My first year as a teacher was quite a challenge for me. Considering that my main experience was as an engineer, there were many challenges I had to face. However, as I share in my Manifesto, my passion for children's entertainment has always played an important role in my life. Now, like in any profession, preparation is essential. One can have talent or enjoy performing a role, but to do it correctly and effectively, one must receive formal education. This is where I find the foundation on which I can rely to develop and direct my passion into an efficient practice, in other words, how to transform my classroom environment by incorporating play as a way to foster creativity and imagination, which I consider fundamental for any deep and lasting learning.
Consulting numerous references from experts on the subject, I have understood the tremendous power that play has in education. As Thomas (TEDx Talks, 2012) mentions, imagination begins with a very powerful phrase: 'What if?' The freedom that games give students to make any decision they want, taking risks and dealing with the consequences, has a value that goes beyond academic learning. Another benefit I have discovered in the references I consulted is the opportunity for students to learn or acquire knowledge without even realizing it. For example, as Ryu (2013) demonstrates in his study, students who speak English as a second language expanded their vocabulary by learning phrases while interacting with other players online. His conclusion is based on the idea that promoting repetitive practice and interaction with fellow collaborators guarantees the success of learning.
Child development psychologist Jean Piaget discovered this principle that information became 'susceptible to play' once it was assimilated and repeated. Therefore, if we can find a way for this to happen without it being boring and forced, we would be betting on the success of our students' learning.
On the other hand, as Thomas and Brown (2011) point out, in a world of constant change, play becomes a strategy for embracing change rather than a way to overcome it. Therefore, traditional approaches to learning are obsolete. In relation to this point, these authors believe that games can challenge the traditional structures of education and change the way students engage in the learning process.
After hearing about the study conducted by biologist William Muir through Margaret Heffernan's talk (TED, 2015), I have discovered another advantage of implementing games in my classroom learning environment. As she points out, individual productivity is only achieved by suppressing the productivity of others. The benefits of teamwork are countless, but for me, achieving progress for my entire classroom is my greatest goal. By promoting teamwork, where connections reinforce the bonds, loyalty, and trust among all, we can achieve this goal successfully. I truly believe that play is the perfect setting to promote the three main components that Thomas (TEDx Talks, 2012) proposes: passion, imagination, and a scenario with obstacles and challenges (constraints).
As I plan to implement Blended Learning in my Innovation Plan, the rotation model consists of four stations (Small Group, Digital, writing, and reading). However, none of them really defines the type of activities I should use. As I mentioned, in my first year as a teacher, I used different activities that I found fun and were focused on the lesson's objective. Students did not have a structured model like the rotation model I propose. Some lessons were more structured and traditional, while others were more fun. There was no pattern or time frame. Now that I have found evidence of how useful and practically essential it is to incorporate play into my learning environment, I propose within my innovation plan to use fun activities designed with the purpose and direction required for the day's lesson.
Thomas and Brown (2011) argue that learning should be seen in terms of an environment (p. 35). This represents a change in the way we think and use the space and time we have. It also requires time to plan and create these types of activities, especially in a bilingual classroom. However, within the first phase of my innovation plan, when presenting the proposal, I intend to capture the attention and interest of my colleagues and first-grade peers so that together, we can share and adopt this new learning environment and generate a variety of resources to exchange. Any change generates resistance, but when you have so much evidence and successful results, it's easier to convince and motivate others to join the change.
Beyond what it means to understand the COVA learning approach in the courses I have taken, using it in the implementation of my innovation plan also strengthens my credibility in that approach. Creating our own plan, where the options are selected according to our interests and preferences, presenting it, and receiving approval from school authorities empowers and motivates us to make it a success. That's why I'm sure that the more colleagues join this new learning environment, the greater the reach and the results will surpass any expectations.
References
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change. CreateSpace.
Ryu, D. (2013). Play to Learn, Learn to Play: Language Learning through Gaming Culture. ReCALL, 25(2), 286–301. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0958344013000050
TEDx Talks. (2012, September 13). A New Culture of Learning, Douglas Thomas at TEDxUFM [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM80GXlyX0U
TED. (2015, June 16). Margaret Heffernan: Why it’s time to forget the pecking order at work [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyn_xLrtZaY