Learning Through Play!

For this short STEAM unit, we will be orchestrating various opportunities for students to learn through open-ended play! We are focusing on Global Goals 4 and 5: providing an inclusive and effective learning environment for all students, regardless of gender, socioeconomics, etc.

The first thing we did to set kids up for this unit was to entice them with all these awesome tech opportunities, highlighting what they do and how the students can use them to to explore and learn.

We told the kids that only one gender would have the opportunity to use these, while the other gender would color quietly. We made broad generalizations to justify this choice (girls like art more, girls are quieter and like to do more fine motor activities or the boys get too rowdy so they need a quiet activity, the girls are already good at art so the boys need additional practice) and the responses were immediate, large, and indignant. I was really proud of some students of the opposite sex who stood up for their peers, pointing out that we were being unkind, sexist, and unfair. They were great, passionate discussions, and resulted in cheers when we told them everyone could use any materials they want!

. Then we let the kids explore with these dynamic materials! We will be reflecting on how open-ended play with these materials help them learn!