SEEKING PLAY

Some people see a city as streets, buildings, and infrastructure. Troy Innocent sees it as a playground.

A BMX-riding, LEGO-city-building, world-maker from childhood, Troy never stopped playing. But instead of keeping it to himself, he turned his playful instinct into The Future Play Lab.

At RMIT, Troy is transforming how people interact with public spaces through speculative design, urban play, Indigenous knowledge and augmented reality experiences like 64 Ways of Being. 

From risky play in childhood to playful interventions in cityscapes, Troy and The Future Play Lab are proving that play isn’t just fun; it’s how we reimagine the world. 

______________________

Hello there!

We’re Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy. We’re a husband and wife team and co-founders of the service design studio How Might We -⁠ ⁠www.howmightwe.design⁠⁠ 

We're passionate about Serious Play and provide online, in-house training in the LEGO Serious Play method worldwide. Please say hello, if you would like to bring the LEGO method to your organisation.

We also do in-person training across Ireland and the UK⁠ ⁠www.howmightwe.design/lego-serious-play-ireland⁠⁠ 

______________________

Troy who? 

Dr Innocent (he/they) is an urban play scholar, artist, game maker and Director of the future play lab at RMIT University in Narrm Melbourne. The lab develops socially engaged and site-responsive urban play connecting experimental game design, public space, posthuman methods, and creative technologies. 

Working with the city as a material, their approach to reworlding develops posthuman methods that reimagine, reconfigure and reconnect with the world. This involves transdisciplinary practices across design, sculpture, animation, sound, light and installation using methods of multiplatform storytelling that connect objects with their environment to build speculative worlds that playfully defamiliarise and disrupt urban life.

Troy has 25 years of experience in gallery-based exhibitions, symposia and site-specific projects, developing augmented reality games that blend physical objects with digital interfaces to reimagine everyday urban environments in playful ways, situating his work in Aarhus, Melbourne, Bristol, Barcelona, Istanbul, Ogaki, Sydney, Tampere and Hong Kong. They are the creator of 64 Ways of Being, an urban adventure platform combining audio walks and mixed realities to situate players in new experiences of place.

Contact Details

Email

[email protected]

Linkedin 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/troy-innocent/ 

Website 

http://futureplaylab.io 

Twitter 

@playablemelb

Additional Resources 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_De_Koven 

https://direct.mit.edu/books/monograph/2338/Critical-PlayRadical-Game-Design 

https://www.dukeupress.edu/staying-with-the-trouble 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_Briggs 

https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Making-the-Case-for-Playful-Learning-Ilgaz-Hassinger-Das/142f7fb1e64d444e053eda974860ac7711127de7 

Timestamps

(0:00) - Dr. Troy Innocent

(2:15) - Troy’s Childhood and Early Play Experiences

(5:03) - Risky Play: How It Shapes Identity

(6:58) - Advice to Younger Self: Balancing Playfulness and Seriousness

(9:50) - The Role of Intuition in Play and Creativity

(13:19) - Striking a Balance Between Seriousness and Playfulness at Work

(18:04) - Adult Playfulness: Breaking Clichés and Misconceptions

(24:45) - How Urban Play Inspires New Ways of Thinking About the Future

(29:25) - Hopeful Play: A Tool for Social and Ecological Change

(35:01) - Exploring Melbourne’s Hidden Histories Through Play and AR

(39:41) - 64 Ways of Being: Augmented Reality and Storytelling

(42:10) - Lego Build: How Troy’s Work Helps People See the World Differently

(47:00) - Playlabs as a Catalyst for Change in Academia

(50:34) - Entangling People in Creative Ways of Thinking

Hello there!

We’re Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy. We’re a husband and wife team and co-founders of the service design studio How Might We - www.howmightwe.design 

We're passionate about Play and provide online, in-house training in the LEGO Serious Play method to teams worldwide.

We’re also training across Ireland and the UK www.howmightwe.design/lego-serious-play-ireland 

Introduction

Have you ever visited a museum and felt like you had to tiptoe around, afraid to touch anything? Ever felt like education was about memorising facts rather than genuinely exploring ideas? Ever thought play was something you left behind in childhood when, in reality, it should stay with you into adulthood? Well, you’re not alone.

