The Create and Play Collaboritve Classroom project centers around improving the middle school experience.
Our deliverable is a physical pop-out book that is a visual representation of a customizable classroom that encapsulates the values of choice, modularity, and play. The book features a dollhouse-style classroom students and teachers can use to understand what types of learning environments works best for them. If a student feels as though he or she would benefit from combining math and basketball then the student should be given the agency to build a curriculum around this classroom structure and try it along with other students.
The playful form language of this book was chosen to highlight that these words and ideas exist for the benefit and betterment of middle schoolers. This book can be used as a tool for developing collaborative environments and also spaces for the individual. It also makes the MSE of each student more transparent, allowing for students to share ideas, curriculums, methods of making, and experiences in a physical and meaningful way.
Sample materials and a space to design the ideal Create + Play classroom
Pages from the research article and activity photos [below].
Collaborative drawing activity with middle school students at Providence Community Prep .
Thank you!
