Summarized by Mary McCann

Most students feel that classes get less fun and more  difficult after Kindergarten. This is due in part to more student testing and less student play. Mitch Resnick, author and researcher at Massachusetts’ Institute of Technology Research lab, feels the strain of school is due in part to less time for student experimentation. Resnic is also one of the creators of Scratch, a system that allows both adult and kids to begin coding by creating short animated clips.

He is a believer in “The four P’s: students making projects, around their passions, collaborating with peers, and maintaining a playful attitude” (Kamentz, para. 14). This focus on guided play and experimentation allows students the opportunity to explore their own interests while being able to make mistakes and learn from them. Rather than the traditional lecture mode of learning, learning through exploration can help  students to be more invested and interested in the subject.

References:

Kamenetz, A. (2017, Sept. 18th). How to make every grade more like kindergarten. nprED. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/09/18/550448626/how-to-make-every-grade-more-like-kindergarten