About

What is Playful Learning at York?

In 2023, Pen and Laura met at the Playful Learning Association conference in Leicester, because it turns out that the best way to meet people from your institution is not at your institution, sometimes! In 2024, we reached out across the university to learn more about the amazing ways people at University of York were using playful activities and games to make learning more engaging and meaningful. We found groups of people doing great things in the library, in Sociology, in Education, and in Business and Management. We are still only just seeing the tip of the iceberg...

Who we are

We are a mixed group of people based at the University of York, all with an interest in using play creatively for pedagogy and scholarship. If you feel you might be called to join the flock, please join our mailing list or contact us!

Pen Holland

Professor in Biology

Laura Mitchell

Senior Lecturer in the School of Business for Society

Prasad Sandbhor

PhD researcher in Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence (IGGI)

Lynda Dunlop

Senior Lecturer in Education

Richard Tutton

Professor in Sociology

Raphaël Nowak

Lecturer in Sociology

Friends and Allies

We love working with other groups, nationally and internationally. Some of the groups linked below have either been involved in collaboration with us, or have done work that we have admired and appreciated!

Playful Learning Association

playfullearningassoc.co.uk/

A brilliant UK network of education professionals and practitioners committed to playful learning techniques

Playful Professors

professorsatplay.org/

A welcoming online community based mainly in the USA, founded by Lisa Forbes and David Thomas

Manchester Game Centre

manchestergamecentre.org/

A cross-university research network at Manchester Metropolitan University, headed by Jennifer Cromwell, Chloe Germaine & Paul Wake

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