Professors at Play PlayBook

What is the PlayBook?

The Professors at Play PlayBook was published on Carnegie Mellon’s etc Press in 2023 collecting techniques showcasing a wide range of playful approaches to learning in a higher education setting, all submitted by playful educators from across the globe.

Interested in integrating play into your curriculum? The PlayBook is a perfectr place to start. All of the techniques covered in the book provide example of real world play used in classrooms by professors in a wide range of disciplines. Whether you borrow a technique diretrly, or simply find inspiration in what others do, the PlayBook helps your find your permission to play.

The PlayBook provides a valuable resource for faculty seeking playful pedagogical approaches. Whether new to the idea of playful teaching or a seasoned pro, the PlayBook is a valuable and actionable resource containing a variety of techniques collected across a wide range of disciplines and settings. 

Table of Contents

The PlayBook is organized into the following major sections:

1. 1. The Power of Play: This chapter provides an introduction discussing the power of play and why higher education needs to include more play and fun. Play is often excluded from higher education for several reasons but there’s a growing body of literature supporting more flexible, creative, engaged and playful forms of learning. This chapter will set the stage for the importance of and place for play in learning in higher education. A brief description of the Professors at Play community will be presented as a context for the content of the PlayBook.
   2. The Playful Professor: This chapter discusses the idea that the efficacy of techniques that embody play start with the teacher. By providing a distinction between playfulness and play, techniques in this section will emphasize creating a playfunessl in the professor as a predecessor to play in the classroom. Without playfulness, play events lose their authenticity and credibility. This section also addresses how playfulness is often seen as being at odds with professionalism. Techniques will address ideas of what playfulness looks like in higher education classrooms, how to overcome fears of play and how play can and should co-exist with professionalism.
   3. Playful Connection-Formers: This section covers using playful connection-forming activities to help students reduce barriers to learning (e.g., stress, anxiety, fear, etc.) and gain a sense of safety, trust and belonging in the classroom. Play at the start of class time has a valuable place in the learning process, igniting motivation and engagement. Examples of connection-formers will be presented as well as an explanation of why connection-formers are vital to learning.
   4. Playful Pedagogy to Teach Content: This chapter highlights techniques or examples of play that connect to specific learning outcomes. Ideas and approaches in this chapter address how to make learning activities more fun.
   5. Whole-Course Play: This chapter describes how play can infuse a course, providing examples of entire courses set up on a premise of play. These examples outline how to create playful courses in addition to individual play intervention  in an otherwise standard course format. 
   6. Playful Conclusions and opportunities for future play. What themes emerge? What areas for further research and design does the collection suggest?