Developing a three-strand approach to playfulness in learning development

In this presentation, we outlined the development of a new Academic Skills Service at Oxford International Education Group, which, whilst supporting students from seven university-based international colleges, implemented a three-strand approach to playfulness in learning development. The presentation focused on three examples of playful approaches: The use of digital and traditional game-based learning within otherwise performance-driven classes. The creation of playful spaces in the form of extracurricular cross-college book and Maths movies clubs. The development of a gamified Moodle learning system through activity badging and levelling up. These initiatives reflect current research regarding the value of playful approaches in student learning and in counterbalancing a predominantly performance-driven higher education environment (Langan and Smart, 2018; Whitton, 2018; Forbes, 2021). Firstly, game-based learning can increase student enjoyment, motivation, and participation in the learning process and promote social belonging (James and Nerantzi, 2019; Forbes, 2021). Secondly, online book/Maths clubs can operate as playful spaces where student learning is supported in a positive social environment and creativity and risk-taking become part of the learning process (Whitton, 2018; James and Nerantzi, 2019; Forbes, 2021). Thirdly, although the gamified Moodle learning system relies on extrinsic rewards, which reflect the performance-led ethos of HE (Nørgård, Toft-Nielsen and Whitton, 2017), it can also increase student motivation in completing learning activities. This presentation proposed that learning development departments, whilst supporting student outcomes and the student experience, may encounter fewer performance-led constraints compared with programme-based delivery, enabling the utilisation of playful approaches that are otherwise underused in HE.