Transforming Classrooms: Passion, Imagination, and Play in a New Culture of Learning

Looking back at the videos "A New Culture of Learning" by Douglas Thomas, "Creating Significant Learning Environments" (CSLE), and Dr. Tony Bates on how to create great learning environments, I am encouraged to apply these ideas to my current teaching strategies and innovation project, School Sphere.

Naturalistic Thinking on Learning and Classroom Play

Education is a process that happens organically in our lives but formal education systems can put limitations on this process (Thomas, 2011). If we want to bring learning into line with naturalistic views of learning, we need to construct classrooms rooted in exploration, inspiration and collaboration. My 6th graders are currenlty working on the cardboard pc project where they are to design a pc with all the correct componets out of cardboard. This task exemplifies naturalistic learning by challenging students to combine innovation, problem-solving and cooperation. I try to model true learning experiences in an atmosphere that simulates real life situations.

Enchantment, Inspiration, and Limited Learning.

Thomas writes that a new learning culture relies on passion, imagination, and limitation (Thomas, 2011). This trifecta is apparent in the cardboard PC project and in my high school students' building websites on WordPress. Creativity is the key to creative problem-solving, and constraint is a guide for students' problem-solving. I want to develop a space for all these factors to play together so that students can relate what interests them to what they need to know. With the WordPress project, students can choose their own topics to write about. I am hoping this will help spark their creativity, and then they will be able to practice writing. 

Play as a Learning Framework

Play is the emergent function of rules applied to the imagination and is central to learning (Thomas, 2011). When I teach play, it is not just about playing games but about offering students the freedom to experiment, mess up, and create in a safe environment. For the cardboard PC, for example, students must follow strict technical and design constraints but are free to think creatively. This balance parallels play and its importance in the pursuit of learning.

The Holistic Thinking and Active Learning Cultures.

The CSLE video’s emphasis on whole-brain thinking fits well with mine (CSLE, n.d.). Instead of pursuing skills in isolation or isolated projects, I work to bring the learning environment together so students understand the larger implications of their work. My own innovation project, School Sphere, illustrates this multi-pronged view by centralizing parent, student and teacher communications on one platform. The same goes for my classroom, where students’ projects are linked to industry practices, so learning becomes meaningful and comprehensive.

Transitioning from Reactive to Proactive Teaching.

Making spaces for learning that are intentionally designed and responsive requires deliberate thought (Bates, n.d.). I am trying to predict the needs of my students and accommodate their evolving interests by integrating CSLE and the new culture of learning principles into my curriculum. The cardboard PC project, for instance, was developed based on student suggestions and interests and reflects a deliberate approach to students’ need for active, group learning.

Insights for Innovation Plan

These videos will help guide the next release of School Sphere. Where my school projects combine drive, creativity, and time, School Sphere will focus on building a familiar, user-friendly platform that facilitates connected relationships. By taking a more holistic view of the needs of all parties, I seek to build an innovation that mirrors the ideals of successful learning environments.

By harnessing passion, creativity, and restraint through play and taking a holistic, proactive approach to learning, we can develop life-changing learning spaces sensitive to student's natural curiosity and capacity.

A New Culture of Learning, Douglas Thomas at TEDxUFM

Creating Significant Learning Environments (CLSE)

Dr. Tony Bates on Building Effective Learning Environments

References

Bates, T. (2014). Building effective learning environments [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/3xD_sLNGurA

Harapnuik, D. (2016). Creating significant learning environments (CSLE) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/eZ-c7rz7eT4

Thomas, D. (2011). A new culture of learning, Douglas Thomas at TEDxUFM [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/lM80GXlyX0U