Why does lifelong play matter? | Kristiina Kumpulainen | TEDxOtaniemi

What is play, and why should we include it in our lives, no matter the age we are? Kristiina talks about the role of play in creativity and imagination, as well as how to play for as long as we live. Kristiina Kumpulainen is a professor of education at the University of Helsinki and the founder of the Playful Learning Center. She examines learning and education from an sociocultural perspective.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Hello everybody.

I'm here to talk about lifelong play
and why it matters.

We typically attach play to childhood.

Playing is something children like to do.

All around the world, across cultures.

It is the activity of play
that children enjoy.

With no other necessarily real purpose.

Just play matters.

In play children engage

and very often also create

different roles, different scenarios,

they use different types of tools,
costumes, equipments.

A stick can become a rocket;

under the table there may be a lion cave;

or a doctor's appointment.

Children invest so much energy
often in play and concentration

that a boy, for example,
who cannot sit still in a classroom

for less than a minute,

can stay still for 20 minutes
acting as a rock in a play.

Also our son, we were on a holiday,

he's six years old, there were no playmates.

Suddenly, there was a Norwegian boy,
a little bit older than him,

and we saw them just playing together.

Very shortly he just ran to us,
just to say that,

"Hey! We created a finger language.
This is going very well!"

Play is such an important part
of children's lives,

and I think we all agree
that so is the case.

Play is a very good way
to spend your time.

In my talk I would like to extend
our thinking

and stress that we may not think how
important play is for human development,

and not only for the children

but for all of us across our lives.

In adulthood there are many professions
that are considered "not playful",

or having nothing to do with play.

Only creative professions

are usually considered to have
some sort of element of play.

Being a professor of education, like me,

is not actually a profession that
is considered to be that "playful".

Actually, we are considered pretty boring.

And we're considered as knowledge workers,

who are seldom invited to give public talks.

We usually just give talks to each other

because we are a little bit boring.

However, I must tell you a secret:

I consider my job to be "highly playful".

Whereas artists and other creative people

use paint or clay to create
some new things to the world,

I use the knowledge that I've learned

and I "play" with that knowledge

in order to create a better understanding
of a particular phenomenon.

I follow the rules of the game
as we all must,

just like kids must follow rules
to create something new,

in order to make it justifiable.

I've learnt how to challenge the rules
of the game, when I am good enough,

and modify or even make new rules, as well.

This is what "play" is for me.

I've been reading lately a lot about play

and also about play in adulthood.

And it is actually interesting to discover

commonalities among adults and professionals

who have a very successful career.

Or among those who are very happy in life,

despite not necessarily achieving
professionaly the best position in society,

but who feel comfortable with
whatever they do or wherever they go.

These people seem to share the power of play.

They seem to keep playing
some sort of game.

This person is very famous.

We also see the same here in Finland

like President Obama playing basketball.

In Finland we see President Sauli Niinistö
in Käpylä ice rink

playing ice hockey with young children,
teenagers and adults.

Sure, we've many hobbies, play activities,

but sport is a very typical activity

to both successful achievers
and happy adults.

Yes, there're many professions
which are considered dead serious,

but it's interesting to see
how they also play:

Wearing a wig,

(Laughter)

being taken seriously while dealing
with highly serious matters.

For me, this is just another kind of play.

Also my point is: It is difficult
sometimes even for researchers

to define what "play" is,

whether in young children or in adults.

It's tough and they are still trying hard.

A question we might ask:
what is then "not play"?

What is the DNA, the mechanisms in play
that we researchers know already

why play produces learning,
why play produces and advances society,

and why play is good for us,
for our well-being and happiness.

There's ample research available,
globally, about play.

Neuroscientists, educationalists,
sociologists, health scientists.

I could continue listing the different
disciplines that have researched play.

And they all have come to the conclusion

that one of the key elements
that actually happen in play is

that we interact usually with others;

we engage in social interactions
with others;

we learn to collaborate with others;

we learn to follow the rules
that either we have created,

or somebody else have created
for our joint activities.

We also learn to create

and also to create some
new meanings together.

We use that knowledge and experience
we already have,

and apply it in different types of play
when we create something new.

Play is also very important
for emotional development.

We learn to understand our own emotions
and the emotions of people around us.

We learn to control and regulate
our own emotions playing with others.

Play is also very embodied:

we experience and we put our full body
in play activities usually,

whether sometimes it's physical activity

or sometimes interacting
with other materials used in play.

