Student led learning

In foundation years, students have access to the "tools of the culture" (Grey, 2013).  In the book "Free to Learn" Grey discusses his views on play from an evolutionary perspective, that is "play is nature's way of ensuring that young mammals, including young humans, will practice and become good at the skills they need to develop to survive and thrive in their environments" (p.119).  What are the tools of our culture?  Pens, pencils, paper, iPads, counting, money, etc.  And into the future...  complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, co-ordinating with others, emotional intelligence.
http://canterburytech.nz/blog/10-job-skills-will-need-2020/

Reading, writing and number are modelled constantly through play. Students model it through dramatic play. They play shop keepers and ask for play money use.  Other children love drawing and making books, and cards etc.  Many children love writing letters and numbers on their iPads. They also watch teachers use the tools.

Last week, one student who has been at school for just over a year, begun to get excited about reading.  Up to this point, reading was a drag, it didn't interest him.  Yes, he would read with me once a day, but it really wasn't his thing.  However, he loves numbers.  He spent significant amounts of time counting and sharing a number app with another friend who also loved counting. He loved dominoes and other number games.  He loved solving problems. But words and reading - Hmm not yet!

On this particular day, he bounded into the room and asked to read with me.  The previous day he had read a book and finally, read the words.  One of those days when the light bulb goes on and all the mini skills he had been learning came together.  In that one moment, he decided he liked reading.  I sat down with him immediately and he read a book to me.   It wasn't long before there were some words which were new to him.  I grabbed some paper and wrote them down.  I said, "these are the words you will need to know".   He continued to read ... before I knew it he had taken the paper and begun to write other words down that he needed.  At the end of the book, he read through his hand written list, carefully.  Then he stapled the list to the wall.  When a teacher came in, he took them to his list and went through the list again. He went and took a book off the book shelf (something I hadn't often observed him do to often) and started to read it.

I would much rather wait until a student is ready to learn something and is passionate, than drill and pester them to learn something they really not ready for. I think we do students a disservice when we make learning, surface level learning by pushing them to learn what we think is important.  By waiting for the time when this child turned his head towards the learning and saw it as culturally relevant to him and applied his focus to learning, not only is he improving, but he is having fun. More importantly, he is learning deeply.

Learning deeply

He is learning how to  learn.  He knows from his success with numbers, that if he perseveres he can learn new things.  He loves showing off his abilities.  He loves helping other students who are just behind where he is by using his insight into what has helped him to learn.  He is enjoying using his learning in the context of a play based learning community.

Sticking at it

We call it using your stickability muscle, but sometimes, the persevering takes months.  We discuss the learning pit by Guy Claxton, and students learn that no matter what they are learning, that if it feels difficult and they want to give up, it probably is worth pursuing.   Of course it is up to us teachers to make sure the next steps are appropriate and in that zone!   It reminds me learning isn't linear, it is back and forth, uneven.

Grey continues.... "Young humans everywhere, when left to their own devices, play at the kinds of skills that people must develop to thrive as adults.  He also pointed out that human beings, much more so than the young of any other species, must learn different skills depending on the unique culture in which they develop".

It is not so much what we learn, but how we learn that matters into the future.

What is the culture in your learning community?  Are the students watching how to learn?  Do you have faith in the student, in their ability to know when they need to learn something and to support them when they are ready?  Are you listening to their voice?  I don't actually think it matters too much what the learning is about ( I mean I think we know the particular skills students need) but it matters more how they learn it.  That is where our focus should be.  It is the skill of how, that will go through life with them, it is that skill they will need into the future.



Grey, P. (2013) Free to Learn - Why unleashing the instinct to play will make our children happier, more self-reliant and better students for life.  Basic Books, New York.