Play and Learning in Finnish
Education Policy and Practice Kristiina Kumpulainen
Department of Teacher Education University of Helsinki
www.helsinki.fi/yliopisto
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The secret of Finnish education
ü Drinking more coffee per capita than any other nation
ü Having and taking the most saunas of any other country in
the world
ü Eating fish nearly every day
ü Speaking Finnish
ü Investing in the highest quality preparation for all teachers
ü Believing in the power of play
ü All above?
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Finnish education system"
l 
The principle of equal educational opportunity l 
Teaching profession highly qualified, valued and trusted
l 
Local autonomy and de-centralisation
l 
Holistic development of learners – wellbeing matters too! l 
Promotion of lifelong and lifewide learning
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Play matters
•  Play during early childhood is necessary if humans are
to reach their full potential. You do not stop playing
because you grow old,
you grow old because you
stop playing – Shaw
You can discover more
about a person in an hour
of play than in a year of
conversation. - Plato
Play has growth power
What is play? § There are diverse and even contradictory
definitions of play;
§ Brian Sutton-Smith (2001) identifies seven rhetorics of
play: as progress, as fate, as power, as identity, as the
imaginary, of the self, and finally as frivolous. §  Miguel Sicart (2014) makes the point that playfulness is
more of an attitude or a modality where we can take
"the attitude of play without the activity…. [it] is a
way of engaging with particular contexts and objects
that is similar to play but respects the purposes and
goals of that object or context” (pp. 21)
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Play and learning § There are play dimensions in learning and
learning dimensions in play. § Play as well as learning is about
experiencing and creating meaning of the
surrounding world.
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A cultural-historical approach "
to understanding play •  Play is a cultural-historical phenomenon •  Play is a rule-based activity: In play the child is
free. But this is an illusory freedom. Even the
imaginary situation of the play activity will always
contain rules (Vygotsky 1933/1967, 10)
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PLAYFUL LEARNING
www.helsinki.fi/yliopisto
Photo by jenni from the block - Creative Commons Attribution License https://www.flickr.com/photos/27624680@N02
Created with Haiku Deck
What is playful learning? • Best learning experiences emerge when
one is engaged in activities that one
enjoys, cares and feels passionate about
• Education should create opportunities to
learn when one plays and play when on
learns
• “Hands-on” and “minds-on” activities that
help children learn through playful
exploration and inquiry
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Why do we need to develop "
education towards playful learning?
§ World is changing
§ Our understanding of learning and knowledge is
changing
§ Our understanding of teaching and teacher’s
profession is changing
§ How to equip every learning for life and work in
the 21st century?
§ Education shapes society – not only the other
way round! Finnish pre-school curriculum 2016
digital
competency
Multiliteracy
Learning and
thinking
skills
Life skills
Cultural and
interactional
competency
There are a many people who are
intensively engaged, enthusiastic
and who work hard. It is a shame
that most of them are under 7years old. -Esa Saarinen.
We should not focus on
identifying who is creative
but rather on creating
situations in which
creativity can flourish!
Playful Learning Environment
A physical, material, social, cognitive and
emotional space in which learning takes place
§ The physical environment and space: inviting and
encouraging, fostering imagination, improvisation
exploration, and inquiry
§ Social and emotional environment and space:
warm and trusting relationships supporting
collaboration and friendships between children (and
adults)
§ Temporal space: It is necessary that children can
continue their play over several days (if they want).
Aim should be towards long-term play.
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Playful learning is ubiquitous
Parks, yards
and sportfields
Market places, malls
Cultural Institutions
Work places
After school clubs
Playful learning environments
Educational
institutions
Nature,
outdoors
Elderly homes
Homes
Digital
games,
social
media,
online
spaces
Wellbeing service
providers for children and
families
"
Researching and developing "
Playful Learning Solutions
Need
•  Great demand for playful learning solutions that
transform education into engaging 21st century
learning experience
Solution
•  Interdisciplinary ‘playground’ for cutting edge interdisciplinary research collaboration, education and
innovation
Benefits
•  Co-develop, design and test novel playful learning
solutions •  Get networked with innovative makers in education and gaming
•  Become frontier in the next generation of playful learning solutions that excite and accelerate learning
Playful Learning Center"
- What?
•  Living Lab environment for Playful Learning
Solutions: Research, Development and Education
•  Based on Finnish know-how in education, learning
sciences, digital game industry, architecture, design
•  Links Interdisciplinary researchers, educators,
educational authorities and games industry together •  Organized by the Department of Teacher Education
with Tekes funding and collaboration with the
Finnish Gaming Industry
•  Aims at world class R&D solutions and international
collaboration PLAYFUL LEARNING CENTER
PLC Ecosystem
University "
of Helsinki
-  Department of"
Teacher Education
-  Faculty of"
Behavioral"
Sciences - Department of"
Computer"
Sciences
- 
Authorities & Institutions"
- Ministry of Education and
Culture"
- Muicipalities and Cities -Cultural Institutions
Playful Learning Center
PLC
Academic partners
- Finnish and
International
Universities
- Academic partners
- Research and
Mobility Programs Companies and Innovation Communities
-  Finnish Educational Companies
-  Educational Start-ups and Entrepreneurs
-  International Companies and Institutions
Educational Events and Communities (e.g. SLUSH) Research
§  How playful learning is deployed and manifested in practice in
formal and everyday settings?
§  Oriented examining the development, implementation and
evaluation of tools, sites, contexts and technologies dedicated
to playful learning. §  Draws on learning sciences and other strands in education
inquiry as well as those fields where play is important such as
childhood studies, game studies and human development. www.plchelsinki.fi"
JOIN US!
Playful Learning Center (PLC)
Faculty of Behavioural Sciences
Department of Teacher Education
www.plchelsinki.fi