The role of play in adult learning (In-person)

This event takes place on our Cambridge campus. You can also join us virtually. Play and games are often dismissed as 'child's play', frivolous, or non-serious - with no place in adult learning contexts. This is not, however, borne out in either practice or research: look back at recent times where games played a large part in the mental health of isolated adults during the pandemic. Researchers have long found that workers game or play around with difficult tasks at work to add creativity and interest; and even Nobel Prize winners have described how play helped them to make their breakthroughs. Alex will share the story of his journey from Archaeologist to Playful Learning leader, and how play as both a concept and practice can provide an alternative approach to higher education and leadership (which, as he will explain, is already quite game-like). As well as sharing his own evidence-gathering journey, he will invite you to join him in further experiments to see how your own approach to learning, teaching or research might already be playful or open to play. This will be an interactive talk, and you are warmly invited to come and play! Alex Moseley is Professor of Playful Learning and Head of Anglia Learning and Teaching at Anglia Ruskin University, where he leads strategic approaches to learning, teaching, assessment, academic development and digital learning. He is a Principal Fellow of AdvanceHE, a National Teaching Fellow and CATE Award winner. His research area is playful learning for adults in education and museums. He is also a Certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Facilitator, and co-founded the Playful Learning Association and Playful Learning Conference. He is currently Co-I on the UK's largest research award for an adult play project: RE:PLAY, which across six HEIs is evaluating the effect play and games have on student engagement and learning. At ARU, he is overseeing the playful redesign of six modules as well as building a local network of play researchers and practitioners.