The avoidance of “play” does not make good instruction. Instead, good instruction embraces the power of play and directs it through deliberate and purposeful game structures.
It is not “play’s” fault if students do not learn what we need them to learn. We must be deliberate and purposeful in the games we choose, adapt or create so that the structure supports the development of what they are expected to learn in a specific class. People learn through play. The question needs to be, “What is the game structure teaching?”
People of all ages learn through play. As educators, we generally know that, but we constantly avoid using the word play, for fear that it suggests that we are wasting time on frivolous activities instead of diligently instructing our students. We hide behind euphemisms. We do not say play or game, but activity. We call students participants not players. They don’t play, they engage. When we do not admit and teach that learning through play is highly effective for all ages, and we avoid the use of the word, at some point we forget its effectiveness. We allow or witness the elimination of play from instruction.
Play is Not Frivolous
“Play is our brain’s favorite way to learn”
–Diane Ackerman, Contemporary American author
Play is one of the most effective ways in which we learn. It is experiential and multimodal. It can be interactive and reflective. It can be fun, engaging and motivating. It is everything we strive to bring to our lessons, to our teaching, to our students.
People of all ages learn through play. Play can teach one to hide and seek, to tag and avoid, to freeze and observe. One might picture young children playing age-old games that taught survival skills, but one could also see adolescents playing paint ball or adults in the military “engaged” in war games.
Play is a process. A young child building a tower has a purpose: “to build the tallest tower.” As an adolescent, that child now builds a more defined structure in a science or vocational class by applying existing knowledge, experimenting, applying and testing theories, practicing resilience, reflecting and trying again. The children who engage in improvisational play in Pre-K might use a similar process in high school as they “work in collaborative groups” creating scripts or story writing. It is the process of play that is valuable, not whether it is structured or unstructured, or whether its purpose is valuable to another. We learn through play. Whether we are learning what is relevant to a particular course of study is a different question.
The Game Teaches
Through play, students can learn essential communication, social-emotional and interpersonal skills. Play can help students learn to adapt, react, persevere, embrace rigor, and practice gratitude. It can introduce, teach and reinforce any skill, knowledge or attitude that needs to be learned. If, however, the game or structure does not teach the content students need to learn, then that game or structure could accurately be considered frivolous or having no purpose to a given class. If students are playing checkers when they need to be learning concepts in physics or playing a video game that builds societies when they need to be learning algebra, then those activities/structures are frivolous, but play is not. Students are still learning, just not what you need them to learn.
Tap Into the Power of Play
So, if you want your students to learn in a fun, multi-model, experiential and interactive activity that uses critical thinking skills while developing social-emotional skills in a memorable way, use, adapt or create games or structures that will introduce or reinforce the content and standards that need to be addressed. Choose structures that are age appropriate, but don’t discount the appeal of childhood game structures for adolescents and even adults. A good example of that is the childhood game of Duck-Duck-Goose. Traditionally it is used to teach younger children to develop focus, awareness, gross motor skills, appropriate touch and resilience. It is, however also adapted and used to teach children, teenagers and adults to develop focus, awareness, observation skills and a freedom of movement in theater studies.
Theater Game structures:
Originally designed to teach a diverse immigrant population theatrical skills and concepts, theater games offer a large variety of structures that are appropriate from Pre-K to adult and can often be integrated with curricular content.
Improv Game Structures:
There are many games from which to choose and they are appropriate from about age eight to adult. They keep the entire class involved, only a small space is needed, take only 3-5 minutes and integrating content can be easy.
Video Games:
Remember that the question is not whether students learn from playing video games. They learn. Find games that will support your curriculum and standards.
Three Things to Do:
- Use the word Play. If we avoid its role in learning it will continue to disappear from our schools and classrooms.
- Articulate to others that learning happens through “play” and that the game structure will teach what needs to be taught. For example, you might say to a fellow educator, parent or even students that: “The class will be playing a game. During this game, students will be engaged in a multi-modal, experiential and collaborative learning experience, in which they will play an improvisational role-play scenario game. While they are developing and practicing, collaborative, social-emotional and interpersonal skills, they will research defining events and strategies in 20th century U.S. foreign policy and explore the application of those strategies in the 21st century.” Does playing that game seem frivolous or without purpose?
- Use play as often as possible. Don’t relegate it to the review game at the end of the unit of study.
“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity.”
–Carl Jung
[reminder]What game structures have you used to support learning?[/reminder]
