PYP Connect 2016: Derek Pinchbeck www.thirstforthinking.org Why do we stop children being playful learners then worry about how to make them creative? PYP Connect 2016: Derek Pinchbeck www.thirstforthinking.org

Learning Outcomes Understand the importance of a playful mindset in the learning process Reflecting upon how a culture of playful learning and creativity can be developed. Empowering teachers to make their classrooms more creative

Ice Breaker How do your students know what you value in your class?

What is play? Play is self chosen and self directed Play is an activity in which means are more valued than ends Play has a structure or rules that are not dictated by physical necessity but emanate from the minds of players Play is imaginative Play involves an active, alert, but non- stressed frame of mind

What is the school experience of many children Teacher directed Valued only as a means to achieve a grade or other external reward Has a structure and rules emanating from the minds of the teachers rather than the students Lacks active imaginative engagement Involves passive students in a stressed frame of mind

Provocation Play isn’t the enemy of learning, it’s learning’s partner. Play is like fertilizer for brain growth. It’s crazy not to use it. Brown S (2010) p101

Twitter Challenge Justify in 140 characters or less why you try to develop a playful mindset to learning?

Envision a culture of creativity David Gauntlett & Bo Stjerne Thomsen 2013

4 Key Elements to a Culture of Creativity Playing Thinking Making Sharing

Provocation If you could do just one thing to make the culture of your class room more creative what would it be?

Three domains that result in creativity : Teresa Ambile

Obstacles to making your classroom more creative Time Resources Perceptions of student ability Assessment

Time Creativity takes time. Be purposeful and strategic What knowledge and skills do students need to be able to create?

Deep immersion into ideas Discovery Deep immersion into ideas Synthesis/Empathy Problem posing

Creating Ideation Prototyping Testing

Resources Resource for versatility. If something tells you what you can do with it, it probably won’t aid creativity! Let students self select.

Provocation Great resources don’t have to cost the earth. It’s not the cost its what you do with it! Make a pitch to the group for a particular resource to empower creativity in your class. The resource must cost less than $100 and ideally is free.

Perceptions of Student Abilities: Rosenthal/Pygmalion Effect http://careerprime.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Pygmalion-Effect.png

Sharing our expertise Think of something you currently teach in a ‘drier’ way than you would like. Share the challenge Help each other with ideas to use play as ‘learning’s partner’ to help students engage with the same concept and content.

Assessment : Allowing for creativity Are you clear what you are assessing? This is the part everyone has to include. What bits of the assessment allow for student choice and creativity in showing the assessed understanding?

Show the group your main take away from this webinar so far. You can: Practical Example Show the group your main take away from this webinar so far. You can: Create an analogy: Creativity is like…. because… Compose a newspaper headline. Design an advertising slogan Present in a way of your own choosing.

How has the environment I’ve created inspired learning? Mental check sheet How has the environment I’ve created inspired learning? Have learners been able to exercise a degrees of autonomy over their own learning? Have my learners been able to take on a range of different group roles whilst creating meaning? Have my learners had a chance to play with ideas and objects prior to creating? Have my learners created something of meaning to them? Have learners been able to share what they have created with people important to them?

Final Thought Instead of making kindergarten more like the rest of school, we need to make the rest of school-indeed the rest of life- more like kindergarten. Mitch Resnick: Life Long Kindergarten

References and recommended resources Brown, S (2010) Play Brown, S TED Talk http://bit.ly/1MagRsh Gauntlett, D & Stjerne Thomsen, B (2013): Cultures of Creativity (www.legofoundation.com) Gray, P ( 2013) Free to Play Grob- Zakhary (2013) Neuroscience of Play (Video) https://vimeo.com/91862112 Robinson K (2015) Creative Schools Rochat, P (2013) Why play? The meaning of play in relation to creativity Pinchbeck, D http://www.thirstforthinking.org/thirst-for-thinking-blog

Recommended resources Ambile T (1988) : A model of creativity and innovations in organizations http://www.legofoundation.com/en-us/research-and-learning/research-and-learning Great resource for creativity and play research and source for the video in slide 4 and image in slide 13 http://www.designthinkingforeducators.com/ Free download of Design Thinking Tool Kit Martenez S & Stager G (2013) Invent to Learn also http://inventtolearn.com/resources/ page of the website linked to the book gives list of all resources http://notosh.com/lab/ Excellent source of free Design Thinking Resources Robinson K (2015) Creative Schools Wagner T (2012) Creating Innovators: The making of young people who will change the world.