Monica Vilhauer
This text which was very academic but touches a very essential aspect of learning and the dynamic of learning: Play.
I have reflected on my own practice and how participating is crucial for students to understand and build knowledge.
The interactions and experiences that the “play” offers help the participants to build a shared understanding of the “truth” as well as a personal understanding and a self development experience.
This shared experience is the opportunity to build connection between the teacher and the learner and to put them both on a same level of participants. It creates a dynamic relationship and a movement within the class where all participants are responsible for their own actions and learning.
My reservations would be on the willingness of the participants or participating spectator, the wiliness to play and to pay attention to play to gain knowledge and play with others. If the students remains disengage it would create a more traditional situation of teacher vs students or lecturer vs spectators.
It would also requited the students to be open to work with others, allowing them inside their experience to learn together and share this responsibility.
As a tutor, I have noticed the positive effect of learn by participatory and play and cohesion would influence the way students would learn but also how the teaching would be more efficient and simply fun and relaxed by removing the image of students as containers.
However it would also require some control to make sure the play feels both genuine and choreographed as teaching staff responsible for all students.
I also wonder how much could I let go of the control to truly participate beside using play as a learning tool.
One response to “Understanding Art – The Play of Work and Spectator’”
In my past teaching experiences, relinquish control within individual assignments seemed to have played a key part in the student’s learning journey as well as outcome. As the overall framework and conditions/expectations are set by course structure and the Unit itself, general parameters are established. To more students can realise their own role in education, contributing to not only their own but more so others creative journey, the better the overall experience and outcome. However, there seems to be a conflict in interest when grading outcomes (summative assessment), as most of the actual progress made by a student takes place in- and outside of school. Formative assessments and regular check-ins do help, but by now means paint a cohesive picture of a student’s progress and learning journey.