Dr. Katrin Heimann joins us to explore play as an act of listening, care, and creative reconstruction. As a researcher and educator, Katrin challenges the sometimes rigid structures of academia and museums, advocating for spaces that foster agency, interaction, and playfulness. From unpacking the emotional layers of learning to reimagining institutions as places of joy and experimentation, Katrin chats about why play is personal and political.

___________________

LEGO Alert!

Around the 42-minute mark, Katrin answers a question using LEGO.

Katrin who?

Katrin Heimann is trained in philosophy and cognitive neuroscience and has specialised in exploring the richness of humans' subjective experience using qualitative methods. 

She is one of the leading experts in the interview and analysis technique of micro-phenomenology, with which she has investigated an extensive range of experiences, especially those related to art, creativity, play, and learning. 

Currently, she holds the position of Assistant Professor at the Center for Educational Development at Aarhus University, where she researches and develops facilitation tools and resources for engaging and inclusive classrooms within academia.

Katrin’s Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has led her to understand the value of designing neuroinclusive learning environments, and she is working on the project Developing Teacher Education for the Neuroinclusive University.

Contact Details

Email

[email protected] 

Research

https://www.au.dk/en/[email protected]

How Playfulness Motivates: Putative Looping Effects of Autonomy and Surprise Revealed by Micro-Phenomenological Investigations

https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/how-playfulness-motivates-putative-looping-effects-of-autonomy-an

Developing Teacher Education for the Neuroinclusive University

https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/projects/developing-teacher-education-for-the-neuroinclusive-university

Book

Practicing Embodied Thinking in Research and Learninghttps://www.routledge.com/Practicing-Embodied-Thinking-in-Research-and-Learning/Schoeller-Thorgeirsdottir-Walkerden/p/book/9781032498720?srsltid=AfmBOoqkYjiEmlKoBDH8tQwPry_WE5PV6QiVJFPpTeUxqODJg6QH1XaJ 

Additional Resources 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Courage-Teach-Exploring-Landscape-Anniversary/dp/0787996866

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_hooks 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/audre-lorde 

https://www.guernicamag.com/sara-ahmed-the-personal-is-institutional/ 

(0:00) - Introduction and Welcome

(2:22) - Katherine’s Childhood and Early Play Experiences

(6:58) - Early Career Reflections and Advice to Younger Self

(9:50) - Balancing Seriousness and Playfulness in Work

(12:38) - Defining Adult Playfulness and Its Role in Engagement

(18:45) - The Interplay Between Humans and Non-Humans in Play

(29:38) - Research Study: “Ducks in a Box” - Exploring Playful vs. Non-Playful Conditions

(39:02) - The Playful Academic: Introducing a Treasure Box for Researchers

(42:14) - Lego Build 1: What Inspires Katherine About Her Work?

(46:59) - How Her Work Helps People Think and Feel Differently

(48:35) - Final Reflections: Play as the Best Way of Being

Ever count using your fingers as an adult? Ever struggle to articulate an idea until you sketch it out on a whiteboard? Ever discuss 'stakeholder relationships' during lunch by sliding around the table condiments? Ever moved Lego objects around to scenario test project implementation? Ever considered how ‘playing around’ with objects helps you ‘play around’ with ideas?

Maybe we’ve overlooked that these everyday gestures highlight our fundamental human tendency to think with our body and think with things.

If your organisation is making decisions that affect corporate budgets in the multi-millions and multi-billions, wouldn't 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 make sense?

And if we spend roughly 13 years in primary and secondary schooling (plus more years in college), wouldn't 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 make sense?

Well, it does to Sarah Kuhn, who wrote the wonderful book 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴.

By shining a light on the power of hands-on, embodied engagement, Sarah shows us how to harness our innate capacity for physical thinking in the classroom so students engage in creative learning that sticks.

___________________

Hello there!

We’re Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy. We’re a husband and wife team and co-founders of the service design studio How Might We.

We're passionate about Play and provide online and in-house training in the LEGO Serious Play method. If interested, please reach us at www.howmightwe.design

___________________

LEGO Alert!

Around the one-hour mark, Sarah busts out LEGO to answer some questions.

Sarah who?

Sarah is an Educator, Author, Workshop Leader, Speaker, and Instigator. She is also a Professor Emerita in the Department of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Low-ell. Before beginning her thirty-year teaching career, Sarah received a PhD in Urban Studies and Planning from MIT and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Social Psychology from Harvard University.

