TY - JOUR
T1 - Playful learning in higher education
T2 - developing a signature pedagogy
AU - Nørgård, Rikke Toft
AU - Toft-Nielsen, Claus
AU - Whitton, Nicola
N1 - Funding Information:
Here we present the findings from two studies carried out at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) into aspects of student enjoyment and engagement. Study 1, funded by JISC, explored learner perceptions of fun and enjoyment (Bird, Forsyth, & Whitton, 2012) and Study 2, funded by the MMU Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, examined reasons for learner disengagement with learning opportunities (Langan & Whitton, 2016). These studies contribute to our understanding of how to create learning experiences that are enjoyable and engaging, and underpin our model of playful learning. We assume reality is a social construct and understandings of the world cannot be objective, but that individuals create personal meanings and perceptions (Cooper, 1993), and it is the role of the researcher to make sense of these multiple perspectives through interpretive analysis to reach a subjective sense of the area of study. Therefore, both studies focused on students’ perceptions of their learning experiences, underpinned by a qualitative approach based on in-depth interviews (Study 1 n = 39; Study 2 n = 47). In both studies, thematic analyses (Attride-Stirling, 2001; Braun & Clarke, 2006) were used to identify the key features and similarities of the body of interview data. Participants in Study 1 were recruited via the institution’s student jobs service, which enabled straightforward recruitment but also inevitably created a biased sample of students who were perhaps already engaging with university life. The sample comprised 18 males and 21 females, with ages ranging from 18 to 37 years. In Study 2, we worked with five student co-researchers to embed a learner perspective throughout the project; we felt that learner responses would be more authentic when disclosed to peers. This sample comprised 26 males and 21 females, with ages ranging from 18 to 50 years. A full ethical analysis of each project, based on the ethical guidelines of BERA (2011), was undertaken before commencement. Study 1 focused on identifying factors that students said made learning enjoyable.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2017/9/2
Y1 - 2017/9/2
N2 - Increased focus on quantifiable performance and assessment in higher education is creating a learning culture characterised by fear of failing, avoidance of risk, and extrinsic goal-oriented behaviours. In this article, we explore possibilities of a more playful approach to teaching and learning in higher education through the metaphor of the ‘magic circle’. This approach stimulates intrinsic motivation and educational drive, creates safe spaces for academic experimentation and exploration, and promotes reflective risk-taking, ideation, and participation in education. We present a model of playful learning, drawing on notions of signature pedagogies, field literature, and two qualitative studies on learner conceptions of enjoyment and reasons for disengagement. We highlight the potential of this approach to invite a different mind-set and environment, providing a formative space in which failure is not only encouraged, but a necessary part of the learning paradigm.
AB - Increased focus on quantifiable performance and assessment in higher education is creating a learning culture characterised by fear of failing, avoidance of risk, and extrinsic goal-oriented behaviours. In this article, we explore possibilities of a more playful approach to teaching and learning in higher education through the metaphor of the ‘magic circle’. This approach stimulates intrinsic motivation and educational drive, creates safe spaces for academic experimentation and exploration, and promotes reflective risk-taking, ideation, and participation in education. We present a model of playful learning, drawing on notions of signature pedagogies, field literature, and two qualitative studies on learner conceptions of enjoyment and reasons for disengagement. We highlight the potential of this approach to invite a different mind-set and environment, providing a formative space in which failure is not only encouraged, but a necessary part of the learning paradigm.
KW - failure
KW - higher education
KW - magic circle
KW - Play
KW - playful learning
KW - signature pedagogy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85050739547&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/21594937.2017.1382997
DO - 10.1080/21594937.2017.1382997
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85050739547
SN - 2159-4953
VL - 6
SP - 272
EP - 282
JO - International Journal of Play
JF - International Journal of Play
IS - 3
ER -