Playful Learning

If I were to pick ten articles from the 34-year history of Exchange that most impressed me, near the top of the list would be the 1980 article by Betty Jones, "Creating Environments Where Teachers, Like Children, Learn Through Play," which is included on Exchange's Developing Capable, Creative Teachers CD Book.  In this article she talks about adult play...

"When a child is learning through play she gets to explore — there isn't a predetermined end product.  She has an idea or notion of a direction she would like to pursue and she is free, within broad limits, to do so.  Her motivation comes from within herself as she interacts with the possibilities in the environment.

"Administrators responsible for training staff often find themselves trying to motivate the staff members to learn what has been predetermined that they must learn.  But if you want people to stay excited about their jobs, there has to be some opportunity for them to explore, to be decision makers, to say,

"This is what I want to do next."  That's playful in the very best sense.  Children become active learners through play; and so do adults."

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