In my quest to dive into the world of different pedagogies and attempt to research how to make my teaching more dynamic I have picked up this book. If I am being honest I have struggled with the academic language, (and I confess I have not read the whole book) but I have found it interesting non-the-less (and it felt good to be challenged).
‘…Gadamer finds artwork and spectator to be participants in a continuous to-and-fro play of presentation and recognition in which meaning is communicated, and a shared understanding of some subject matter takes place.’ (Vilhauer, 2010, P31)
‘Play’ refers to the interactions between one and another where another could refer to a person, animal, an object etc and refers to pretty much anything that we do in daily life. Learning requires a back and forth exchange of knowledge and is therefore a form of play.
‘Play, then, is fundamentally something larger than the individual player or his mental state; it is a pattern of movement that surpasses the players, and is something which both players belong.’ (Vilhauer, 2010, P32)
Within the context of teaching Textiles Knit play features in everything we do
- Lectures – knowledge exchanged between lecturer and student
- Tutorials and crits – interactions between teacher and learner
- Workshops – student interacts with machinery, yarns and materials
- Sketchbooks – students explore their subject by responding through research/drawing/collage
- Market research – student interacts with physical knit objects then reflects and responds as part of design development
The idea of play as described by Gadamer, could be used to create more of a dynamic environment within my session. Games/quizzes would break up lectures and make for more interaction. It could generate opportunities for students to mix with other students they don’t know eg. – selecting a drawing medium for someone on the opposite side of the class, (as discussed with Linda in my observation feedback)– this also generates more conversation amongst more people within the room.
In conclusion – play is a great tool for the learning environment.