Toward a higher education playfulness pedagogy (HEPP) for pre-service early childhood Work Integrated Learning courses

In this “Reflection on Practice” paper we reflect on an early childhood Work Integrated Learning course redesign that explored new ways of developing and applying playfulness theory to higher education instructional approaches. Our experience was that the higher education students required more support to deepen their understanding of course content. In response, we engaged with emerging playfulness pedagogy theory to develop a Higher Education Playfulness Pedagogy instructional model that reflects the principles of pleasurable, immersive intellectual engagement and risk-taking. The focus was on creating the conditions in which students can risk-take amid an environment of academic rigor and authentic engagement. First, we outline the Higher Education Pedagogy of Playfulness model that was developed for the course rewrite, then provide information about the course redesign with the view that others may replicate some of our practices or approaches. Last, we draw on anonymous student survey responses to discuss the potentials of HE playfulness pedagogy for early childhood Work Integrated Learning programs, and suggest areas for future study and exploration.