don't forget to play

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LETTER FROM the editor Don’t Forget to Play Richard Feynman was stuck. Following the wrap-up of the Manhattan Project, he felt burned out and could not come up with any new ideas for his research. Sitting in the cafeteria at Cornell University, where he had accepted a position to teach and conduct research, Feynman reflected on the joy that physics had once brought him and how he had played with new ideas. Casting his worries aside, he decided to play with physics again. Shortly thereafter, Feynman observed a colleague tossing a plate into the air. He noticed that the medallion on the plate rotated faster than the wobble rate. Intrigued, Feynman began investigat- ing the motion of the plate. There was no particular impor- tance to this work, but it was fun, and he was now enjoying physics again. Of course, ultimately this research turned out to be very important. In Feynman’s words, “The dia- grams and the whole business that I got the Nobel Prize for came from that piddling around with the wobbling plate” (Feynman, 1985, p. 174). As we move deeper into content-based learning in science and mathematics, and the accompanying rounds of testing that this has engendered, it is important to maintain the joyfulness of play and discovery in our classrooms. Play and scientific inquiry have much in common. Play is a way of life for young children. They are on a mission to find out about their world, and their mode of discovery is through play. In Piaget’s words, “To under- stand is to invent” (Piaget, 1973). By this Piaget meant that rather than being told information, children must construct their own knowledge of the world by interacting with objects and people. These interactions occur primarily through play. As an example, two-year-old Charlie, who is dining out with his parents, quickly begins to explore the new and fascinating objects at the table. He picks up his plate to see how it feels, crumbles up his napkin and watches how it gently unfolds, and taps his glass, his plate, and the table with a spoon to hear how they sound. When Charlie’s macaroni arrives, he touches it and says “hot.” Soon, he shoves some of this familiar food into his mouth and drops other pieces into his glass. Charlie may stir things up with his spoon or add other ingredients to the brew. Messy and annoying as this toddler behavior may seem, it is definitely scientific. In fact, this toddler play encompasses many aspects of scientific inquiry. Charlie explored the properties of the materials around him. He experimented by tapping various objects with a tool and observed how they responded. He compared the properties of various objects by touching, looking, and listening, and he communicated his findings. Charlie undoubtedly gained more scientific information during dinner than anyone else at the table. Children also learn about mathematics through their play. Sonya, also a toddler, visits her grandparents’ house on a regular basis. She knows where to find the toy animals and quickly arranges them in a row for feeding time. Then Sonya rushes to the kitchen, where she finds a set of small baking dishes in the pots and pans drawer. She carefully places one dish in front of each animal. Next comes the food. From a decorative basket on the hearth, Sonya brings one twine ball for each animal’s feeding dish. For several months, Sonya plays in this way with one-to-one corre- spondence, an important early concept in mathematics. Each animal gets one dish, one piece of pretend food, one blanket, and so forth. Play allows Sonya to experiment with and solidify this concept, and then to expand upon it. One day, to her grandmother’s surprise, Sonya gives each animal two balls of pretend hay for dinner. When asked, Sonya replies that they each get two now. Her beginning pattern of a one-to-one match has developed into a two- to-one pattern that she can quantify. Quality early childhood programs recognize the inter- play among science, mathematics, engineering, and play- based learning, and they are designed to accommodate it. Learning centers encourage children to experiment and engage in inquiry. Children design and create structures with many different types of materials, including wooden blocks and various types of interlocking materials. At science centers, they can experiment with simple machines, such as levers, inclines, and pulleys, and explore natural materials, such as fossils, shells, and sunflower heads. In the art area, children learn to mix School Science and Mathematics 51

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LETTER FROM

the editor

Don’t Forget to Play

Richard Feynman was stuck. Following the wrap-up ofthe Manhattan Project, he felt burned out and could notcome up with any new ideas for his research. Sitting in thecafeteria at Cornell University, where he had accepted aposition to teach and conduct research, Feynman reflectedon the joy that physics had once brought him and how hehad played with new ideas. Casting his worries aside, hedecided to play with physics again. Shortly thereafter,Feynman observed a colleague tossing a plate into the air.He noticed that the medallion on the plate rotated fasterthan the wobble rate. Intrigued, Feynman began investigat-ing the motion of the plate. There was no particular impor-tance to this work, but it was fun, and he was now enjoyingphysics again. Of course, ultimately this research turnedout to be very important. In Feynman’s words, “The dia-grams and the whole business that I got the Nobel Prize forcame from that piddling around with the wobbling plate”(Feynman, 1985, p. 174).

As we move deeper into content-based learning inscience and mathematics, and the accompanying rounds oftesting that this has engendered, it is important to maintainthe joyfulness of play and discovery in our classrooms.Play and scientific inquiry have much in common.

Play is a way of life for young children. They are on amission to find out about their world, and their mode ofdiscovery is through play. In Piaget’s words, “To under-stand is to invent” (Piaget, 1973). By this Piaget meant thatrather than being told information, children must constructtheir own knowledge of the world by interacting withobjects and people. These interactions occur primarilythrough play. As an example, two-year-old Charlie, who isdining out with his parents, quickly begins to explore thenew and fascinating objects at the table. He picks up hisplate to see how it feels, crumbles up his napkin andwatches how it gently unfolds, and taps his glass, his plate,and the table with a spoon to hear how they sound. WhenCharlie’s macaroni arrives, he touches it and says “hot.”Soon, he shoves some of this familiar food into his mouthand drops other pieces into his glass. Charlie may stirthings up with his spoon or add other ingredients to the

brew. Messy and annoying as this toddler behavior mayseem, it is definitely scientific. In fact, this toddler playencompasses many aspects of scientific inquiry. Charlieexplored the properties of the materials around him. Heexperimented by tapping various objects with a tool andobserved how they responded. He compared the propertiesof various objects by touching, looking, and listening, andhe communicated his findings. Charlie undoubtedlygained more scientific information during dinner thananyone else at the table.

