Professors Get Serious About the Power of Play
Friday, June 22 2007
June 21, 2007 MOSCOW, Idaho – Play is full, willing, joyful engagement – simultaneously the essence of effective teaching and learning, and the perceived nemesis of serious study. Twenty-two University of Idaho professors reached across disciplines and spent a year investigating the complex power of play. “Play is risky since professors and students often think of these activities as frivolous and lacking substance,” said University of Idaho sociology professor Leontina Hormel. “The risk is compounded for professors with minority status. For example, we learned that women professors who incorporate games and simulations in their instruction are statistically more likely to be evaluated poorly by their students. Naturally, our team wished to challenge the notion that play is frivolous.” The Power of Play project was created in the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) and organized by Candida Gillis, professor of English, and Debbie Storrs, professor of sociology, anthropology and justice studies. Both are University of Idaho CLASS Humanities Fellows for 2006-07, and past recipients of University of Idaho Teaching Excellence Awards. Power of Play participants formed small learning teams, tasked with exploring some aspect of play. Gillis joined forces with Hormel and law professor Maureen Laflin, forming the “PlayTeach Learning Team,” to investigate play as a classroom tool. They recently presented their research at the Pacific Northwest American Studies Association Conference in Portland, Ore. The team’s research shows that the benefits of play far outweigh the risks. They found that play increases retention, promotes active listening and empathy, strengthens inductive reasoning and critical thinking skills, and allows students to test abstract concepts through concrete experience. “Maureen, Leontina and I focused on the uses of play in the classroom to teach skills useful in a variety of disciplines,” said Gillis. “I find play particularly effective because it is engaging and illustrative – students learn by doing.” One of the games Gillis uses in her classroom is “the crime scene game.” In it, each team receives a bag of unrelated objects, and the directive that a crime has been committed and all the objects are connected to it. The students’ task is to determine the crime, its victim(s), the perpetrator and the motive, then act out the crime. “All objects in the bag must be used,” Gillis notes. “The purpose of the game is to strengthen deductive reasoning. It also shows how narrative evolves, which is useful in teaching writing. That is the beauty of serious play: what is learned is rarely one, simple thing.” Laflin recently used a simple game to illuminate the finer points of persuasion in her dispute resolution class. Students were required to explain what they would like to change about the course itself, and to persuade her to make that change. “Most respondents wanted to eliminate the final exam, and argued for that,” said Laflin. “But only one of them said, ‘You will have to read fewer exams.’ He was the only one who passed. They can’t persuade me if they only take into consideration their own interests.” “Although I also think traditional lecture styles are important for structuring information, lectures lend to a passive environment in which learned concepts – because students do not practice them – are easily forgotten,” said Hormel. “All three of us in the group advocate the growth of students’ imaginations, rather than always memorizing others’ ideas.” While the benefits to students are many, play also is rewarding for educators. Faculty participants identified personal growth, interdisciplinary collaboration, teamwork building and stimulation of creativity in teaching and research among the rewards of serious play. University of Idaho curriculum also will benefit from the year-long experiment. Playful considerations will be infused into a core course being developed by Idaho professors Hormel (sociology), Shauna Corry (architecture), Brit Heisel (theatre) and Jodie Nicotra (English). The resulting core discovery class on the power of play will be offered during Fall 2008 and Spring 2009. Storrs is pleased that the research will result in a course to help others discover the power of serious play. “The interdisciplinary nature and excellent teaching reputations of the team promises to develop a thought provoking and interesting core class that will help first-year students embrace the privilege of higher education and encourage their retention at the University of Idaho,” said Storrs. Additional Idaho Learning Team research includes: “The Globalization of Humor,” by Becky Tallent, Deirdre Sommerlad-Rogers, and Denise Bennett; “Experiencing Play,” by Traci Craig, Grace Goc Karp and Rula Awwad-Rafferty; “Play & Death,” by Jodie Nicotra, Melanie Angela Neuilly, Kevin Johnston, Britt Heisel, David Lee-Painter and Jere Hodgin; “Resistance & Play: Sportsbetters’ Resistance to Gaming Legislation,” by Sandra Haarsager, Debbie Storrrs, John Mihelich and undergraduate James French; and “The Power of Play in Today’s Corporate Office: Creating an Environment for Success One Game at a Time," by Shauna Corry. Laflin also will present her team’s findings at the Northwest Clinical Conference for Law in October. For more information on the University of Idaho interdisciplinary study of the power of play, visit www.webs.uidaho.edu/play/ -30- About the University of Idaho Founded in 1889, the University of Idaho is the state’s flagship higher-education institution and its principal graduate education and research university, bringing insight and innovation to the state, the nation and the world. University researchers attract nearly $100 million in research grants and contracts each year; the University of Idaho is the only institution in the state to earn the prestigious Carnegie Foundation ranking for high research activity. The university’s student population includes first-generation college students and ethnically diverse scholars. Its high academic performers include 42 National Merit Scholars and a 2006-07 freshman class with an average high school grade point average of 3.42. Offering more than 150 degree options in 10 colleges, the university combines the strengths of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu. Contact: Joni Kirk, University Communications, (208) 885-7725, joni@uidaho.edu DE-6/21/07-CLASS/LAW
About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho helps students to succeed and become leaders. Its land-grant mission furthers innovative scholarly and creative research to grow Idaho's economy and serve a statewide community. From its main campus in Moscow, Idaho, to 70 research and academic locations statewide, U-Idaho emphasizes real-world application as part of its student experience. U-Idaho combines the strength of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. It is home to the Vandals. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu.