Developing the Sixth Sense: Play
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| Title: | Developing the Sixth Sense: Play |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Baines, Lawrence A., Slutsky, Ruslan |
| Source: | Educational Horizons. Win 2009 87(2):97-101. |
| Availability: | Pi Lambda Theta, Inc. 4101 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47401-5599. Tel: 800-487-3411; Fax: 812-339-3462; e-mail: office@pilambda.org; Web site: http://www.pilambda.org/horizons/publications%20index.htm |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Physical Description: | |
| Page Count: | 5 |
| Publication Date: | 2009 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Descriptive |
| Education Level: | Elementary Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Homework, Play, Classroom Environment, Academic Achievement, High Stakes Tests, Teaching Methods, Student Motivation, Conventional Instruction, Educational Games |
| ISSN: | 0013-175X |
| Abstract: | Traditional ways of teaching--working from a textbook, designing quizzes, and assigning seat work--are predicated on the idea of students' ability and desire to self-regulate. However, these sedentary techniques are ineffective with unmotivated students and poor readers. Teachers commonly invoke fear of failure in an attempt to engage students in the activity at hand. "This will be on the test!" has become a modern-day mantra. But such an appeal does not work with students who do not fear failing grades. Student apathy is one reason "traditional" approaches to teaching have yielded such mediocre results in recent years, at least according to national and international benchmarks. The OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) conducted an exhaustive study of achievement in the K-12 schools of thirty countries and found no correlation between the amount of homework and student achievement levels. Similarly, no correlation has been found between achievement and high-stakes testing, measured by various international and national exams (Baker and LeTendre 2005). The relentless emphasis on test scores in K-12 schools has resulted in an erosion of play and an active skepticism about fun, even among the youngest children. Play, an essential component of healthy human development, has been shown to affect creativity, cooperation, openness, and intelligence positively. When a teacher turns learning into play, students no longer need to be coerced: they are intrinsically motivated to participate and they become eager to engage in the activity again in the future. In this article, the authors discuss the importance of developing and amalgamating play to learning to direct the focus and energy of students toward academic goals. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Number of References: | 15 |
| Entry Date: | 2009 |
| Accession Number: | EJ826480 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Traditional ways of teaching--working from a textbook, designing quizzes, and assigning seat work--are predicated on the idea of students' ability and desire to self-regulate. However, these sedentary techniques are ineffective with unmotivated students and poor readers. Teachers commonly invoke fear of failure in an attempt to engage students in the activity at hand. "This will be on the test!" has become a modern-day mantra. But such an appeal does not work with students who do not fear failing grades. Student apathy is one reason "traditional" approaches to teaching have yielded such mediocre results in recent years, at least according to national and international benchmarks. The OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) conducted an exhaustive study of achievement in the K-12 schools of thirty countries and found no correlation between the amount of homework and student achievement levels. Similarly, no correlation has been found between achievement and high-stakes testing, measured by various international and national exams (Baker and LeTendre 2005). The relentless emphasis on test scores in K-12 schools has resulted in an erosion of play and an active skepticism about fun, even among the youngest children. Play, an essential component of healthy human development, has been shown to affect creativity, cooperation, openness, and intelligence positively. When a teacher turns learning into play, students no longer need to be coerced: they are intrinsically motivated to participate and they become eager to engage in the activity again in the future. In this article, the authors discuss the importance of developing and amalgamating play to learning to direct the focus and energy of students toward academic goals. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0013-175X |