Children also learn about mathematics through theirplay. Sonya, also a toddler, visits her grandparents’ houseon a regular basis. She knows where to find the toy animalsand quickly arranges them in a row for feeding time. ThenSonya rushes to the kitchen, where she finds a set of smallbaking dishes in the pots and pans drawer. She carefullyplaces one dish in front of each animal. Next comes thefood. From a decorative basket on the hearth, Sonya bringsone twine ball for each animal’s feeding dish. For severalmonths, Sonya plays in this way with one-to-one corre-spondence, an important early concept in mathematics.Each animal gets one dish, one piece of pretend food, oneblanket, and so forth. Play allows Sonya to experimentwith and solidify this concept, and then to expand upon it.One day, to her grandmother’s surprise, Sonya gives eachanimal two balls of pretend hay for dinner. When asked,Sonya replies that they each get two now. Her beginningpattern of a one-to-one match has developed into a two-to-one pattern that she can quantify.

Quality early childhood programs recognize the inter-play among science, mathematics, engineering, and play-based learning, and they are designed to accommodate it.Learning centers encourage children to experiment andengage in inquiry. Children design and create structureswith many different types of materials, including woodenblocks and various types of interlocking materials. Atscience centers, they can experiment with simplemachines, such as levers, inclines, and pulleys, andexplore natural materials, such as fossils, shells, andsunflower heads. In the art area, children learn to mix

School Science and Mathematics 51

pigments to produce new colors; adhere materials withglue, tape, and staples; and examine the blades of decora-tive scissors to predict what kinds of lines they will cut. Inthe music area, they may discover that pipes of differentlengths produce different pitches; hard wooden malletsmake the drum sound louder than soft, felt mallets; and thematerial that is inside a maraca affects the sound quality(timbre) and the dynamics (loudness). In the math area,children can compose and decompose geometric shapesthrough manipulative materials; sort and classify carefullyselected collections of objects based on various attributes,such as color, shape, size, or texture; and develop concep-tual understanding and fluency in quantification through awide variety of math games. Through cooking experi-ences, children discover the effect of heat and cold onvarious materials; learn that some changes in materials canbe reversed while other changes cannot; and becomeyoung chemists as they mix materials and look for results.In the sensory table, children compare the properties ofliquid and dry materials as they experiment with funnels,tubing, pipes, and various sizes of filters (colanders,slotted spoons, and nets). In a high-quality classroom,children can spend unlimited time becoming scientists andmathematicians and engineers. As with Nobel laureateRichard Feynman, play and learning are intricatelyentwined and enhance one another.

For many students, the joy of play and learning is lostsomewhere in their later school experiences. The pressuresof testing and high-stakes accountability may drive someprograms to look backward and adopt drill and teach-to-the-test pedagogies rather than forward-looking science,technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-basedlearning. Some elementary school programs have elimi-nated science completely so that they can focus on literacyand math. Learning may be constrained to topics specifiedin state standards rather than topics that engage and inspirethe children. In time, students who may have once imag-ined becoming paleontologists or dreamed of designingspace ships may decide that they are no good at sciencebecause they cannot memorize or apply formulas on tests.Students who were once avid constructors of mathematicalrelationships may decide that they are no good at math. Asone elementary school student voiced, “I used to lovemath, but now I just hate it. I still like science as long asit’s not at school.”

Curriculum development has helped many educationalprograms. In quality programs, children now approachscientific concepts through inquiry, and in math theycreate physical models or drawings to help them under-stand concepts. Nevertheless, extended opportunities for

students to play with ideas that are of interest to them, evenif these ideas are not part of a grade-level standard, are stilllimited. This is a challenge for the science and math edu-cation community. Can we engage retired mathematicians,engineers, and scientists to regularly visit classrooms andmentor students? They might start by talking with studentsto determine some small group interests. Some studentsmay want to expand upon patterns they have used infriendship bracelets. Others may wish to build the fastestracetrack or make their own flashlight. Whatever the start-ing point, the mentor can guide and challenge the studentsto expand their learning and share it with others. Teachersmay find ways to weave this learning into other aspects oftheir curriculum, such as centers that allow students toexperiment with patterning in two and three dimensions orconstruct battery-operated chimes and robots.

Content standards are important for developingexpected learning trajectories. Many educators haveworked tirelessly to develop them. Still, there must besome room in our schools for the kindergartner who isfascinated by gears, pulleys, and inclines, even if thecontent standard is limited to sound, or the high schoolstudent who wants to calculate the curvature of three-dimensional space so that the dimensions of a lake in theBible yield an accurate value for pi (2 Chronicles 4:2).Teachers must be reassured that content standards area beginning point, not a complete curriculum. LikeFeynman, all of us must remember that playing with ideasis important, even if our ideas are not related to standardsor tests.

Sally MoomawAssistant Professor, Early Childhood Education

University of [email protected]

ReferencesFeynman, R. P. (1985). Surely you’re joking, Mr. Feynman. New York: Bantam

Books.Piaget, J. (1973). To understand is to invent. New York: Grossman.

Letter From the Editor

52 Volume 114 (2)