The Playful Learning SIG intends to share knowledge and interest of playful learning techniques. The landscape of Higher Education is rapidly shifting from knowledge-transfer to an emphasis on skills building and problem solving. Students now expect more immersive, engaging experiences to enrich their educational offer. Playful learning is a powerful way to enhance learning and teaching. Associated benefits include physical, mental, social, and emotional wellbeing. In contrast to high-stakes exercises or assessments in which students may focus on avoiding failure, play creates safe spaces for experimentation, contingency, and creativity.
This year, the SIG is co-lead by:
- Giskin Day (Principal Teaching Fellow - Faculty of Medicine Centre)
- Joana Dos- Santos (Teaching Fellow - Department of Surgery and Cancer)
- Mahsa Samadi (Teaching Fellow - Faculty of Medicine Centre)
What this SIG is for:
Facilitating Collaboration and Networking: We provide a platform for individuals across Imperial College to come together and share their work, ideas, and insights related to Playful Learning in education.
Exploring Best Practices: This SIG invites colleagues to consider how they can make their learning more interactive and playful with the intention of improving the student experience.
Meeting Schedule:
We convene once a term to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate and contribute. These meetings serve as a forum for lively discussions, presentations, demonstrations, and networking opportunities.
Communication Channels:
Our primary communication platform is Microsoft Teams. Here, you'll find updates on upcoming events (General Channel).
If you would like to join a SIG, fill out the form here to be added to the mailing list. You will then be informed about future activities.
Meeting History
Agenda
Theme: Incentives to engage
1. Devising and revising a clinical puzzle room for medical students - Dr Sohag Saleh
2. Playful learning approaches for teaching public engagement to students - Maria Serveta
3. Stay and Play
Summary
In this meeting, Maria Serveta talked about an exciting I-Explore module which teaches undergraduates about public engagement to connect audiences to research. Here, they utilise many playful approaches to incentivise engagement including human bingo, playful "hook" starter activities, quizzes and role play. Sohag Saleh then talked about an immersive clinical puzzle room created for year 1 MBBS students where students must answer questions to unlock evidence and diagnose patients. With the use of online avatars and a mix of online and paper evidence, it has developed into a fun and successful activity with a very high completion rate.
Recording
Click here to view the recording (Imperial login required)
Slides are available on the Playful Learning SIG Teams site.
Agenda
- PL SIG invitations to provide activities for FONS Neurodiversity Week and Mental Health Awareness week.
- Linda van Keimpema: Games for societal engagement developed for the Sickle Cell Warrior project.
- Katia Spivakovsky Gonzalez: game for budgeting for resources in biomedical science LabPod2.
- Stay-and-play board and card games.
Summary
The well-attended March Playful Learning SIG meeting included two presenters. Linda von Keimpema told us about (1) a board game that explains the genetic basis of sickle-cell disease, (2) a card game, developed as part of an outreach pack, educating players about factors that contribute to sickle-cell crisis. Katia Sipakovsky Gonzalez introduced us to a game she is developing inspired by Settlers of Catan, where students must gain the resources they need to carry out a Western blot and a functional assay. A lively discussion ensued about collaboration vs competition and how this might affect group dynamics.
Slides are available on the Playful Learning SIG Teams site.
Agenda
Theme: Games for large classes and big groups
1. Actionbound: Mobile adventures and interactive guides for large or small groups– Dr Mahsa Samadi
2. Game based learning for an experiential learning module in the medical school – Dr Tanvi Agrawal
3. Unlocking engagement with quests and codes – Dr Giskin Day
4. Stay and Play - 16:30 onwards
Summary
In the meeting, we first began with a group activity using the online platform Actionbound. Mahsa Samadi then described how she uses this tool to introduce first year BMB students to the South Kensington campus. Tanvi Agrawal described a new workshop introduced to 2nd year MBBS students where students solved a jigsaw puzzle in groups and reflected on the team dynamic and their contribution. Giskin Day then described her use of quest cards as part of the playful learning conference and an activity using a mascot, chain and padlocks as a fun way of learning through solving codes.
Recording available at: https://imperial.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=e5aea8fe-3a9a-4e40-902e-b22c00b3453a#
Slides are available on the Playful Learning SIG Teams site.
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