Perceptions of play : using Play-Doh to enhance the student experience in bioscience higher education

Playful and kinaesthetic learning approaches are used in numerous early years (birth to 5 years old) learning environments, however studies in HE STEM disciplines are uncommon. This study aimed to explore the use of Play-Doh in an undergraduate anatomy module as a method of enhancing engagement. 63 students attended the ‘kinaesthetic play' lecture, where students worked in teams to make a variety of epithelial cell types using Play-Doh. Before and after the activity, students were asked to ‘choose one word to describe how you feel'. Before the activity, 48.3% of responses were negative (E.g. confused, worried, childish). However, after the activity not a single negative response was recorded. 98% of students reported that they enjoyed the activity and 84% reported that the activity increased their understanding. This data suggests a utility for kinaesthetic playful practice in STEM teaching. Overcoming initial student perceptions towards alternative teaching practices is a challenge to be considered during session design

Motivation, engagement and learning through digital games

Digital games can be powerful learning environments because they encourage active learning and participation within “affinity groups” (Gee, 2004). However, the use of games in formal educational environments is not always successful (O’Neil et al., 2005). There is a need to update existing theories of motivation and engagement in order to take recent game-related developments into account. Understanding the links between why people play games, what keeps them engaged in this process, and what they learn as a result could have a significant impact on how people value and use games for learning. This paper examines key research that relates to motivation, engagement, and informal learning through digital games, in order to highlight the need for empirical studies which examine the activities that occur in and around everyday gaming practice