Teaching Playful Learning at Harvard Graduate School of Education
Playful environments are ideal for learning because children are motivated to experiment, create and start exploring on their own. At Harvard Graduate School of Education this summer, Rosan Bosch gave a lecture and workshops on how to bring play into school design.
For the more than 100 participants of the program Learning Environments for Tomorrow: Next Practices for Educators and Architects, Rosan Bosch shared her approach to integrating play in the design concepts of learning environments – rather than resorting to last minutes add-ons.
In the workshops, the participants got hands-on with different types of materials, considering their benefits of sensory stimulation, textures and colors – for example, the soft, padded surfaces constituting cave learning situations where pleasant acoustics aid the students' concentration.
During the three days program, the participating educators and architects from around the world collaborated with design studios to apply principles of effective pedagogy and design to physical learning environment projects they are tackling in their schools and communities. They were inspired to move away from the standard classrooms and corridors of schools and instead design learning landscapes imbued by play.
