Play or: How I Learn Best (a Revisit)

(This was originally posted on 11/16/2015 as a part of a #slowchated. With schools around the country reporting back, it bears repeating. The closing paragraph has been amended. Best of luck to all you for successful, fun 2016-2017 school year. -RL)

(img credit: https://pixabay.com/en/playground-children-kids-game-417615/)

"Here you go. Make it work."

Those were the instructions I gave to the algebra students when I showed them the 3d printer our school recently acquired. I hadn't opened it. I didn't want to do anything with it until I knew what it would mean to the instructional lives of our students. There's no point in having something for the students unless there's a plan for how the tool will build on their experiences.

So that became the plan. I gave the unopened box with a laptop to a small group of students, who - through a glitch in scheduling (read: a mistake I made) - have an empty period in their day. They unpacked, explored, Googled, watched videos, made mistakes, aligned pieces, and printed a little heart pendant. The looks of satisfaction on their faces were priceless, and it was a result of their freedom to play with a goal.

Play is not about a lack of direction. It's about sampling, poking, prodding, and finding ways to fail and ways to succeed within parameters. Games are designed with ends in mind. So is learning that utilizes play. Assessments are done along the way. You understand how much a participant is capable of grasping of the play while observing them in it. When one skill is mastered, it generally opens the door to more sophisticated opportunities.

We've spent so much time trying to figure out as adults how much our students have actually learned that we have strayed away from what it means to be a child. They play, they touch, they learn, they grow, and then it repeats. It happens a little at a time, and it happens all at once, and it sometimes it takes a while for it to happen at all. Let them play, and don't be afraid to play a little for yourself. You're going to be shocked at your own growth.