| What do we Know? |
Action: What could people do on the basis of this knowledge? |
Questions for Inquiry: What more do we need to know - in order to clarify what people could do or to revise/refine knowledge? |
How to Find this out? |
| -Children naturally engage in play in their learning -Play involves deviating from the direct path from question to answer and requires experimenting, imagining, and having fun |
-Adults may take a point of view in learning that embraces curiosity, naiveté, and openminded exploration -Seek out learning opportunities that are flexibly structured and involve understanding of ideas beyond just acquisition of skill |
What has other research/experience shown about how to embrace play in learning experiences? |
-Ask adults about which learning experiences they have found to be fun (and recall personal examples) -Research examples of successful play in learning settings |
| -Using play in learning may help relieve tension about “being wrong” or “knowing the answer already”. |
-Play can be used at the beginning of a learning situation to help learners become more comfortable with each other and establish a safe, nonjudgmental environment. -Learning situation can be explicitly structured as a forum of encouraging experimentation and even failure. |
In what ways does collaborative play improve learning? How does play influence the understanding that is sought in learning experiences? |
-Describe ways that collaborative play might be used and test in various learning situations. -Review studies of types of play in learning. -Reflect upon and keep a record of new understanding that I gain in the course of play. |
| -I have not frequently considered how direct actions that I take individually effect the collaborative play of learning. -The actions that I take might actually influence the collaboration of the group in learning - this is not wholly determined by the “teacher” or the interpersonal dynamics of the group. |
-Observe actions that I take before, during, and after learning experiences. -Create a specific plan to take action before, during, and after learning. -Develop a learning environment that is student-, rather than teacher-, driven. -In any learning experience, take on the role of “teacher” myself and guide others to engage in collaborative play. |
How do the individual actions that I take influence the collaborative play of the group? |
-Create a plan to take certain types of actions before, during, and after learning. -Seek experiences in everyday life in which no “teacher” is defined and treat them as a “bona fide” learning opportunity. -In my own role as a teacher or student, expose my intentions to play and make my experiments transparent, and observe reactions of myself and others. |
| -Factors beyond my personal control may influence the success of my learning. -Adults in learning situations may not agree to collaborate or engage in play. |
-Set small-scale learning goals for play. -Allow the meaning of “collaborative play” to be understood broadly and include many types of play. |
What might prevent me from taking planned actions in establishing collaborative play? |
-Record and observe how and why planned actions did not get done. -Ask others to review my planned actions and provide explicit support or clarify why my actions may not be realistic. |
| -Play relates to fun in learning and might be observed through facial expressions, laughter, or direct verbal communication. -Collaborative play means that multiple learners are engaged in the same activity of play. |
-Develop fun learning activities that are designed to be inclusive of all learners in a group. -Notice that I am enjoying my learning through metacognitive reflection of my learning while it is happening. |
What do I need to observe in adult learning situations to determine when collaborative play is actually happening? |
-Consider the range of emotions and responses that I express during a learning experience. -Note instances in which are adult learners are engaged with each other how their specific actions relate to their ways of communicating/involving others. |
| -There are organizing groups who already use the notion of play in learning. -Several personal colleagues already express openness for play, including children in my afterschool/preschool and the CCT community. |
-Use my own teaching experiences (preschool) and student experiences (CCT program) to seek support and permission in play activities. |
Who are my potential allies, partners, or assistants in the course of designing, implementing, participating, and observing play? |
-Research groups/workshops that seek to provide practice/training in play in learning. -Explicitly define different roles that supporters might take in play - observer, participant, idea-generator, etc. |
| -Theater principles help people to take on behaviors of other people with foreign/unfamiliar points of view. -Theater principles help people to develop/imagine conceptual realities that are not as obvious to the everday authentic self (empathy). -Theater involves a type of “game” of agreement between actors to temporarily accept the existence of a common fantasy situation. |
-Take theater classes to explore the notions of character, dialogue, and empathy. -Engage in role-play. -Invent ways of perceiving through another’s point of view and try them out during learning. |
What specific principles of the theater perspective might relate to allowing play to happen? |
-Create a Personal Action Plan that utilized theater exercises to prepare me for upcoming collaborative learning situations. -Use theater methodologies to play with ideas or find humor in learning content, and employ these during the learning experiences and observe the results. -Discuss and explore options with others already using integrated theater/education concepts. |
| -Lifelong learning may involve finding specific learning opportunities but also taking an attitude of recognizing long-term learning goals and needs. -Collaborative play may encourage learners to take a long-term view of learning by relieving the “chore” of education. |
-Develop a long-term, continuous plan for what learning experiences one wishes to have. -Find ways to focus on the play of learning with others primarily while considering learning outcome of be secondary at times. |
How does collaborative play support ongoing, lifelong learning? |
-Commit to developing a cycle of planning, implementing, and observing in my own learning. -Ask other adult learners to reflect upon their lifelong learning wishes. -Along with allies, develop a learner’s group for developing and experimenting with collaborative learning ideas. |