We create lasting bonds through play, but the role of play in learning is an idea that continues to meet resistance.
Part of the reason may be the tone. We like our learning serious, deliberate and academic. This is reflected by a parallel insistence on an outcomes-based learning system, where learning objectives are set and assessments written in advance, and subsequent instruction is revised only on the basis of data taken from these assessments. (See “10 Ways Data Can Sabotage Your Teaching.”)
And the process itself is based on a bunch of industrialized and depersonalized “learning standards” that, while well-intentioned and designed to provide a “common body of knowledge,” dictate the conditions for learning from the outside looking in. Image conceit must exist to predetermine what the student will understand as a result of the learning experience! (I just pray Grant Wiggins isn’t reading this.)
i like video games“play” suffers from a juvenile connotation that’s unfortunate. Although the most “professional” adults continue to play, such efforts are often covered up or excused with ridiculous terms and explanations. Why apologize for creating your own goals and terms of engagement?
3 factors that make the game exciting
Ultimately, the game offers three critical components for the engaged mind: independence, willand curiosity. None of this suggests that students should be given an iPad, a box of Legos, and any app they want to download and have fun with. But it does suggest some remarkable changes in how learning happens.
Charles Darwin’s teacher said he wouldn’t amount to much because he spent too much time “playing” with insects.
But as the video explains, it’s never just a game.
Image credit to flickr user bobbyjames; A visual exploration of why play is necessary for learning
