by Lisa Forbes
Embodying Playfulness
Oh boy, this is a big topic here. Embodying playfulness. In my recent study, the student participants described an important aspect of their experience of play in learning – the faculty embodying playfulness. Some student participants seemed to think the playfulness within the individual faculty member was an important part of making play in learning so effective. Some students said they have had other faculty in the past attempt to use play in learning but that it didn’t feel genuine and congruent to the faculty’s way of being so it didn’t land as well.
I don’t fully know what the student participants meant by “embodying playfulness” but I have a hunch that it’s having an unwavering belief in the power of play. I believe we have to fully commit to the power of play to really receive all the benefits it has to offer. I also wonder if embodying playfulness is about congruence, genuineness, and simply not taking yourself so seriously. A big part of being playful is being human and authentic. From my data, I began seeing that one of the most powerful aspects of the process of play in learning is that it develops relational safety which ignites this amazing learning process.
Within the counseling field, it is commonly understood that the therapeutic relationship is the most important and powerful factor to effective therapy. That is, the strength of the therapeutic alliance largely determines the quality of the counseling experience for the client. It is through the relationship that the therapeutic theories and interventions become effective. So, I think the power of play in learning is, in large part, created from establishing safe and trusting relationships within the classroom. From the safety of those relationships, students are freer and more confident to speak up, take risks, make mistakes, and engage in their learning. The stronger the relationships, the higher the buy-in and investment in the learning process which makes students more intrinsically motivated to learn.
But here’s the rub…this culture and academia tend to communicate a narrative that says:
- In order to be a serious academic, you must be serious.
- Play is childish, trivial, and a waste of time.
- Being playful is at odd with being professional
…and other outrageously untruthful statements. I think the first step to anyone embodying playfulness is to deconstruct the societal narratives so you can re-story “professionalism” and open up to play. If you believe any of the above statements, embodying playfulness will not happen and or it will be incongruent because it is at odds (or partly at odds) with the narrative you currently live by. So, I invite you to consider the dominant narratives that currently guide your professional practice. Might they be hindering your playfulness or your ability to cultivate relational safety in the classroom?\