As the parent of a toddler, I’m faced with the task of choosing a preschool for my son. The most important factor on my list? That the curriculum—if it’s even called “a curriculum”—be play-based. That means I want my son digging in dirt, running around outside, making up nonsense words to songs with his imaginary friends, and in general, just being the messy, loud, unorganized, joyful beast that he is. I don’t want there to be any concern about him reaching educational or developmental benchmarks, and I certainly don’t want there to be any evaluative assessments, report cards, or homework. This isn’t because I’m against learning, of course, but because I know (and research supports) that playing is the very best way toddlers learn.

In my time learning about instructional design geared toward working adults and college students (not a mutually exclusive distinction), I’ve seen “playful” design approaches applied to myriad subjects with great success.

Once, I worked with a team to revamp a day-long, face-to-face, lecture-driven training course on complex purchasing processes (are you bored yet?). Chunking the content into multiple shorter sessions was our first idea, but not an option. We needed learners introduced to all this information in one session. Our solution was to move the course into a computer lab and create an interactive day, where learners role-played scenarios and were sent on Web-based research “missions.” (We also changed the goal from comprehension and retention of content to familiarity with resources and ability to find answers to questions.) As students worked in groups to complete their research missions, I admit we occasionally played spy music in the background. Throughout the day, we reminded learners that in the afternoon, we were going to play a Jeopardy-type game about everything they’d learned, and there would be fabulous prizes for correct answers. (As I said “fabulous prizes,” I rustled a plastic bag of chocolate candies, so as not to get their hopes too high.)

Introducing this simple, game-like aspect to the day—a final mission where learners would have an opportunity to showcase their proficiency—completely changed the tone of the day from a passive, boring litany of lectures to a series of active, goal-oriented tasks.

The upshot of our silly music and fabulous chocolate prizes? Feedback said it was a little cheesy, but that, yes, they’d learned something and knew where to go to find answers to questions in a very complex organization. I’ll take that. The game itself may have been lighthearted, but it yielded serious results.

A few weeks ago, I helped out at DePaul’s Faculty Teaching and Learning conference. The theme this year was Playing with Purpose: Applying Game Design Principles for Learning. I attended a session with James Moore, Director of Online Learning with the College of Commerce, and Beth Rubin, Director of SNL Online. Both faculty members teach online and hybrid courses and offered great examples of integrating games and playful design aspects in their course design. Some quick examples:

• Professor Rubin played the Telephone Game with an online class using real telephones. The goal was to teach a model of communication that included a sender, a receiver, and interference. She had played this game in face-to-face classrooms previously, and discovered it worked even better out in “the real world.” By the time the message reached the final recipient, it was completely garbled and students were intensely emotional about the experience and the effort they’d expended to succeed. In an online discussion forum of just nine students, over two hundred responses were posted, which displayed critical thinking and application of the theoretical model to the real world.
• Professor Moore applies characteristics of video games (specifically Mario and Zelda, two of his favorites) when designing his Marketing classes. For example, video games have a narrative structure including an ultimate goal that is introduced straightaway, so Professor Moore is sure to introduce students to their final project at their first meeting. Video games also frequently provide what he calls “A Quiet Place to Explore,” where there are no threats or stress, and making mistakes is okay. To emulate this quiet place in online courses, Professor Moore creates a “Week 0” space where students can familiarize themselves with tools and play around with content on practice assignments that are not graded.¹

What struck me is that, of course, all content doesn’t easily or organically lend itself to playful learning opportunities, but that with a little ingenuity and creativity, the enduring learning that happens when students are genuinely motivated and engaged—emotional states that are more likely to occur when we are playing. This is also why schools should work with School playground shelter specialists to create comfortable outdoor areas for pupils to learn and play, no matter the weather.

1. To view a video on Professor Moore’s presentation or download his presentation handout, visit http://condor.depaul.edu/jmoore/mario/