Sarah offers hands-on workshops, book talks, and consulting on topics related to her book Transforming Learning Through Tangible Instruction: The Case for Thinking With Things. Sarah's long-term goal is to partner with interested faculty from across disciplines to develop curriculum modules that will support the teaching of key concepts using a Thinking With Things approach.

Email

[email protected]

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-kuhn-84023913/

Book

Transforming Learning Through Tangible Instruction The Case For Thinking With Things Sarah Kuhn 2022

Websites

https://www.thinkingwiththings.com/

https://www.occupythehand.com/

Research Gate

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sarah-Kuhn-2

Additional Topics

https://www.bera.ac.uk/news/professor-anna-craft-founder-of-the-bera-creativity-in-education-sig

https://early-education.org.uk/friedrich-froebel/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Heinrich_Pestalozzi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Steiner

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Montessori

https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Oppenheimer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Robert_Oppenheimer

Timestamps

(2:35) - Dr. Sarah's Childhood Play and Maker Experiences

(8:03) - Defining Adult Playfulness and Creativity

(10:05) - Balancing Seriousness and Play in Work and Life

(18:45) - The Connection Between Play and Learning

(25:05) - How Hands-On Materials Enhance Learning

(35:07) - The Role of Embodied Cognition in Education

(41:54) - The Impact of Lego and Playful Activities in Classrooms

(52:23) - Incremental Changes and Creating Permission for Play

(1:16:05) - The Story of Crocheted Hyperbolic Planes and Closing Remarks

LEGO Alert!

Around the 50-minute mark, Sunni busts out LEGO to answer some questions.

___________________

Hello there!

We’re Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy. We’re a husband and wife team and co-founders of the service design studio How Might We - www.howmightwe.design

We're passionate about Play and provide online and in-house training in the LEGO Serious Play method to:

1) Third-level Educators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Ed_Innovators

2) Organisational Innovators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Org_Innovators

Episode Twelve

It’s often tempting to describe a guest as a "Legend," but this label feels especially fitting for Sunni Brown. And we don’t just mean legend in the sense of being "famous"- though Sunni deservingly is. We mean legend as in "a story handed down by our ancestors," as we believe Sunni embodies the stories of our ancestors.

As the author of The Doodle Revolution, Sunni embodies our ancestors who used cave paintings to communicate hunting tactics, societal values, and intangible spiritual concepts. This connection is particularly strong with Sunni’s new venture, the Centre for Deep Spiritual Design.

As the co-author of Gamestorming, Sunni represents our ancestors who used games to teach skills, resolve conflicts, and strengthen bonds. These games were vital for transmitting cultural knowledge and identity across generations, and for Sunni across organisations.

So there you have it.

Sunni Brown.

Legend.

Sunni Who? 

Sunni Brown is a social entrepreneur, bestselling author, keynote speaker, expert collaboration designer and facilitator, and earnest American Zen practitioner.

She’s the founder of creative consultancy Sunni Brown Ink and The Centre For Deep Self Design, and was named one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” and one of the “10 Most Creative People on Twitter” by Fast Company.

Her TED talk has drawn over 1.6 million views, and her work on visual thinking has been featured in every major U.S. publication, including The New York Times, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, WIRED, and Entrepreneur. She has also been featured twice on CBS Sunday Morning and The TODAY Show. The former CEO of MURAL recruited her to be their first and only Innovator-in-Residence.

Sun’s two globally beloved books - Gamestorming and The Doodle Revolution have been translated into over 25 languages. She's one of the educators widely credited with the rise of visual thinking as a tool for deeper inquiry.

