Abstract:

This presentation will make an introductory case for using ludic (or playful) elements in teacher education programmes. Increasingly it is recognized that playfulness should not just be the preserve of childhood and that it performs a surprising number of vital functions in maturity. My approach draws substantially on the work of Kolb and Kolb (e.g. 2011), who contend that play and the creation of a ludic space is conducive to deep learning, integrating in a highly effective way the four modes of experiential learning: experiencing, reflecting, thinking (abstract conceptualising/making meaning) and planning or acting. As Spiro (2013) observes, play is uniquely well placed to fulfil key tenets of constructivist theory – enabling learners to build rather than reproduce knowledge, encouraging them to work collaboratively (and/or competitively) on authentic tasks in a meaningful context. It promotes ‘flow’ and inductive discovery as learners are required to become fully immersed in a task, take risks and learn from failure.
My presentation will provide an overview of the psychological, cultural, and pedagogic/andragogic claims for the value of using play. It will incorporate some experiential elements, allowing participants to take part in very short ludic training activities, encouraging them to explore definitions and parameters of adult play. The presentation will conclude by reflecting on the ways in ludic elements may be incorporated into teacher training programmes where trainees’ experience of and reflection on their own learning is the springboard for much of their professional development (a version of the apprenticeship of observation (Lortie, 1975, Borg, 2004)) encouraging them to make healthy playfulness a characteristic of their own classrooms.

Keywords:

Teacher training, education practice trends and issues, gamification.