Play in the classroom is usually associated with only the youngest children in schools.
Some Sea to Sky School District teachers, though, use play to teach older students through Pathway of Play and Exploration. The program takes an “aboriginal world view lens” and encourages students at the middle school level to experiment with play as a way to spur creative thinking and problem solving. It can also help visual or tactile learners.
The teachers started last fall with Play, Learn, Snack and Chat for the youngest children from kindergarten through Grade 3. The program is voluntary, and taking a cue from aboriginal traditions, sessions begin and end in a circle.
“We never went in with the intent of this is what you have to do,” Lynne Bouchard, a teacher with the district’s instructional leadership team (ILT), told school trustees during a presentation at the most recent board meeting.
For the program, they looked for games like the sliding block game Rush Hour or other games that encourage critical thinking, some of which are collaborative.
While play seems to go hand in hand with the younger children, it is not so common in classrooms as students get older.
“Intermediate teachers don’t necessarily know what play looks like in a Grade 7 class,” said Heidi Kubin, a Don Ross teacher who also works with the ILT.
More recently, Kubin and the ILT tried the play approach with students in Grades 4 through 9 at an Exploration Café at Don Ross Middle School.
On their own, teachers held a circle as part of the session to first discuss what they liked to play as teenagers to start the conversation about play, bringing in games and books to see what they could use in the classroom.
“We were so excited and impressed about the conversations that were starting to happen,” Kubin said.
One Grade 5-6 teacher, she said, had questioned why they should offer play to intermediate students and thought it was irrelevant but had an “Aha” moment about the logic behind play once they started.
“Teachers are at different comfort levels on what play might look like in their classrooms,” said Lisa Smart, an ILT member who teaches in Whistler.
For the classroom, they also invited students to bring games from home, other than electronic ones. One of the main goals was to help students develop skills, learn from mistakes and adapt.
A couple of Don Ross students talked to the board of education about the experience, such as working in a collaborative setting.
“Everybody pitches in their idea,” Katie Yaremkewich told trustees.
Fellow student Ella Batcho elaborated on the session, saying it was fun to work in a group to come up with ideas.
They also got to play around in the computer lab and put together a newspaper based on events from 2015.
Batcho also liked getting to know classmates better through the Exploration Café and said she now feels more focussed in class.
“Your mind kind of just feels fresh again,” she said.
Since the board meeting, the ILT, including member and Howe Sound Secondary teacher Christa Duttchen, introduced the play concept through Walk and Talk to Grade 10-12 students, many currently working on coursework that can be heavy.
All the sessions tie into one of the school district’s six “pathways” or strategies for learning in its strategic plan, as it encourages collaboration, creative thinking and problem solving.
“We talk about play as a pathway to competency development,” Smart said.
School trustees were impressed with the presentation by the teachers and the students.
“It’s refreshing to see the enthusiasm of both students and teachers,” trustee Ian Kent said, while his colleague Laura Godfrey added, “I think you’ve tapped into something really neat.”