Contact Details

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnibrown/ 

Websites

www.centerfordeepselfdesign.com

www.sunnibrown.com 

https://nothingintheway.substack.com/ 

Email

[email protected] 

Books

The Doodle Revolution

https://amzn.eu/d/eWjYiKI

Timestamps

(0:00) - Introduction and Welcome

(0:14) - Guest Introduction: Sunni Brown

(2:02) - Key Quotes from Sunni Brown

(3:28) - Introduction to the Interview

(4:04) - Sunni’s Childhood and Personality

(6:59) - Overcoming Adversity and Resilience

(10:00) - Parenting and Play

(13:07) - Stories of Vulnerability and Recovery

(14:26) - Adult Playfulness and Attributes

(17:08) - Primitive Ancestral Wisdom of Play

(21:00) - The Value of Being Present

(22:26) - Play as a Socializing Function

(26:12) - Play in the Workplace

(28:21) - The Importance of Play in Preventing Aging

(30:00) - Facing the Unexpected

(32:21) - Embracing Chaos for Creativity

(35:33) - Advice for Young Professionals

(39:35) - Explaining Work to a Child

(40:54) - Career Evolution and Fuzzy Goals

(45:14) - Current Work and Collaboration

(48:11) - Doodling and Visual Thinking

(49:30) - The Role of Visual Language

(50:18) - Using LEGO for Creative Expression

(51:00) - What Inspires Your Work

(52:00) - Impact of Work on Perception

(54:39) - Conceptualizing with LEGO

(57:05) - Designing Systems for Collaboration

(58:07) - Softening Separation

(59:52) - Closing Remarks and Future Collaboration

Hello there!

We’re Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy. We’re a husband and wife team and co-founders of the service design studio How Might We - www.howmightwe.design

We're passionate about Play and provide online and in-house training in the LEGO Serious Play method to:

1) Third-level Educators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Ed_Innovators

2) Organisational Innovators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Org_Innovators

Episode 11

Many of us experience Tsundoku, the phenomenon of eagerly buying books but letting them pile up around our homes without reading them. But have you heard of Tsunbacku? 

No? Well, that’s not surprising, as we just made it up! Tsunbacku is the opposite of Tsundoku. It’s the phenomenon of returning ‘back’ to those pile of books that continue to inspire you. 

One such book is Serious Play, so we were delighted to chat with Michael Schrage. 

Michael Who?

Michael Schrage is a research fellow with the MIT Sloan School of Management's Initiative on the Digital Economy. His research, writing, and advisory work focuses on the behavioural economics of models, prototypes, and metrics as strategic resources for managing innovation risk and opportunity. 

Michael is the author of multiple books, including The Innovator’s Hypothesis, Who Do You Want Your Customers to Become?, Serious Play, and Recommendation Engines.

Michael has run design workshops and executive education programs on innovation, experimentation, and strategic measurement for organisations worldwide and is currently pioneering work in silverware technologies designed to augment productive individuals' aspects, attributes, and talents. He is particularly interested in the co-evolution of expertise, advice, and human agency as technologies become smarter than those using them.

Since 2017, Michael has been a guest editor for MIT SMR’s Big Ideas initiatives, including Future of Leadership, Future of the Workforce (2019-2020), Performance Management (2018-2019), and Strategic Measurement (2017-2018). 

Contact Details

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mschrage/ 

Email

[email protected] 

Research Papers 

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael-Schrage 

Big Think

https://bigthink.com/people/michaelschrage/ 

Michael’s Books 

Serious Play: How the World's Best Companies Simulate to Innovate 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875848141/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3 

Recommendations Engines 

https://www.amazon.com/Recommendation-Engines-Press-Essential-Knowledge/dp/0262539071 

The Innovators Hypothesis How Cheap Experiments Are Worth More Than Good Ideas 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BSZC81Q/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2 

Who Do You Want Your Customers to Become? 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008HRM9X4/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1 

No More Teams! Mastering the Dynamics of Creative Collaboration https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385476035/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i5

Shared Minds: The New Technologies of Collaboration

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394565878/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4 

Additional Topics 

Robert K Greenleaf - Servant Leadership 

https://www.greenleaf.org/what-is-servant-leadership/ 

Roger Martin 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Martin_(professor) 

Herbert A Simon 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_A._Simon 

Edward de Bono 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_de_Bono 

Erving Goffman 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erving_Goffman 

Kenneth E Boulding 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_E._Boulding 

Virginia Satir 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Satir 

Peoplemaking by Virginia Satir https://www.amazon.com/Peoplemaking-Condor-Books-Virginia-Satir/dp/0285648721 

LEGO Literacy Alert

Nope, we didn’t ask Marc to answer any questions using Lego, but he did complete some Madlibs on Mural at 59 mins

___________________

Hello there!

