What an exciting start to Term 2 Unit of Inquiry. We have met Dr. Dolittle and his animal friends! Under the transdisciplinary theme of ‘How the World Works” the children will be investigating the concept of Ecology. The PlayWorlds inquiry will support children to ‘help’ Dr. Dolittle and his animal friends who want to go home or return to their natural habitat. Talitha pops on a top hat and a moustache and the group is transported to a shared imagination world where Paul can be an iguana with a question and Ollie can be David Attenborough with a suggestion.

A PlayWorld, bases play on a story, such as Dr. Dolittle, and involves introducing a conceptual problem into the play; the children are motivated to help the characters and solve the problem in service of the play. In this instance Dr.Dolittle doesn’t know how to help the animals and so this is where the skills and knowledge of the 6s and 7s children come into play.

With the invaluable expertise of Rebecca Lewis (Educational Consultant), the Loft Room teachers have been developing a greater understanding and appreciation for PlayWorlds.

PlayWorlds facilitates teachers and children to be learners together. This allows us as a collective to delve deeper into a concept whilst also engaging in critical, creative, and compassionate thinking. The imaginary world of Dr. Dolittle is the basis from which we can launch into many areas of learning. The role of the teacher integrates into the shared adventure or joint-play, as all parties engage in the common fantasy that is the inquiry process. This allows for an authentic learner centred approach – all while playing! This is different from a traditional approach of teacher to student directed transfer of knowledge or child exploration without support.

Imagination is an important skill for scientific thinking. Throughout this unit of inquiry,

we will be using imagination to collectively investigate ecology; the interaction of

living things to one another and to their physical surroundings. By supporting Dr. Dolittle to help his animal friends return to their natural habitats, ecological knowledge will be developed to better enable children’s conceptual understanding of the world. The children will inquire into the 5 major components of ecology: the individual, populations, communities, ecosystems and biospheres. Some of their thinking includes;

‘one thing I noticed this week at my house is that there were not many birds around and I think this is because it was very, very windy and the birds were hiding' and

‘even though sharks can eat other animals they are still meant to be in the same community as other fish.’

The children have been bringing their animals, both real and imaginary, to the Zoom sessions and choosing characters to play. In particular , many have enjoyed playing the role of Dr Dolittle and they have created their own playspace at home. This playspace, although physically separate from the playspace of the educators, appears to have enabled the children to engage with the science of ecology through a shared dramatic dilemma (namely, that the animals on Dr. Dolittle’s boat are in an unsustainable ecosystem and community and must find a more suitable environment).

We know many of the children are sharing their thoughts, questions and new learning with their families. The feedback in regard to this unit has been extremely positive. Families have been reporting back to us about how engaged their child has been with their learning, noting the rich conversations, purposeful questions and active enjoyment through play.

When asked: “What are you enjoying about PlayWorlds?” the children responded:

Max I- I like learning about animals and the Dr Dolittle play and I like learning about the environment and life.

Martin - “I like the funny voices and the costumes.”

Olive - “What I am enjoying about PlayWorlds is that we are doing fun stuff and pretending a lot. I also enjoy learning about different things like habitats and stuff”

Erin - “I enjoy Sally the Seal because she looks cool with her fur. We are learning about animals and how Dr. Dollitle can talk to them! I can only talk to my dog.”

Amelie - “Well I am enjoying how we are pretending to be different things and how the animals are going together and people together. We are learning about their habitats and stuff.”

Tyas - “I like making characters and playing.”

For more information visit Fleer's Conceptual PlayWorld Website here.

Talitha Crawford,

Oliver Breedon & Paul O'Leary

6s & 7s Classroom Teachers

talitha.crawford@preshil.vic.edu.au

oliver.breedon@preshil.vic.edu.au

paul.oleary@preshil.vic.edu.au

Preshil - Arlington Argus

Issue 7 · 21 May 2020

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