The Wizard of OT

Lets not have THIS boredom in our OT classes!!!!

Playful Learning in Higher Education: An Opportunity for OT Educators

As occupational therapists we know the importance of play and we know the importance of movement. Play is a central theme in our profession, essential for childhood development, and a critical part of fostering creativity and innovation across the lifespan. Yet, when we step into the role of educators in higher education, play and movement often take a backseat to traditional teaching methodologies. Research suggests perhaps that should not be the case. Years of research has identified that lecture-based learning is less than effective, and active engaged learning is ideal. But what about play-based learning? The Professors at Play organization can be a game-changer in your course design.

Who Are the Professors at Play?

Professors at Play is a global community of educators dedicated to integrating playfulness into higher education. Founded on the belief that learning should be engaging, joyful, and impactful, the organization provides a wealth of resources, ideas, and inspiration for incorporating playful approaches into teaching. The community is vibrant and diverse, ranging from faculty in STEM to the arts, and everything in between. Their collective mission is to reimagine higher education as a space where curiosity and creativity thrive. See  http://professorsatplay.org

I recently was able to take a ½ day course with David Thomas and Lisa Forbes and felt this topic was an important one to add to the Wizard of OT Blog. If you would like to see them present their work- see this you tube presentation. You may also wish to read about the founders here and here . If you prefer a podcast, listen here .

What Can Play Look Like in Higher Education?

For many, the idea of play in a university classroom might seem out of place, unprofessional, not serious enough. However, Professors at Play redefines what play means in an academic setting. At the bottom of the playful learning pyramid is a professor’s playfulness, a playful attitude, and willingness to be silly in class.  This can be the first place for an educator to begin.  Next, would be the use of connection formers in class.  These are like ice-breakers, but they are used throughout the semester, to foster engagement and relationships between students.  Next an educator can use play to teach content. And finally, at the top of the period, the entire course could be designed in a playful way.

Playful teaching can involve:

• Gamification: Turning assignments into quests or challenges.
• Creative expression: Using art, music, or storytelling as part of the learning process.  For example in this post Lisa Forbes discusses using a children’s book about a giraffe as a case study for her students..
• Interactive technologies: Leveraging tools like virtual reality or collaborative platforms. For example, using digital escape rooms .
• Serious play: Facilitating activities like Lego® Serious Play® to spark deeper reflection and problem-solving.
• Whole course design: For example – two faculty designed their content around a “Hero’s Quest.” Others have designed their courses around the theme of Jurassic Park, or Harry Potter. For example, a particular course in law used the Jurassic Park theme to have students work out all of the laws that would be relevant to addressing an extinct dinosaur park. The law content was all there- but in a fun and playful way. The Harry Potter idea is described here .

Why OT Educators Should Embrace Play

Occupational therapy education is ideally positioned to benefit from the methods championed by Professors at Play. Here are just a few reasons why:

• Alignment with OT Values: Play aligns with OT’s core values of engagement, creativity, and occupation-centered practice.
• Enhancing Student Engagement: A playful approach can make learning more dynamic and memorable, fostering better student participation and retention of material.
• Skill Development: Many OT competencies, such as clinical reasoning, problem-solving, and interpersonal communication, can be enhanced through playful strategies.
• Modeling for Practice: By embracing play in the classroom, educators model how future practitioners can use play therapeutically with their clients.
• Freedom to Explore and Make Mistakes:  Just as children are able to learn through play with less fear of mistakes, so can our students.

Getting Started with Professors at Play

Engaging with the Professors at Play community is easy! Here’s how:

• Explore Their Resources: The Professors at Play website offers free access to toolkits, case studies, and a lively blog.
• Join the Community: Consider signing up for their newsletter or participating in their online forums to connect with like-minded educators.
• Experiment in Your Classroom: Start small by incorporating one playful activity into your next class. Reflect on the impact and refine as needed.
• Attend Events: The organization hosts workshops and conferences that provide hands-on opportunities to learn from play experts.

Free books available for download at Professors at Play. that provide a wealth of specific techniques and ideas!!!!

An Example of Playful Learning in OT Education

Most OT programs probably use case studies at some point in the curriculum, and there are various ways they can be presented and worked through. Some programs use PBL, or TBL, or role play. Others use written case analysis formats, or use EMRs to go through case simulations. In playful learning, as an example, a case could be presented to small groups, giving each group time to discuss the case, but then the groups could move through a life size chutes and ladders game. Perhaps they role dice or use a giant spinner, or an online spinner, and then have case related questions to answer. As they make decisions about the case, the other groups in class can vote to decide whether or not the presenting group gets to go up the ladder or down the chute based on their clinical decisions with the case. Lots of discussion can occur around the answers and the relative merits of different clinical decisions. Depending on how the faculty member sets this up and explains it, it can take some of the fear and anxiety away from presenting to the class, making learning more likely. Fear hinders learning. Additionally, any games you use in class present an opportunity for activity analysis of the process as well. This type of activity will likely have greater engagement, will likely be experienced as more fun, and may help people remember the content from that day’s class better than merely sitting in small groups and discussing.

Additional Resources to Spark Your Ideas

• https://fctl.ucf.edu/teaching-resources/teaching-strategies/playful-pedagogy/ 
• https://www.leidenlearninginnovation.org/stories/design-principles-for-playful-learning/ 
• https://karkhanasamuha.org.np/designing-playful-learning-experiences-using-a-human-centric-design-approach 
• https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/23/05/embracing-learning-through-play 
• https://www.innoplay.co.uk/ 

And some evidence 

• https://learningthroughplay.com/explore-the-research/the-scientific-case-for-learning-through-play 
• Forbes, L. K. (2021). The Process of Play in Learning in Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study. Journal of Teaching and Learning, 15(1), 57-73. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1303477.pdf 
• Leather, M., Harper, N., & Obee, P. (2021). A pedagogy of play: Reasons to be playful in postsecondary education. Journal of Experiential Education, 44(3), 208-226. https://marjon.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/17615/1/A%20pedagogy%20of%20play.%20Reasons%20to%20be%20playful%20in%20post-secondary%20education%20.pdf 
• James, A., & Nerantzi, C. (Eds.). (2019). The power of play in higher education: Creativity in tertiary learning. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sandra-Sinfield/publication/330756423_Exploration_Becoming_playful_-_the_power_of_a_ludic_module_creativity_in_tertiary_learning/links/5c5adab3299bf1d14caf7cbb/Exploration-Becoming-playful-the-power-of-a-ludic-module-creativity-in-tertiary-learning 
• Keskitalo, T., Kangas, M., & Ruokamo, H. (2018, June). Best of Finland: Adult Playfulness in Simulation-based Healthcare Education. In EdMedia+ Innovate Learning (pp. 2316-2324). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). https://www.learntechlib.org/noaccess/184599/
• Koeners, M. P., & Francis, J. (2020). The physiology of play: Potential relevance for higher education. International Journal of Play, 9(1), 143-159. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/21594937.2020.1720128 
• Marchetti, E. (2021). Are they playing? Analysing “play” in playful learning in occupational therapy education. E-learning and Digital Media, 18(3), 290-306. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2042753020980114 

Final Thoughts

As OT educators, we understand the transformative power of play better than most. By embracing the philosophy of Professors at Play, we can bring that same transformative energy into our classrooms. Not only will this enrich the learning experience for our students, but it will also prepare them to be creative, engaging, and occupation-centered practitioners.

So, let’s play. Let’s explore, innovate, and bring joy back to learning—one class session at a time.

GREAT THANKS to Lisa Forbes and David Thomas for creating this organization and all of the wonderful resources!