We’re Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy. We’re a husband and wife team and co-founders of the service design studio How Might We - www.howmightwe.design

We're passionate about Play and provide online and in-house training in the LEGO Serious Play method to:

1) Third-level Educators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Ed_Innovators

2) Organisational Innovators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Org_Innovators

Episode 10

“Adult playfulness is the same as childhood playfulness.” Yes, you heard that right. THE. SAME.

In this episode, we chat with Dr. Marc Anderson about his fascinating research on play through a predictive processing framework.

By understanding play in this way, we can revolutionise our approach to integrating play into workplaces and classrooms, fostering more innovative and adaptable environments that are more engaging and fulfilling for everyone involved.

Marc who?

Dr Marc Malmdorf Andersen is an associate professor at the Department for Culture, Cognition & Computation, Aarhus University Denmark. His research focuses on play, risky play and recreational forms of fear in children and adults. 

Mark is the author of Play and has co-authored some really interesting research papers, such as: 

1) Play in Predictive Minds

2) Play, Reflection, and the Quest for Uncertainty

3) Getting a Kick out of Film: Aesthetic Pleasure and Play in Prediction Error Minimizing Agents

4) Can playing Dungeons and Dragons be good for you? Tabletop role-playing games to mitigate social anxiety and reduce problematic gaming.

Marc’s Book - Play 

https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/23062/play 

Email

[email protected] 

Twitter (or X)

https://x.com/marc_m_andersen?lang=en 

Academic website

https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/persons/mana%40cas.au.dk 

Play in Predictive Minds: A Cognitive Theory of Play

https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/play-in-predictive-minds-a-cognitive-theory-of-play 

Play, Reflection, and the Quest for Uncertainty

https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/play-reflection-and-the-quest-for-uncertainty 

Can playing Dungeons and Dragons be good for you? Tabletop role-playing games to mitigate social anxiety and reduce problematic gaming. https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/can-playing-dungeons-and-dragons-be-good-for-you-tabletop-role-pl

Getting a Kick out of Film: Aesthetic Pleasure and Play in Prediction Error Minimizing Agents
https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/getting-a-kick-out-of-film-aesthetic-pleasure-and-play-in-predict

Timestamps

(0:00) - Introduction to the Podcast and Hosts

(4:05) - Dr. Anderson's Childhood and Play

(8:03) - The Importance of Risky Play

(10:05) - Explanation of Adult Playfulness

(16:41) - Addressing the Stigma of Adult Playfulness

(18:03) - Misunderstandings About Play

(21:12) - The Connection Between Play and Learning

(26:03) - Predictive Processing and Play

(30:26) - Balancing Work and Play in Academia

(34:00) - Simplifying Research for a Young Audience

(35:07) - Discussion on Predictive Processing Paper

(41:54) - Explaining Cognitive Differences in Children and Adults

(45:56) - Practical Applications of Predictive Processing in Organizations

(48:41) - Research on Recreational Fear

(57:56) - Applying Recreational Fear in Organizations

(1:01:03) - Encouraging Risky Play in Children

(1:08:10) - Potential Impact of Risky Play on Entrepreneurship

LEGO Literacy Alert

Nope, we didn’t ask Dara to answer any questions using Lego.

___________________

Hello there!

We’re Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy. We’re a husband and wife team and co-founders of the service design studio How Might We - www.howmightwe.design

We're passionate about Play and provide online and in-house training in the LEGO Serious Play method to:

1) Third-level Educators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Ed_Innovators

2) Organisational Innovators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Org_Innovators

Episode Nine 

George Bernard Shaw once said, “We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” By our estimation, Dara Simkin will be making a playful ruckus well beyond the age of 250!

We had a wonderful conversation with Dara, who rightly earns the title ‘Play Pioneer’ for the playful and innovative work she and her team at Culture Hero have done since 2016.

Throughout this time, Dara has collaborated with other Play Pioneers such as Dr. Stuart Brown and Brendan Boyle. We’re particularly excited about the research Dara is currently conducting with RMIT, which promises to legitimise the value of play in the workplace.

And who knows, maybe Dara will celebrate her 250th birthday in a Barry Manilow t-shirt! (Barry Manilow t-shirt? You have to watch the episode to find out why!)

Dara Who?

Dara Simkin is a Play Pioneer, the Founder of Culture Hero, and is serious about play at work. As a certified coach and expert in bringing purposeful play to enterprise, Dara has over a decade of experience supporting hundreds of organisations and professionals globally – igniting teams through the unrealised potential of play at work.

