The Interactive Book Report: Playing the Pages

摘要

The purpose of this qualitative attitudinal study was to initially teach by involving student learners in "play," as a means to provide instruction. "The Interactive Book Report (IBR)" (Schiering, 2003) teaching and learning method was used in the study. It is a new and comprehensive, as well as interdisciplinary process for teaching and learning. Three classrooms in the USA and based in the greater New York area and one classroom in mid-Sweden comprised the subjects of the study. Ultimately, following the classes' designing, creating, identifying specific cognitive skills associated with the playable pages of the IBR, students shared their work with other classes and had an international exchange of ideas, on the IBR topic of ecosystems and sustainability; how to keep our planet's varied environments safe. The schools included in this study were at the first, third and fifth grade levels. Respectively, these schools were a special NYC needs one, a Rockland County elementary one, and a Long Island K-9 parochial institution. The study was initiated through the funding-of-IBR-supplies from the Lego Children's Fund and the IBR inventor/professor from Molloy College. The New York State Environmental Conservation Department sponsored a Recycle Poster Contest and all "study" schools in the New York area participated. For the making of the IBRs the special needs school was tremendously involved in the poster contest with submitted posters being highly interactive. The subsequent attitudinal study was with 74-students from the students in grades three, five and the mid-Sweden school third-fourth grades. The responses on the attitudinal study were in the 95% range for finding the IBR method of Playing-to-learn" most likeable. Dr. Schiering, acting as a participant, observer, and instructor visited each school, almost weekly, from January to June as the posters and IBRs were constructed.