Playful Praxis Learning Community

Community Information

Facilitator: Ali Watts, Assistant Professor, School of Counseling, Higher Education, Leadership & Foundations & CFE Faculty Associate

Community Duration: Fall 2025-Spring 2026

Meeting Schedule, Modality & Location:

• Thu, Sept 18, 1:00-2:00 PM, Olscamp 103/Zoom
• Thu, Oct 16, 1:00-2:00 PM, Olscamp 103/Zoom
• Thu, Nov 20, 1:00-2:00 PM, Olscamp 103/Zoom
• Thu, Dec 11, 1:00-2:00 PM, Olscamp 103/Zoom
• Thu, Jan 22, 1:00-2:00 PM, Olscamp 103/Zoom
• Thu, Feb 26, 1:00-2:00 PM, Olscamp 103/Zoom
• Thu, March 19, 1:00-2:00 PM, Olscamp 103/Zoom
• Thu, April 16, 1:00-2:00 PM, Olscamp 103/Zoom

Community Participants: All BGSU faculty, adjunct instructors, graduate students, and staff who are current instructors of record are welcomed and encouraged to participate.

Community Description:

Designed for faculty, graduate-level instructors, and staff engaged in program facilitation, this learning community explores the emerging literature surrounding ‘playful pedagogy.’ Together, we’ll examine how these strategies can increase learner engagement, foster critical thinking and creative problem-solving, and resist transactional or compliance-orientated approaches to education. Meetings will focus on case studies, guest speaker reflections on teaching/facilitation practices, and ‘playbox sessions’ experimenting with experimental teaching strategies. Participants will design and workshop their own ‘playful intervention’ during the first semester and then implement, assess and revise the play as it unfolds the next term. Ideally, participants will collaborate on sharing their work with a wider audience by facilitating a session for the CFE during the academic year or at BGSU’s Teaching and Learning Summit and—depending on interest—an interdisciplinary publication that contributes to the emerging literature on playful teaching and learning across the disciplines.   

Community Learning Outcomes:

By participating in this community, you will be able to:

• Describe the characteristics and potential benefits of playful pedagogical strategies.
• Integrate playful orientations into your own teaching and facilitation philosophies.
• Demonstrate at least one new playful teaching technique.
• Evaluate student learning assessment through a creative and emergent lens.

Participant Expectations:

As a member of this community, you are expected to:

• Meet the community learning outcomes.
• Actively participate in and attend at least 80% of all scheduled community meetings (3 sessions per semester).
• Complete any assignments and/or asynchronous tasks.
• Complete any necessary deliverable activities or projects as determined by the facilitator.

Registration for this community is now closed.