Both contribute to our learning.

In play, we learn both about each other
and about our own self;

we develop our sense of self
in play activities

by learning how others see us
and how we see others.

Thus, identity development's a major part
of what play does in young children

and later in adult life too,
if only we would allow ourselves to play.

Play allows us to grow into communities,

because as we learn to play the game
by knowing the rules and values,

we are then ready to become
more central participants.

An analogy to this is when
we learn a foreign language.

This occurs even in adulthood.

So clearly play is very important
in all these respects.

But there is a "dark" side in play,

like any human activity has a dark side.

Say this child in the picture
has an iPad, has toys, LEGO's.

He is building, he is documenting,
he is sharing.

Do all children have
these opportunities to play?

All humans have the capacity to play,
but do they have the resources to play with?

A child living in a very affluent family
with lots of expensive toys,

with lots of rich discussions
at the dinner table

about politics, about media

about recent happenings,
about Olympic games --

This kid soon builds on these experiences,
acting them out in his play scenarios.

But what about children
from more disadvantaged families?

Can they use that type of knowledge
and resources in their play

to practice to grow into a society?

Can they play?

How early do they have to work?

All this happens.

It is also very important to understand
that, while we play,

be it children or adults,
we are also creating the future.

And by positioning each other
into different roles,

we may learn about ourselves
and what we're capable of,

and sometimes, in some play activities,
this may limit our possibilities,

so understanding the interactions
that go on in play is very important.

We mustn't fall into the trap
of cultural or gender stereotyping.

Ask yourselves: What are the tools and toys
the children are using?

Are the kids taught about stereotyping
when they position each other in roles?

These are questions
that we need to be aware of.

And I think that creating conditions
where everybody can play,

and where play is given an opportunity

to flourish in equal terms
is highly important.

And I think many people
are now recognizing this,

and there is this wave of interest in play

throughout the life course.

Many organizations,
educational institutions, workplaces

are developing different practices

that model these ingredients
and learning mechanisms

that take place in play.

This is important.

Unfortunately, at the moment
we know that globally,

education fails to provide
play for creative opportunities

for children or young people.

As the Finnish philosopher
Esa Saarinen says,

and I believe he is right,

he says that there are
many people who work hard,

and who are very enthusiastic
in what they do.

Unfortunately, most of them
are under seven.

(Laughter)

I think he is right.

And in our work at Helsinki University

and in many other places
in Finland and globally,

there are great efforts being made
that try to bring play

and playful learning into life,

creating conditions for playful learning
is seen as extremely important.

What does this look like?
What does it mean?

Is it just sugar-coating education?

Is it making educational workplaces
just fun places to be?

We all know it's a tough task, requiring
a lot of cross-disciplinary research.

One discipline alone cannot solve this.

All of us must join in this effort
to create opportunities for play

that are meaningful,
that really create learning that lasts.

That improve rather than hinder one's
learning journey, happiness curve or life.

This is very important.

We need to, not only look at young
children, but also the elderly.

As you could see in the first slide
of my presentation,

I had this picture of an elderly person.

Play is very important
for the elderly as well:

feeling engaged, being part
of the digital society,

being an active citizen
is very important for your whole life.

Hence, in my own research unit we've been
focused in creating playful opportunities.

Our mission is to help student teachers,
future teachers to re-learn to play,

so that they know how to engage
in play activities with their students.

We have a lab where we create,
and co-create with different partners,

from work, industry, educationalists,
learning scientists, game designers.

Together we create different types
of activities to test if they achieve

the learning and play we want to see.

Our lab is very different from
the other classrooms in our university.

When trying to invite kids
and students to our lab,

which is well-designed and supportive
not only of the social practices

but also the material spaces where play
and learning can happen,

we've often been surprised to find
that the space has been reserved!

And I have discovered, actually,
that our university administration,

and even the Heads are using this
for their own meetings.

So we're fighting over the space.

You need spaces but
you need wise knowledge

to create those social activities
that promote play and learning.

This is a serious challenge

and I also challenge you.

I want to end my talk by saying

that although we do not yet know
exactly how to define "play",

we know that there are very important
processes and elements going on.

We need to consider
and take play seriously.

I encourage you to keep or start playing,

and try to remember to create

in your own areas and communities
a playful attitude,

playful opportunities for everybody.

Playful learning and lifelong play
is in our hands.

Thank you.

(Applause)