Working with brands like McKinsey, The LEGO Foundation, PWC, Chevron, Monash University and the Australian Government, she understands the nuances of different industries and how to embed playful interventions that create real impact.

Contact Details

Linkedin

linkedin.com/in/dara-simkin-culture-hero

Website

www.culturehero.co 

www.darasimkin.com 

Email

[email protected]

Twitter

@DaraSimkin

Additional Topics 

A NEW EARTH Create Your Better Life Today 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Earth-LIFE-CHANGING-otherworldly-Breakfast/dp/0141039418 

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment 

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Practicing-Hardcover-Collection-Eckhart/dp/9123821329 

Eckhart Tolle 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eckhart_Tolle 

The Heros Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heros-Journey-Joseph-Campbell-Collected/dp/1608681890 

Brene Brown

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bren%C3%A9_Brown 

Dr Stuart Brown

https://nifplay.org/about-us/about-dr-stuart-brown/ 

Brendan Boyle 

https://www.immersive-play.com/ 

Johan Huizinga 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Huizinga 

Amy Edmondson 

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6451 

IDEO

https://www.ideo.com/ 

Spotlight Effect 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotlight_effect

Timestamps

(0:00) - Introduction

(2:35) - Dara shares her childhood experiences

(8:03) - Defining adult playfulness

(13:01) - Dara's interest in play and personal development

(18:45) - Importance of intuition and playful mindset

(23:26) - Continued challenges in post-COVID work environments

(25:05) - Potential for play in a hybrid work model

(27:01) - Addressing misconceptions about play in professional settings

(29:55) - Description of Culture Hero and its mission

(33:45) - Using play to build soft skills in the workplace

(38:39) - Collaborations and research partnerships

(40:02) - Reflection on significant projects and events

(42:35) - Importance of purposeful play in professional development

(44:50) - Overcoming resistance to play in leadership

(48:25) - Empirical data supporting the importance of play

(51:00) - Reflection on personal experiences and play advocacy

(52:23) - Incremental changes and realistic expectations in adopting play

(54:20) - Final thoughts and advice on embracing play and authenticity

LEGO Literacy Alert

Nope, we didn’t ask Lynda is answer any questions using Lego.

___________________

Hello there!

We’re Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy. We’re a husband and wife team and co-founders of the service design studio How Might We - www.howmightwe.design

We're passionate about Play and provide online and in-house training in the LEGO Serious Play method to:

1) Third-level Educators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Ed_Innovators

2) Organisational Innovators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Org_Innovators

Episode Eight

It’s World Creativity and Innovation Week, but let’s not forget that the stress of these often glamourised pursuits can negatively impact our brains and relationships in the workplace (which can have greater repercussions within the home).

Taking risks and challenging the norm takes its toll not on ‘organisations’ but on people - moms, dads, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, and kids.

This is why we are delighted to speak with Dr Lynda Shaw, who holds a Doctorate in Cognitive Neuroscience and helps senior leaders and their teams create habits that increase brain health and emotional well-being.

Lynda Who?

Dr Lynda Shaw holds a Doctorate in Cognitive Neuroscience, specialising in the unconscious processing of emotion and behavioural change. During her undergraduate studies, Lynda studied psychology and social anthropology.

Lynda has written multiple academic papers and authorises two books, Your Brain is Boss and Beat the Bullies: Use Your Brain.

As founder of Brain & Behaviour, Lynda has worked with senior leaders and their teams who want better to understand the science of human behaviour and development.

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndashaw/?originalSubdomain=uk

Website

https://drlyndashaw.com/

Lynda’s Book - Your Brain Is Boss

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Brain-Boss-creativity-satisfaction/dp/1912300044

Lynda’s Book - Beat Bullies: Use Your Brain

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beat-Bullies-Brain-Herman-Homunculus/dp/0957145497

Research Papers

https://drlyndashaw.com/published-papers/

The Curious Evidence of the Unlimited Brain. | Dr Lynda Shaw | TEDx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDnYDLERnRE

Dr Lynda Shaw - Neuroplasticity at Work

https://executivesupportmagazine.com/neuroplasticity-at-work/

Additional Topics

Discussion between Lisa Feldman Barrett and Mark Solms on the nature of emotion (Part 1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yEPHUKyBOM

