AnnMarie Thomas, Professor at University of St. Thomas, USA, joined us to give the keynote address at the CPSN virtual launch. She is the co-founder of the Center for Engineering Education at the University of St. Thomas. She is also the founder and director of the Playful Learning Lab which dedicates itself to encouraging students of all ages to embrace learning through play. During her keynote, she spoke about the four elements of play: joy, whimsy, playing with new people, and surprise, while demonstrating to the network, the value and place of each element in play.
“You really are my heroes” AnnMarie shared with our teachers, expressing the importance of having incredible teachers who are committed to the work they do and the students they teach. She concluded her address by prompting teachers to reflect on the four elements of play and to ask themselves :
- How do you bring the smiles?
- How do you go beyond the smiles to whimsy?
- How do you invite new people in?
- What elements of surprise can you add?
We thank AnnMarie for joining us and sharing her invaluable insights with the team, and hope that by watching the video below, you will be just as motivated to find the place of play in your own practice. You can watch the keynote in full below :