Learning through Exploration and Play

We recently had a discussion in our Leadership Team about purchasing programs with school funds; those programs are getting more expensive, and not all students or classrooms are actually using them. Additionally, we do not have the data to indicate that these programs are actually making a difference for a majority of our students. Is it worth spending that kind of money on technology?

Recently, George Couros posted this blog, "Personalized Learning vs Personalization of Learning," and he states, ""Technology is powerful and creates opportunities that I couldn't even imagine as a student, and we would be crazy not to embrace and build upon what is in front of us. But if it dehumanizes our schools, then we have forgotten that we not only there to develop learners, but people as well." I also read this blog, "Why I Left Silicon Valley, Ed Tech, and 'Personalized' Learning" by Paul Emerich, as well as this one "5 Risks Posed by the Increasing Misuse of Technology in Schools" by Diana Ravitch. I believe in the use of technology to explore, discover, create, and share, but I have mixed feelings about students sitting in front of the computer to do a "program" when we aren't checking usage or whether it's making a difference for our students.

That is why I am so excited when I see hands-on learning happening at our school. No technology needed. Just a great activity where students are learning through exploration and play. We have different activities in the library that encourage problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity. Students love going to the library to "play" with other students, and they often create awesome structures! They are learning through exploration and play, unbounded by rules about the ":correct" way to build. What I love about these activities is that they are so open-ended, and students can use them in different ways to collaborate and create.

Recently, our kindergarten students had the opportunity to participate in several different activities for the 100th day of school. The one I liked best was using 100 paper cups to collaborate and create. With limited instructions (students had to share with group members but could build together or on their own - some started off individually but realized they could build something bigger if they built together), the students made some awesome structures!  I observed a group of students dividing their 100 cups equally amongst all team members. Others just eyeballed it or took a stack and got started. I saw groups discussing with each other first and then building while other groups started off individually then combined their ideas. There was no bickering but lots of encouragement. When a stack toppled, students picked up the cups and started over. What was great was that no two creations looked alike!

So were the students learning through this activity? Definitely! They used words like more, less, higher, taller, and shorter. They stacked cups into towers of equal height or stacked them pyramid-style. And maybe more importantly, they were developing perseverance and learning the power of collaboration and teamwork. Here are just a few examples of their creations.

Later that week, I went to the Makerspace and observed third graders who were learning about different types of simple machines. They were presented with challenges, and that day's challenge was to invent a machine that could toss a ping pong ball high enough to catch. Each group had the same materials, and each student had to draw their design and explain it to their teammates. After that, each team discussed their ideas and came up with one plan they would try. There was a lot of discussion, and each team agreed on their plan. Some chose one student's plan, and others opted to combine different plans to build their machine. Then it was time to build and then try their machines out. Some were successful, and others needed a little bit of revising. What was great was that all students were so engaged and worked well together. They cheered for other teams when they were successful, and gave suggestions to teams that were not. They were truly learning through exploration!

School is an opportunity for teachers and students to learn together. That teacher-student relationship is vital to empowering and engaging students in their learning. It was evident in both classrooms that students were applying what they had learned, not just the academic skills but also social-emotional skills. This is something that a computer cannot do. Computers can take data on what a student knows or how a student does on an assignment, but computers cannot encourage him/her to persevere if students are having problems. They cannot figure out where a student is having difficulty and provide interventions or strategies to help him/her to succeed on the task.

Technology is wonderful and will only improve with time. As I stated earlier, technology is a wonderful tool for exploring, discovering, creating, and sharing. Often, however, low-tech or no-tech can be just as successful, engaging, and empowering for students.