Discussion between Lisa Feldman Barrett and Mark Solms on the nature of emotion (Part 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni3cIhn4xb4

Lisa Feldman Barrett

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Feldman_Barrett

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain

https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Emotions-Are-Made-Secret/dp/1509837493

Gary Klein - The Power of Intuition

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Power-Intuition-Feelings-Better-Decisions/dp/0385502893

Timestamps

(0:00) - Introduction and welcome

(3:21) - Dr. Shaw's childhood play experiences

(8:02) - Defining adult playfulness

(11:03) - Early career advice and reflection

(13:01) - Dr. Shaw's interest in neuroscience

(18:45) - Understanding intuition and its workplace relevance

(22:43) - Debate and perspectives in neuroscience

(25:05) - Intuition and its scientific basis

(27:32) - Neuroscience and business leadership

(28:54) - Benefits of breaking habitual patterns

(30:05) - Neuroscience's role in improving team performance

(32:05) - Reverse mentoring and its benefits

(34:53) - The impact of unconscious behavior in business

(36:15) - Breaking automatic responses in communication

(37:29) - Value of tools like LEGO Serious Play

(39:08) - Example of breaking patterns (cycling in China)

(40:35) - Tips for leaders in the post-COVID world

(44:53) - Importance of acknowledging post-COVID changes

(45:51) - Student challenges and dropout rates

(46:19) - Using reverse mentoring for new graduates

(47:06) - Conclusion and final thoughts

(47:26) - Closing music and outro

LEGO Literacy Alert!

Around the 41-minute mark, Susan busts out LEGO to answer some questions.

___________________

Hello there!

We’re Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy. We’re a husband and wife team and co-founders of the service design studio How Might We - www.howmightwe.design

We're passionate about Play and provide online and in-house training in the LEGO Serious Play method to:

1) Third-level Educators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Ed_Innovators

2) Organisational Innovators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Org_Innovators

Episode Seven

Physical space, sensation, and movement affects learning??? Nonsense! Powerpoint does!

Plus, slides are even more amazing since AI can automatically input images of people with bizarre facial expressions and eight fingers!

As nonsensical as that last line is, how ridiculous is it that learning (for whatever age) has lost ‘touch’ (pun intended!) with the fact that physical space, sensation, and movement affect learning?

This is why Dr Susan Hrach’s book Minding Bodies: How Physical Space, Sensation, and Movement Affect Learning grabbed our attention. And while talking about attention, here’s a quote from Susan’s book we loved.

“The goal of increasing one's IA (Interoceptive Awareness) isn't to become more accurate but rather to gain more control over our attention to internal signals and to better regulate our responses to them.”

As the hype train for AI in learning continues to gather pace, we should also listen to the marginal (playful renegade) voices advocating for IA. So go listen

Susan Who?

Dr. Susan Hrach is the author of the 2022 Silver Nautilus Award-winning book Minding Bodies: how physical space, sensation, and movement affect learning (WVU Press, 2021). She is also the Director of the Faculty Center and a professor of English at Columbus State University in Georgia. The University System of Georgia has recognized her with a statewide Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award; she has also served as a scholar for the USG’s Executive Leadership Institute.

LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com/in/dr-susan-hrach/

Minding Bodies. How Physical Space, Sensation, and Movement Affect Learning

https://wvupressonline.com/minding-bodies

Website

www.susanhrach.com/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/susanhrach?lang=en

Additional Topics

Antonio Damasio - Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain

https://www.amazon.com/Descartes-Error-Emotion-Reason-Human/dp/014303622X

Antonio Damasio - Feeling & Knowing: Making Minds Conscious

https://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Knowing-Making-Minds-Conscious/dp/1524747556

Lisa Feldman Barrett

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Feldman_Barrett

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain

https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Emotions-Are-Made-Secret/dp/1509837493

Timestamps

(0:00) - Introduction and welcome

(2:32) - Susan's childhood experiences and independence

(8:54) - Adult playfulness and its importance

(11:45) - Balancing serious work with playfulness

(14:04) - Advice to younger self about playfulness and seriousness

(17:46) - Importance of embodied cognition in learning

(19:54) - Impact of environment on learning

(21:22) - Role of the body in the learning process

(24:15) - The importance of physical classroom environment

(27:10) - Experiencing learning outside the classroom

(30:09) - Tips for effective outdoor learning activities

(32:30) - Silver lining of COVID-19 for education

(33:10) - Importance of interoceptive awareness in learning

(34:20) - Classroom practices to enhance embodied learning

(36:12) - Recommendations for teachers to integrate embodied learning

(39:20) - Overcoming resistance to active learning

(41:50) - Transition to Lego builds

(42:07) - Lego build 1: What inspires you about your work?

