A New Approach to Playful Learning in Higher Education
What if learning could be more joyful, engaging, and effective? What if we could redesign our teaching to tap into the natural human love of play while still maintaining academic rigor and achieving learning outcomes?
These questions are at the heart of the RE:PLAY Learning Design Framework, a structured yet flexible approach to helping educators integrate playful learning into their modules and courses.
Why Playful Learning?
Play isn’t just for children. Research shows that playful approaches to learning can increase motivation, deepen engagement, foster creativity, and help students develop skills they’ll use beyond the classroom. But introducing play into formal education can feel daunting, especially when faced with institutional constraints, quality assurance requirements, and the pressure to “get it right.”
That’s where RE:PLAY comes in.
The Seven-Step Journey
The framework guides educators through seven interconnected stages, each building on the last:
1. Reimagine – Explore possibilities and envision new playful approaches without constraints
2. Reality Check – Ground your ideas in practical considerations and identify what’s feasible
3. Redesign – Determine which forms of play work best for your module and how to implement them
4. Realise – Develop the materials, resources, and activities to bring your vision to life
5. Reboot & Reflect – Deliver your playful module while adapting based on real-time feedback
6. Research – Gather evidence about what worked and what didn’t
7. Rejoice – Celebrate successes, share lessons learned, and contribute to the community
The journey flows like a dolphin diving through waves – moving forward while remaining fluid, responsive, and joyful:
Built on Strong Principles
The framework rests on five core principles:
- Meaningful activity focused on skills and real-world application
- Intrinsic motivation from educators who want to create change
- Failure as learning, a positive part of the process for everyone
- Ludic community building among designers, staff, and students
- Imaginative freedom to think differently and take creative risks
Designed for Reality
We recognise that higher education institutions have structures and timelines that can make innovation challenging. The framework acknowledges these constraints while still creating space for meaningful change. You don’t need to overhaul your entire curriculum or wait for lengthy approval processes – the framework focuses on what you can achieve within existing systems while maintaining quality.
Throughout the process, you’re supported by learning designers and a community of fellow educators who are on the same journey. This isn’t about going it alone – it’s about building a playful learning community where ideas, successes, and even failures can be shared openly.
Ready to Begin?
Whether you’re a single educator looking to inject more playfulness into your teaching, or part of a team wanting to transform an entire module, the RE:PLAY Framework provides the structure, support, and resources to make it happen.
The framework includes practical tools, templates, guides, and regular touchpoints with learning designers to help you at every stage. From initial workshops that help you reimagine possibilities, to reflection guides that help you adapt during delivery, to sharing templates that let you celebrate and disseminate your innovations – everything you need is provided.
Explore the Full Framework
Ready to start your playful learning journey? Discover the growing RE:PLAY Framework, as we develop all the tools, resources, and detailed guidance for each step.
The RE:PLAY Learning Design Framework is based on the Magic Circle of Playful Learning (Whitton et al., 2025) and has been developed to support educators in creating more engaging, meaningful, and joyful learning experiences.