A Playful Introduction to Ancient and Modern Chinese Leadership
The Goal:
The goal of the class is to create a dragon that will be used to represent your social studies class. You may use any materials available to you, so long as you follow the rules for your group.
Materials (given only to Metal, inside a box):
- straws
- yarn
- small Dixie cups
- paper plates
- tissue paper
- pipe cleaners
- mailing labels
- marshmallows
- toothpicks
- popsicle sticks
- cotton balls
Group Roles, including Location and Communication:
Each group represents one of the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Specific group characteristics can be seen in the images below.
The Cognitive Tool of Play
The cognitive tool of play allows one to once again be a child, set aside conventional rules, and enjoy something just for fun. When play becomes transformational, new ideas can emerge, breaking the limits of what was thought to be true.
Playful and Meaningful
The activity outlined above provides the structure for students to engage in symbolic play. In doing so, there are few restrictions on what the dragon must look like, and all materials provided are somewhat unconventional. Aside from the creation of the dragon, students can interact with each other in ways that may seem confining, but enough aspects are left open-ended that student choice will dictate how the activity unfolds. For instance, the group Wood has the ability to change the rules. Individual students who may be a part of the Wood group may view this in vastly different ways, and the group may or may not choose to change anything.
At first glance it could be seen as something to do just for the fun of it, but there are many decisions that went in to the creation of this activity that turn it into more than just a game. It is unlikely that the activity will be exactly the same with every group. The activity simulates common social structure in ancient China, but the open ended nature of the task and the ways that the rules will play out provides a number of directions the activity can go. For instance, the group Wood represents the ruling family, and the group’s role in the activity is meant to create an analogy that can be used as students explore how this role plays out in a number of scenarios.
A number of thinking tools are present throughout this activity, and work together in a way that can be transforming for students as the unit progresses and the activity is revisited. It is unlikely that students will see all the potential in how this activity plays out, but as issues of power, leadership, decision making, and legacy are brought forward in subsequent activities, students should be able to continue to unpack the meaning behind this activity. It is possible to compare how social structure affected leadership in ancient China with how it affects leadership today, but also to challenge students to see how some basic principles play out in their school and classes.
Why This Activity
On a foundational level, this activity seeks to get to the basic issue of social structure and leadership, which can be a logical place to start with the topic that explores leadership in ancient and modern China. Each group in this activity represents some ideas from ancient Chinese social structure (wood = ruling family, fire = scholars, earth = peasants/farmers, metal = artisans, water = merchants). It is not necessary for students or other participants to know this at the beginning of the activity. In fact, telling them this upfront would cause the activity to lose some of its playfulness. In addition to the social structure, each group name represent one of the five elements in Chinese philosophy. Some students may figure out the parallel sooner than others, but there are many layers to this activity that can present the teacher many opportunities to revisit how the activity played out for days to come.
The cognitive tool of play allows one to once again be a child, set aside conventional rules, and enjoy something just for fun. When play becomes transformational, new ideas can emerge, breaking the limits of what was thought to be true.
Playful and Meaningful
The activity outlined above provides the structure for students to engage in symbolic play. In doing so, there are few restrictions on what the dragon must look like, and all materials provided are somewhat unconventional. Aside from the creation of the dragon, students can interact with each other in ways that may seem confining, but enough aspects are left open-ended that student choice will dictate how the activity unfolds. For instance, the group Wood has the ability to change the rules. Individual students who may be a part of the Wood group may view this in vastly different ways, and the group may or may not choose to change anything.
At first glance it could be seen as something to do just for the fun of it, but there are many decisions that went in to the creation of this activity that turn it into more than just a game. It is unlikely that the activity will be exactly the same with every group. The activity simulates common social structure in ancient China, but the open ended nature of the task and the ways that the rules will play out provides a number of directions the activity can go. For instance, the group Wood represents the ruling family, and the group’s role in the activity is meant to create an analogy that can be used as students explore how this role plays out in a number of scenarios.
A number of thinking tools are present throughout this activity, and work together in a way that can be transforming for students as the unit progresses and the activity is revisited. It is unlikely that students will see all the potential in how this activity plays out, but as issues of power, leadership, decision making, and legacy are brought forward in subsequent activities, students should be able to continue to unpack the meaning behind this activity. It is possible to compare how social structure affected leadership in ancient China with how it affects leadership today, but also to challenge students to see how some basic principles play out in their school and classes.
Why This Activity
On a foundational level, this activity seeks to get to the basic issue of social structure and leadership, which can be a logical place to start with the topic that explores leadership in ancient and modern China. Each group in this activity represents some ideas from ancient Chinese social structure (wood = ruling family, fire = scholars, earth = peasants/farmers, metal = artisans, water = merchants). It is not necessary for students or other participants to know this at the beginning of the activity. In fact, telling them this upfront would cause the activity to lose some of its playfulness. In addition to the social structure, each group name represent one of the five elements in Chinese philosophy. Some students may figure out the parallel sooner than others, but there are many layers to this activity that can present the teacher many opportunities to revisit how the activity played out for days to come.
"To say that play has no inherent goal does not mean its results cannot afterward be put to good purposes beyond motivating enjoyment."
- Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein, Sparks of Genius, p. 248
"When rule-bound work does not the insights or the results we want to achieve, when conventional thought, behavior, and disciplinary knowledge become barriers to our goals, play provides a fun and risk-free means of seeing from a fresh perspective, learning without constraint, exploring without fear."
-Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein, Sparks of Genius, p. 267-268
- Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein, Sparks of Genius, p. 248
"When rule-bound work does not the insights or the results we want to achieve, when conventional thought, behavior, and disciplinary knowledge become barriers to our goals, play provides a fun and risk-free means of seeing from a fresh perspective, learning without constraint, exploring without fear."
-Robert and Michele Root-Bernstein, Sparks of Genius, p. 267-268