(43:50) - Lego build 2: How do you think your work helps people think and feel differently about the world?

(45:26) - Lego build 3: What curiosity or conundrum do you want to conceptualize with Lego?

(46:50) - Reflection on resistance to change in education

LEGO Literacy Alert!

Around the 38-minute mark, Emer and Lisha use LEGO to answer some questions.

___________________

Hello there!

We’re Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy. We’re a husband and wife team and co-founders of the service design studio How Might We - www.howmightwe.design

We're passionate about Play and provide online and in-house training in the LEGO Serious Play method to:

1) Third-level Educators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Ed_Innovators

2) Organisational Innovators - https://bit.ly/LSP_Org_Innovators

Episode Six

A global conference about ‘Revolutionising Education Through Play’ Nonsense! We need more STEM! Play has done nothing for society!

‘Revolutionising Education Through Play’ may seem like a grandiose statement, but having spoken with our wonderful guests, we think it's entirely appropriate. Professor Emer Ring and Dr Lisha O’Sullivan should give us hope that the education system many of us struggled in is now being ‘revolutionised’ for young learners globally.

While we’re at it, let's get grandiose and ancestral and consider ‘Revolutionising Society Through Play’. Look back through human history. Play has always been a fundamental aspect of society. From ancient civilisations using games to teach important skills and values to Indigenous cultures integrating play into rituals and ceremonies, the role of play in shaping societal norms, values, and behaviours cannot be overstated.

Therefore, ‘Revolutionising Education Through Play’ inevitably leads to revolutionising society through play, as it influences how children and adults interact and contribute meaningfully to their communities and local ecology.

Conference

https://www.mic.ul.ie/faculty-of-education/conference/play2024

Emer who?

Professor Emer Ring is the Dean of Education at Mary Immaculate College (MIC). Emer has been the principal investigator on various national research projects covering early childhood, primary and post-primary education, inclusion, child/student voice, pedagogy and autism. She has published widely in the area of education.

Contact Details

https://www.mic.ul.ie/staff/669-emer-ring 

Emer's Research

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emer-Ring 

Dr Lisha O’Sullivan is the Head of the Department of Reflective Pedagogy and Early Childhood Studies at Mary Immaculate College (MIC), Limerick. Lisha lectures across early childhood and teacher education programmes at MIC and supervises research in early childhood education at undergraduate, Master's and PhD levels. 

Contact Details

https://www.mic.ul.ie/staff/171-lisha-osullivan

Lisha's Research

https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Lisha-OSullivan-2139633477 

Topics Covered

Paul Ramchandani

https://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/people/staff/ramchandani/ 

Tim Gill

https://rethinkingchildhood.com/about/ 

Minding Bodies: How Physical Space, Sensation, and Movement Affect Learning

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Minding-Bodies-Physical-Sensation-Education/dp/1949199991 

Jean Piaget - Four Development Stages

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaget%27s_theory_of_cognitive_development 

Lev Vygotsky - Theory Of Cognitive Development

https://www.structural-learning.com/post/vygotskys-theory 

Reggio Emilia Approach

https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach/

Loris Malaguzzi

https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/reggio-emilia-approach/loris-malaguzzi/ 

Robert Root-Bernstein

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Root-Bernstein

Timestamps

(0:00) - Introduction and welcome

(3:09) - Guests sharing their childhood play experiences

(18:45) - Benefits of play for young children in the early years

(24:01) - Creating play spaces for children

(27:45) - Integrating play-based pedagogy in the classroom

(29:01) - Child and teacher agency in education

(30:29) - Adult playfulness and creativity in the workplace and personal lives

(34:55) - Role of play in leadership and organizational effectiveness

(38:29) - LEGO build 1: What inspires you about your work?