Hanin Hussain
University of Canterbury
Hanin Hussain
University of Canterbury
Research focus
Using complexity
thinking to explore
games of chase with
children
Presentation
What is complexity thinking?
What happened?
What did the children learn?
What did I learn?
What is complexity thinking?
• A discourse or a way of thinking and acting
• Assumptions
•we are complex systems
•we live in an inter-connected (complex) world
• Feature of a complex world
•On-going interactions and reciprocal
relationships between us and other systems
•Entangled relationships
What is complexity thinking?
• Using complexity thinking in teaching means
• being conscious and make use of couplings
that exist or can exist in our setting
• focusing our thinking and actions on
expanding possibilities
• in teaching, learning and activities
• in ways that are ethical and meaningful
Presentation
What is complexity thinking?
What happened?
What did the children learn?
What did I learn?
On-going interactions & co-creating a new game:
Big A, Little A
Safe place
Run in a
group
RG
Dodging
Chasing
& tagging
Tag
Run within
boundaries
Sociodramatic
play
Fleeing
Reading
Chant
Anticipation
BALA
WITTMW
Museum
trip
Characters
Freezing
Creeping
Creep Up On
Granny
Story
If … then
logic
Verbal
interactions
Bugrelated
activities
Presentation
What is complexity thinking?
What happened?
What did the children learn?
What did I learn?
What did the children learn?
• Learnt to play three different games and
variations of the games
• Experienced the nature of games
• Contributed to different game designs
• Learnt to distinguish between players and nonplayers in a shared play area
• Learnt to tag in different ways
Presentation
What is complexity thinking?
What happened?
What did the children learn?
What did I learn?
What did I learn as a teacher?
• Using complexity thinking can foster a games
of chase curriculum that is both structured and
flexible.
• Using a flexible content framework
• Using a decision-making framework that
actively encourages on-going interactions
among people, ideas and activities
Final reflections
•As a way of thinking and acting, complexity thinking
has helped me to
•think creatively and create a rich tapestry of
activities and learning for children and myself
•be mindful of how I can benefit the children I
work with in different ways
•think continually about the relationships between
my teaching, children’s learning and the activities
we were engaged in
Acknowledgements
Thanks to
• the children, teachers and families at the Early
Childhood Learning Centre for participating
and having fun,
• Sport & Recreation New Zealand for the
research funding
• Assoc Prof Lindsey Conner & Dr. Elaine Mayo
for giving me the freedom to do what I wanted.