So, I am in the middle of reading "Free to Learn" by Peter Gray in which he shares his view on the importance of play when it comes to learning. There have been a few statements in the book that I would debate when it comes to schools, but there are a number of interesting views as well.
Dr. Gray points out that those who have studied and written about play have identified five characteristics of play: 1-Play is self-chosen and self-directed, 2-In play the means are more valued than the ends, 3-Play does have structure and rules that emanate from the minds of the players, 4-Play is imaginative and non-literal, and 5-Play involves an active, alert, but non-stressed frame of mind. As I read his words I started to find myself substituting the word "learning" for "play". (This, by the way, is Gray's basic point in the book.)
If LEARNING IN SCHOOL was..
1. self-chosen and self-directed, it would be something students would want to do rather than feel obligated to do. They would find liberty in their pursuit of learning and share the same feeling of "Yes, this is what I want to do right now."
2. motivated by means more than the ends,it would be intrinsically motivated (curiosity/passion) rather than extrinsically motivated (grades/GPA). Students would enjoy learning the subject and would have little focus or care about the test. If the only goal of "playing" a game is to win at all cost then cheating will be rampant (Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France comes to mind), but if there is joy in "playing" the game the outcome is secondary. Similarly, if the only (or main) goal of learning in school is the good grade at all cost than cheating will be rampant, but if the learning is synonymous with "play" cheating would be pointless.
3. set up through a structure and rules that emanated from the minds of the students (players) then students would have the freedom to decide how they would learn and how they would be judged to be successful or not. The "rule" for adults (teachers) would be to allow the students to develop their own thinking rather than the thinking of the adults. Adults would be sure to listen to the kids in order to choose a situation or ask the next question for them to make connections which would allow students to build THEIR own thinking. At the same time, it is not a free-for-all because just like all players must agree to the rules of the game/play and work together in order to follow/enforce them in order to enjoy the fun, students and teachers must work together to do the same if learning and play are to be interchangeable.
4. imaginative and non-literal, then the structure of the classroom would allow for more creativity by not forcing ONE answer on a student and give students the freedom to explore and invent new ways of solving a problem or understanding a concept that works for them. When a student learns how to ride a bike we don't lecture them on how to ride a bike or require that they know all the parts of the bike before riding it. Nor do we get on the bike and show them how to ride it just because they have never done it before. Instead we allow the students to try it out and figure it out with our support as needed. Learning in school should work the same way.
5. allowed to take place in a non-stressed frame of mind for the students, then the students would be more able to relax in order to problem solve, develop creative solutions, and effectively communicate because there would be little to no fear of failure. Just as Dr. Gray points out in this book, Shawn Achor points out in the Happiness Advantage, that positive emotions broaden our perceptions and range of thought and as a result we are able to learn, solve problems, be more creative, and "see" someones view (empathy) more effectively under a low stress frame of mind. Formative assessments, such as having a check-in or conversation with a student, are assessments FOR understanding that allow for students to learn in a low stress environment. This is contrary to the high stakes testing or pressure from too many summative assessments (assessments OF learning) that often take place in a classroom. In this low stress environment learning can take place more effectively because the student's mind is more alert and active in this safe environment.
Upon further reflection, I am not sure that play and learning can't be synonyms when thinking about schools. Each of these characteristics of play can be characteristics of learning as well. They are only limited by the boundaries that are artificially set by the system we currently have in place in schools. However, that same system was created/developed by us and can be changed/evolved by us as well.
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