Marisa Brown, Career Curriculum Manager for Brock’s Co-op, Career and Experiential Education team, had a piece recently published by University Affairs about using a playful approach to career planning.

She writes:

“In a time of unforeseen change, as well as dealing with stress and high pressure to perform in new environments, play is not necessarily high on the priority list for businesses or academic institutions. Nor is play typically connected to job searches or career planning. Yet, we know there are many benefits to play.

Engaging in play relieves stress and is a strategy in counselling and therapy. Play-based learning(i.e., activities that are self-chosen, enjoyable, unstructured, process-oriented and involve “make believe”) has long been applied in education and many of these methods can also be applied to adult learning (check out Reconnecting Adults with Playful Learning and Play Matters: Six Play-Full Practices For Higher Education).

 For instance, Sean Michael Morris, a senior instructor of learning design and technology in the school of education and human development at the University of Colorado Denver, recently shared an article linking play and scholarship. He argues that there is a symbiotic relationship between knowledge and imagination. Lisa Forbes, an assistant clinical professor in the counseling program at the University of Colorado Denver, argues that play is a powerful means to establishing safe and trusting relationships in the classroom where students can take risks, speak up and truly engage in their learning. As graduate students and postdocs, you are creating new knowledge through your research and course work. Your imagination is at play as you develop new hypotheses, make connections from theory to practice, and apply new methodologies to new situations.”

Continue reading the full article here.