Consolarium

August 11th, 2011: The Land of Me at Port Ellen PS: Gleeful children lost in the learning space 3/5; Derek Robertson; Comments: noneTags: curriculum for excellence, game based learning, games based learning, GBL, learning spaces

There has been much discussion over the past few years about the nature of learning spaces and how these should be designed in order to effect the best conditions for learning. This was something that I reflected on during and after my visit to P.1/2 at Port Ellen PS having seen a traditional rectangular classroom being transformed in to a magical place where adventure and learning happened.

Working with parents the class teacher at Port Ellen PS designed and made a number of areas that matched those in the The Land of Me. Each area had many references to the characters and themes running through the chapters in the software but also to a range of other contexts for learning and development. What was clearly evident though in my visit was the way in which the children had completely immersed themselves in the learning space that was their traditionally shaped classroom - and in so doing they had lost themselves in learning.

Dancing with otters at the riverside
I spoke with one young pupil about the area that had been set up as the riverbank. I was introduced to Dodo the Scottish Otter who I was told liked to dance. Dodo had a number of dance moves that the children had been
learning and putting together in sequences and they had been making their own too. I also saw that the children had been learning all about creatures that might live in or near the riverside and that they had been outside adventuring and learning about creatures that lived on their island. I will go in to further detail about curricular activity and CfE references in a later post but at this stage the gleeful look on this learners face in this accompanying video says a lot about how learning can be positively influenced by such a motivating and exciting learning space in which one can learn!

Reading in the cave
Classrooms sometimes have very comfortable spaces that are designated for reading. Spaces where children can relax on comfortable cushions or a nice carpet and take time to read. The take on this reading space during this project was structured around Granny Olive’s cave. This is the storytelling place in The Land of Me and it is a
calm and peaceful place where stories are brought to life by a very old giant tortoise. This video shows a young learner being interrupted by me when he was quietly reading The Stick Man. Listen to what he says and then watch how he engages with his book as I move away with the camera. Yet again, we see a thoughtful learning space situated in a meaningful context that appears to be having a positive impact on encouraging good learning; in this case independently-chosen reading time.

Classrooms, particularly those in Primary schools, are often transformed to mirror or ‘become’ the context in which learning is situated at particular times. When they are done well they can impact in a positive fashion on teaching and learning. As we can see from the work at Port Ellen PS the effort can be very worthwhile indeed.

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