The possibilities of play: Pitt’s Imagination PLAYce emphasizes importance of play in learning

On the fifth floor of Posvar Hall, students can sometimes be found playing with Legos, making jewelry or creating art in a designated play space. 

The Imagination PLAYce is a classroom space on campus associated with the School of Education where faculty and students can visit to participate in playful activities such as stop motion, zines, collaging and data selfies. While play-based learning and recess are being reduced by some K-12 schools as a way to accommodate more time spent preparing for state testing, the Imagination PLAYce is one outlet for higher education students to learn through play.

The Imagination PLAYce aims to disrupt power dynamics in student and teacher relationships through independent artistic exploration, according to Veena Vasudevan. During class sessions, professors can bring their students to create artifacts, like heart maps, together.

Vasudevan, founder and director of the Imagination PLAYce, believes playful activities are important for learning at all educational levels.

“The mission [at the Imagination PLAYce] really is to bring a sense of authenticity, creativity and play to people’s learning, to find this humanity in teaching and learning,” Vasudevan said.

Vasudevan said she wanted to create an educational space where students can explore their creative interests, but also where they can safely fail. 

“Art can unsettle the traditional teacher-student dynamics in ways that allow for us to learn with one another, co-construct meaning together, collaborate, connect with one another, and contribute to the well-being of the teaching and learning environment,” Vasudevan said.

Laura Vinski, a student in her final year of the Combined Applied Studies in Education program, highlighted how play was a key part of her early elementary teacher preparation.

“When I was in a kindergarten placement, play was an essential part of our daily routine,” Vinski said. “Through their play, kids also have the chance to apply new skills and concepts they have been taught or observed around them, which helps internalize their learning.”

Vinski visited the Imagination PLAYce last spring in her class, HHD1050, “Supervision and Administration in Child/Youth Work Settings.” Here, students were given a canvas board to make collages representing their teaching philosophies.

“I liked seeing what different people gravitated to and how different all of our final pieces looked,” Vinski said. “People used a wide range of media to make our art, from acrylic paint to magazine clippings.” 

Cassie Quigley, a professor in the department of Teaching, Learning, and Leading, said hands-on learning is key, especially in science education, where she specializes. 

“We tend to have more opportunities [in K-12 education] for younger students to engage with hands-on activities, and then we sort of move away from that in [college in] many contexts,” Quigley said.

Quigley believes the independent exploration of creative interests and inquiries is at the foundation of positive educational experiences. Teachers, then, can lead students through their individual inquiries.

“Using the instructor as a facilitator can be a great way to let the students delve into different paths,” Quigley said. “It makes sense for different points of a student’s life.”

Through student surveys, faculty interviews, student artifacts and field notes, Vasudevan is researching the positive impact play can have in higher education as well. While Vasudevan hopes to eventually publish a paper about this research, the results so far are reflecting positive engagement from students and faculty alike.

“What we’re finding from students is that they come to the space and they say, ‘I felt joy. I felt calm, I felt a sense of nostalgia. I felt like a kid again. I felt this sense of being somewhere else, unfettered, unbothered. There was no end result. There’s no expectation. I felt freedom,’” Vasudevan said.

Vasudevan said she has partnered with over 20 faculty members to bring education classes to the Imagination PLAYce. 

“One of the things that faculty notice after they leave the space as a class is that they start to collaborate more,” Vasudevan said. “It is so loud because everybody’s talking. And people who’ve never spoken before in the entire class are now chatting, sharing stories, getting along, looking at each other’s artifacts, being inspired by things.”

With over 300 participants listed in the Imagination PLAYce’s 2024-2025 year review, Vasudevan hopes the center will continue to grow.

“I just hope that more people continue to think about play as an intentional and important part of the human experience,” Vasudevan said. 

Though play may not be emphasized in higher education as much as in K-12 schooling, Vasudevan supports play as a learning method for college students as well.

“[Children are] unafraid to touch things, to smell things, to put their arms and hands, and they use their bodies as the sensory tools,” Vasudevan said. “And as we get older, we lose all of those sort of instinctual practices that actually are really important for learning.”

Vasudevan hopes students in education and other disciplines will be able to recognize the importance of play across all ages through the Imagination PLAYce.

“There are many ways to express brilliance and understanding and knowing, and this space allows for you to play with those ideas,” Vasudevan said. “And play matters, not just for children, but for everybody.”