Task 2.1: Pupils will often ask, why are we going to learn or do that? In other words, they want to know why – why they are learning whatever they are learning! Why is learning a good idea? What is your answer to that question? You will probably have more than one (standard-)answer. Now try to think back: how did you answer the why question the last three times you were asked? (If you haven’t been asked by pupils, you might – as a pupil – have heard a teacher answering the why-question). Write the answers down.
Task 2.2: Go hunting more answers! Ask colleagues and fellow students, friends, parents, how they will answer the why question. Write the answers down!
Task 2.3: Now that you – hopefully – have a bunch of answers to the why-question. You will sort the questions into categories. You have to make the categories yourself! How many categories of answers to the why question did you get?
Task 2.4: Now you will go hunting for answers to the why question in relation to playful learning. Why is “playing” and “playfulness” a god idea? Search the list you made in Task 1.3, the following texts and videos for answers to the question: Why is “playing”, “playfulness” and “playful learning” a good idea? Write the answers down; make a list.
Task 2.5: In Task 2.3 you (hopefully) ended up with a list of categories of answers to the why-question (the kind of reasons teachers give for, what they are doing, when asked by pupils why are we going to learn or do whatever is on the learning agenda. In Task 2.4 you ended up with a list of answers the why-question in relation to “playing”, “playfulness” and “playful learning”. Now bring the two lists together! How do the reasons for playfulness fit into the general categories you have identified?
Task 2.6: Who are your two favorite cartoon figures? Imagine that they meet! Let them have a conversation about playing, going to school, and doing playful activities! Do they like it? Or not? Why and why not. You might also want to ask questions, make an interview with the figures, rather than just listening to what they are saying to each other. You can either write down the conversation, record it or film it!
Task 2.7: When you argue for something, there are typically three kinds of arguments:
Let us give an example, you can argue for Gym activities, because such activities are good (useful) for your health; you can also argue for Gym activities, because it is a way of training qualities such as patience and endurance, collaboration and fairness. Such qualities (virtues or positive character traits) can both be useful and be valuable in themselves, and finally you can argue for Gym activities, because of their intrinsic value; they are simply nice, great, fun to do, regardless of their usefulness or whatever else they can bring about. You can read more about the three types of arguments in TEXT BOX 1.1. – When you have read about the three types of arguments, sort the reasons, you have collected for playfulness in the, in the following three categories:
TEXT BOX 1.1: Three types of arguments
TEXT BOX 1.1: Three types of argumentsThe Greek philosopher Aristotle concludes his major political work, Ta Politika, with some considerations on how to approach education in order to succeed in establishing a happy and successful society. The basic idea is simple: A happy society requires citizens who are well-educated. Pedagogy and didactics are therefore not just a private matter, but also a societal matter. What does society need? Aristotle’s answer is threefold. A good and happy society needs useful citizens; it also needs citizens who have a good character; and finally, it needs citizens who have (at least a little) experience with and insight into the larger contexts, i.e. into that which cannot be otherwise. The purpose of education therefore also becomes threefold: the school must ensure that children acquire useful skills, that their character is well-formed, and that they come into contact with the beautiful and gain insight into that which cannot be otherwise. Utility, virtue (or character formation) and insight (wisdom) are the three central pedagogical keywords for Aristotle when it comes to the goals of education. This threefold division is based on his theory of the three lives, which in turn is based on the theory of the trichotomy of goods. Aristotle does not use the term trichotomy of goods, nor did he invent the trichotomy but took it from his teacher Plato. In the work The Republic, Socrates, the literary protagonist of the book, distinguishes between three types of goods: 1) That, which is not good in itself, but only good for something else. An example would be to have medical surgery. It is not particularly cool or nice to have to be operated on, but it can be really good (=useful) in relation to one’s health and survival. The value of surgical procedures lies in their utility. We do not choose it because it has some kind of intrinsic value. The argument for surgical interventions is their usefulness. 2) The next type of good is that which has value for something else but also has value in itself. Plato / Socrates points here to the concept of virtue. Courage, temperance, and justice are examples of virtues. A modern word for virtue is (positive) character traits or excellences. The soldier who shows courage in times of danger is honored and may also contribute to victory. The soldier’s courage is good-for-something-else (honor and victory). In other words, courage can be seen as a useful character trait, but courage – and other virtues – are not only useful. They also express something that is valuable in itself. To be a good soldier is to be brave. Courage is, so to speak, part of the soldier’s DNA. Courage is therefore not just a useful character trait but expresses something central about a brave person – namely, that the person in question is able to deal sensibly with fear. A brave person will undoubtedly experience fear, but instead of being paralyzed by it, as the coward would do, or ignoring the danger, as the foolhardy would do, the brave person manages to balance between being cowed by fear and ignoring the danger. When this happens, one acts in the best way – in accordance with the fundamental purpose of man (telos), namely to realize oneself as what one fundamentally is: a rational being, who is able to deal sensibly with the non-rational aspects of one’s existence. The argument for training courage and other virtues is that virtues can both be useful and be an expression of something valuable in itself. 3) The third type of good that Plato works with is that which is not good for anything else but is good in itself. The best example of such a good is insight or wisdom – insight into that which cannot be otherwise. The Greek word for wisdom is sophia. The word is part of the second part of the word philo-sopher. Philo- means ‘one who loves …’. The philo-sopher loves wisdom. The philosopher’s happiness is not tied to (the possession of) useful things, i.e. external goods. The philosopher’s happiness also does not stand or fall with his or her character. The argument for wisdom (or for the acquisition of insight into that which cannot be otherwise) is, quite simply, that this is something that has value in itself (intrinsic value). Utility, virtue, and insight (wisdom) are, as mentioned, the threefold goals of education. A happy and society both requires and equips its future citizens with 1) useful knowledge and skills, 2) a good character, and 3) at least a taste of insight and wisdom. When Aristotle argues for making music a central subject in schools, he uses all three arguments. Music is useful, if you want to get a party going, but music – as an activity in schools – is also suitable for character formation, for training and practicing virtues and character traits such as patience, interaction and attentiveness to others, and finally, music can open up musical experiences that have value in themselves. Aristotle does not mention playing or the playful approach to teaching, but from the perspective he unfolds, we could ask: what is the usefulness of a playful approach? Does a playful approach have value in relation to character formation? And does a playful approach have value-in-itself? The three types of goods can be illustrated with the figure below.
|