Joyful Learning: Adding More Fun Into Your Lessons

Humans benefit from play, no matter how old they are! A playful classroom atmosphere can bring people together, lower student anxiety, and motivate or reinvigorate students and teachers. But when you’re working with adults, it’s important to be mindful of the purpose of the fun and games you introduce. Joyful learning happens when everyone understands how activities in the classroom are connected to what they want to learn.

In this training, we’ll identify games and other playful activities you can use for objectives like community building, practicing new skills, and reviewing information. We’ll discuss how to adapt games to different scenarios (online vs. in-person, for example), and consider when competitive or cooperative games are most appropriate to the situation. We’ll provide time for participants to reflect on their own favorite teaching games and give space for sharing resources and ideas with one another. Whatever your level of experience is, you’ll walk away from this training with a few new ideas to try out in your teaching context. 

This training is part of our Instructional Techniques series. Content is designed with tutors and teachers in mind, although everyone is welcome!