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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Imagination PLAYce<\/a> is a classroom space on campus associated with the School of Education<\/a> where faculty and students can visit to participate in playful activities such as stop motion, zines, collaging and data selfies.<\/a> While play-based learning and recess are being reduced<\/a> by some K-12 schools as a way to accommodate more time<\/a> spent preparing for state testing, the Imagination PLAYce is one outlet for higher education students to learn through play.<\/p>\n The Imagination PLAYce aims to disrupt power dynamics<\/a> 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<\/a>, together.<\/p>\n Vasudevan, founder and director of the Imagination PLAYce, believes playful activities are important for learning at all educational levels.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mission [at the Imagination PLAYce] really is to bring a sense of authenticity, creativity and play to people\u2019s learning, to find this humanity in teaching and learning,\u201d Vasudevan said.<\/p>\n Vasudevan said she wanted to create an educational space where students can explore their creative interests, but also where they can safely fail.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cArt 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,\u201d Vasudevan said.<\/p>\n Laura Vinski, a student in her final year of the Combined Applied Studies in Education<\/a> program, highlighted how play was a key part of her early elementary teacher preparation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was in a kindergarten placement, play was an essential part of our daily routine,\u201d Vinski said. \u201cThrough 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Vinski visited the Imagination PLAYce last spring in her class, HHD1050, \u201cSupervision and Administration in Child\/Youth Work Settings.\u201d Here, students were given a canvas board to make collages representing their teaching philosophies.<\/p>\n \u201cI liked seeing what different people gravitated to and how different all of our final pieces looked,\u201d Vinski said. \u201cPeople used a wide range of media to make our art, from acrylic paint to magazine clippings.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n