that can occur, the better!