What is Playtelligence?
PLAYTELLIGENCE: Play & Learning Beyond Borders - Our Reflection
We, the people, need to play, all ages, every day.
This was the call to action at the recently concluded Playtelligence Global Play Shop in June. This was a collective playful exploration of over 200 teachers, students, and lifelong learners from 23 countries.
At GPB, we are constantly asking the question, how can play help us reimagine our world anew? How can play inspire change intergenerationally across systems? In her book,
Deep Play, the American poet and author Diane Ackerman writes, "Play is our brain's favorite way of learning." We love that statement. And in fact, we also believe that our hearts, our arms, our legs, our noses, our tummies –
also love learning through play!
So, incorporating all of who we are — how do we integrate play into all forms of learning and development?
During the playshop, we had conversations and engaged in activities that hit us hard and soft (like Billie Eilish would). The focus wasn’t on perfection but on embracing every idea and thereby rethinking what education could be. We saw first-hand the relationship between play and learning, and how incorporating play could be a game-changer globally.
Our generous and creative facilitators and brigadiers across continents showed us how with these eight playshops:
- Put On Your Dandelion Glasses: Regeneration through Nature & Play
- Improv for Teachers
- Improvisation & Fundraising
- Rev Up Your Play-o-meter with Us
- Play with Science & Arts
- Let's Dance with Mistakes
- Embrace uncertainty:
- Rediscovering Education
With every facilitator bringing in their A-game, each workshop was carefully curated, therapeutic, and left a lasting impression on the participants' minds, which can be seen in some of the following reflections:
“Failure and Mistake is really a great playground for discovery and understanding if we frame it as such.”
“If we are happy and everything is going well, it’s easy to feel happy. But when things are difficult and challenging, you feel more worried when you make mistakes. We need to believe that we can always play through mistakes.”
“I want intergenerational play, where young and old all play together, with deep belly laughs till you are almost crying.”
“My wish is that people should show up authentically for themselves and who they are, and be accepted and loved.”
“At first, whenever I make mistakes, I feel dumb. But now, I feel making mistakes is a chance to improve myself.”
We had conversations that led us to see that life is full of uncertainty. And if that be the case, it’s okay to feel uncertain. Unlike what is often experienced in typical classrooms where mistakes are often criticised and leave us feeling worthless, ashamed, and unworthy, we learnt how to dance when we make mistakes. We revved up our play-o-meters and learnt how educators can switch learning up in the classroom by guiding learners to demonstrate a poem and embody their answers. We learnt how to activate our left and right brains to co-create and collaborate, which is also known as activating your PLAY QUOTIENT (PQ as opposed to IQ).
We were thrilled to receive a letter from Father Borneo, an educator and Principal of St. Augustine’s Day School, Shyamnagar, India after he attended the playshop. Here’s an excerpt:
“Thanks to the entire team of GPB India for organizing a virtual workshop on the playful learning process on 29.07.24. It was a unique experience for both the Students and Teachers, who participated in the workshop and got acquainted with the various methods and activities of the playful learning process. I think this is high time for the educators and syllabus committee members of the various educational boards in India to adopt the methodology of playful learning and induct it to our education system. It will help the students to think out of the box and to venture beyond the common boundaries of their academic curriculum. The playful learning education system will guide the students to the pathway of joyful learning, which will bring success and mark the progress of such endeavors.”
We agree Father Borneo! His feedback is a testament to the desire and need for new approaches to learning. These kinds of feedback keep us going and yearning to continue to work to bring play into the mainstream of life.
A big thank you to the
GPB Educators Salon led by Brigadiers Hikaru Hie and Mamiko Miyamoto and to all our playful and energetic facilitators and brigadiers from USA, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, China, Argentina, Germany, Canada, Nigeria, India and Tunisia, for designing these amazing playshops and their immense contributions to making Playtelligence a huge success. We appreciate everyone's time, resources, creativity and belief in the power of play, and improvisation in shaping learning in our world. A special mention and appreciation to Brigadier Ishita Sanyal for her intentional mobilization of players in the education system in India.
We look forward to creating more magical moments at our next Playshop, coming up in October 2024!
