Teaching Practicum: The Importance of Play and Creativity in Primary schools

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Recommended: My philosophy as a good grade teacher in constructivism

It was a Friday afternoon with class three and the children were very excited. We had planned an activity on play, which was “adult directed” (Study topic 13, p.5) where the children were given many different materials with which they could build a model that had to do with water that was their present unit of inquiry. We often plan classes like this on Friday afternoons because the children seem to have difficulties concentrating at the end of the week. The materials we gave them ranged from Lego and wood blocks, to construction paper and felt tipped pens. The class was divided into boys and girls, and they were left alone to build whatever they wanted on two large tables at the back of the class. The students had two forty-minute periods to work on it while we took photos, gave a little guidance, and answered questions. We observed how the children interacted and constructed with a common goal. They were for the most part left alone to have the feeling that they were playing in a self-directed way (Study topic 13, p.28). The class started to construct as soon as they got back from the afternoon break with little instruction as we had informed them about how the afternoon would be first thing in the morning.

Evaluation

I noticed one child was constructing something away from the rest of the group. I asked him why he was not at the big tables constructing with the others. He informed me he wanted to work with the rest of the boys, but that one of the boys takes too much control and he did not like working with him. I accompanied him to present his water tower to the rest of the boys, who thought it was a great idea and they decided together where to put it. We do step in from time to time to structure play to pr...

... middle of paper ...

... us in many ways, and sometimes parents do come in to show their expertise, but I think we could do a little better. When I was in Reggio Emilia I was struck by the constant involvement of the parents with the school. Education there is a family affair. At Reggio schools everything at the school is creatively thought out from the plants in the reception to the cooks who are also respected teachers. To me they are the ultimate in creativity and they are always trying to improve.

Works Cited

Carla Rinaldi. (2006) In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia Listening, researching and learning. London and New York,Routledge.

International Baccalaureate Organization. (2009) Making the PYP happen: A curriculum framework for international primary education. Cardiff, IBO.

Woods, P. (1995) Creative Teachers in Primary Schools, Buckingham, Open University Press

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