#BTColumn – Play is the power tool

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today.

I’ve had some riveting conversations this past week.

Not just with students attending my school, but extra-lessons students too, whose parents have signed them up for ‘Study Skills’ and our Saturday, ‘Robotics and Coding’ classes.

The common denominator should come as no surprise: CHILDREN WANT TO PLAY. Period.

Constantly. In everything. There is no alternative as satisfying to them.

The fact is, children learn most efficiently and effectively through play, regardless of their age.

They do not see play as a diversion; they recognize it as a POWER TOOL. We must acknowledge this and use it, in all teaching, without exception.

A book I read some time ago gave a brilliant example.

When teaching students how to play tennis, do we ask them to sit in a class in Term 1 and go through the history and customs of the game, explaining that when they have passed
the tests, we would then move on to the scoring and layout of the court? No!

Do we then move on, in Term 2, to explaining different racquets, stringing, types of strings – all of which affect ‘shots’ and teach them how to ‘hold’ a racquet and how the grip changes positon for serving, forehand and backhand ‘shots’? No!

For good measure, do we toss in some drills, just for exercise? No!

Do we, in Term 3, when all tests have been passed, apparently to assure parents that the foundations have been learned, then allow students on an actual court to ‘give it a try’? No!

From the first class, we put them on a court TO PLAY. They learn as they go along, from their mistakes. We use their somatosensory abilities to create and improve skills, through movement.

They take risks and improve through using their bodies differently, which takes conscious awareness, trial and error. They have fun, learn to manage frustration, focus on individual performance while working with, and encouraging others, accept advice and learn the rules when they unknowingly break them. THAT is effective learning.

And this is exactly what computer games provide children. The opportunity to take risks when they know they are initially inept; to make, and fix their mistakes.

The act of correction is intrinsic because they all want to progress; they want success and they stick to task to achieve it. They need no external ‘pat on the back’; they pat themselves!

However, I am sadly convinced, that most students are unaware of what is coming at them in their future and the life (rather than gaming) skills they will need. In answer to this, we teach Robotics, Coding and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, ART and Maths). Yet, students and parents both need convincing of the vital importance of learning in these areas. Many see Artificial Intelligence (AI) as still futuristic and heavy-duty programming skills (like Python) as ‘something they can learn when the time comes’.

The time is NOW and an hour here and there, as an ‘extra’, is insufficient.

Analogy: we’re still teaching ‘Latin’ in a world that demands 01010100 01111001 01110010 01100001 01111001 (insert answer in Binary).

Let’s take French or Spanish for example. Why, after five years of learning, and even a Grade 1 at CSEC, are students not proficient in a foreign language; why are most embarrassed to speak it? The majority forget vocabulary as fast as they learn it. Yet few ‘gamers’ ever forget how to play the game for success (and can teach others).

In education, we are doing a lot WRONG. Our students are telling us indirectly, as we overhear their excited conversations with peers, in their gaming-speak, how to motivate them
to learn, and we are just NOT LISTENING.

We continue on, with methods long defunct, committed to achieving those Grade 1s for OURSELVES, all the while quite aware that students are hating school more and more and mentally disengaging.

We write ‘Needs to settle’ or ‘Must try harder” on their Report Cards, when what we should be writing is, ‘I need to develop relevant teaching methods to engage your child’.

I teach 11+ English and I do so through games.

This week, I taught changing Active/Passive Voice giving the ‘Reporters’ (Active speech) a microphone and the ‘Echoes’ (Passive Speech) a headband of Bats (from Halloween costumes).

My students ‘got it’; they figured out immediately the ‘echo-location’ symbolism. I gave them a reference sheet of rules; they tried, referred to the ‘cheat sheet’ for correction, edited their mistakes and in one hour became proficient. Sixty minutes flew by; the comments were, ‘Is class over already?’

One of the most technical topics was ‘played’ and understanding was easy; mistakes were celebrated and the room was filled with laughter and ‘ah-ha’ moments. That is the sweetest sound in a classroom: ‘ah- ha’!

All of us tune in to Wii FM – ‘What’s In It For Me’.

Students want to enjoy what they do and how they learn and they deserve to be taught what is relevant to their lives. So, let’s make games and playing CORE teaching tools for all students, in every subject.

We all love to play. So, let’s play.