I have spent many days this summer participating in professional learning. I’ve collaborated with many different types of teacher-learners as well as facilitators. This week, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a professional learning session facilitated by Kristine Mraz focused on her book Purposeful Play. I had just finished reading the chapter "Leveraging Listening Routines" from The Listening Leader, so I decided to approach the session with professional learning routines in mind.
In Chapter 10, Shane Safir shares four humanizing routines in The Experiential Learning Cycle to ensure facilitation is intentional toward technical and relational outcomes. I observed many examples of humanizing moves used by Mraz in her session on incorporating play in the classroom.
Affective routines promote listening, reflection, and empathy across difference.
Shane Safir
Kristine Mraz opened the session with humor and authenticity. She created a safe environment by setting up a space for asking questions anonymously. This relieved any feeling of pressure I might have had to ask questions aloud. I immediately felt safe and respected as a learner.
For example, Mraz incorporated turn and talk to allow us to process chunks of content throughout the day. This strategy gave us an opportunity to connect with each other. During turn and talks, I found myself incorporating what Safir refers to as constructivist listening. This was essential as we worked through our individual philosophies regarding play as learning. We were able to reflect and solve problems related to incorporating play in our classrooms.
Conceptual routines focus on learning, reflecting, and discussing content or key ideas. Mraz used text-based discussions to engage us in learning. We were asked to process and reflect following each topic she covered. We were then able to discern what area of play in the classroom should be a priority to begin our school year and what we could save for later in the year. It felt empowering to decide and take away what our team needed from the content she presented.
When watering the brain for deep roots, less is more, and a narrow focus yields deeper learning.
Shane Safir
At the end of the session, each of us wrote an ‘I wonder’ to reflect on an area that still needed an answer. This gave us an opportunity to continue the dialogue regarding play in the classroom. Although I have no idea of her thinking and her planning process, I do know that Kristine Mraz created a culture of trust and a place to share meaningful dialogue.
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