Innovation in K12 Education: Project Based Learning and Play
Mitch Resnik on “Lifelong Kindergarten: Design, Play, Share, Learn” at Stanford. Mitch, in a recent article in Edutopia points out:If this approach is so well aligned with current societal needs, why do we so rarely support it in classrooms? One reason is that our society and our educational system don’t place enough value on creative thinking.
Another reason is a lack of appropriate media and technologies: Wooden blocks and finger paint are great for learning kindergarten concepts (such as numbers, shapes, sizes, and colors). But as children get older, they want and need to work on more advanced projects and learn more advanced concepts. To do that, they need different types of tools, media, and materials.
This is where I believe digital technologies can play their most important role. If properly designed and used, new technologies can extend the kindergarten approach, allowing “students” of all ages to continue learning in the kindergarten style and, in the process, to keep growing as creative thinkers.In my research group at the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, we’ve been developing new technologies specifically to support the kindergarten approach to learning. For example, we’ve collaborated with the Lego Group since 1985 on a collection of robotics construction kits that enable children to imagine and create interactive inventions in the same spirit as kindergartners build towers with blocks.
if you have not had a chance to read about Mitch Resnik, give this article a read for a starter and continue to seek out his research and findings.
Students want to use things in class to learn as well as express themselves. To many times, we as teachers think we know what is best for them, but the students coming to us are different. They interact continually, all day and on multiple levels. As teachers, we need to welcome back the days of kindergarten and learn to play again.
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