The Ludicast

We flipped the script! Normally we speak to educators about how and why they build fun into their courses. In this episode we speak with first year students Mariam Olayemi and Nathan Velte from The University of Texas at Austin about how fun helped motivate them to learn the material associated with an 8:00am microeconomics class with over 400 students. We interviewed their professor in an earlier episode of The Ludicast. You can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2rmCBgpu48hdEI4JFn9VtE?si=ijJURAACTL2-iHyjjGTikg

Co-Founder of Ludic Pedagogy, Dr. Keith Edmunds and I are interviewed by Shaun Cameron about the foundations of Ludic Pedagogy and its use in the classroom.

Our guest today is Dr. Trent Tucker from Thompson Rivers University. Trent is a self-described Quant, and uses fun when teaching courses like Excel, Power bi and Linear Programming. Before transitioning to higher education, he held numerous industry positions. Currently, Dr. Tuckers research interests focus on the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Our guest today is Dr. Thalia R. Goldstein, Associate Professor of Applied Developmental Psychology at George Mason University. In addition to her work in the university classrooms, she directs the Play Lab https://playlab.gmu.edu/, which conducts research that looks both at the effects of engaging in pretend play and theatre on children's social-emotional skills. Dr. Goldstein is also the co-director of the National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab, the Mason Arts Research Center (MasonARC).  If that wasn't enough, she's also a professional actor, dancer, and circus performer/coach. In a previous life Thalia was a competitive gymnast. Dr. Goldstein's current research and interests include projects on: 1) What implicit and explicit teaching strategies the very best acting teachers use with high school students to improve their social and emotional knowledge; 2) How varying levels of embodiment and representation improve children's learning and retention of social and factual information in pretend play; 3) How acting (versus reading) affects children's understanding of mental and emotional states; 4) How moral reasoning may be different for children in the pretend versus real world; 5) How marching band may be an ideal test case for intergroup context and belongingness across racial and ethnic backgrounds; 6) How video game play may be associated with creativity; 7) How children understand, and parents explain, Santa Claus and other cultural characters; 8) How dance experience is associated with affective theory of mind

Our guests today are Dr. Alexander Ornella and Dr. Bev Orton from Hull University in the United Kingdom. Dr. Ornella is a Senior Lecturer in Religion and the Director for Education and Student Experience. Dr. Orton is a film maker and lecturer in Criminology and Sociology. We discuss the role of fun in tackling serious subjects like discrimination, gender and race. Rise - Short Movie: https://vimeo.com/156050986

After a hectic holiday break, we're easing into 2024 by re-releasing an early episode of the podcast. Apologies for the audio quality. Instructor Geoff Milne has been teaching accounting to High School and College students for over 30 years. He uses Ludic Pedagogy to connect and engage his students. Since this episode was recorded, Geoff has turned to the Dark Side (just kidding), and is now the Chairperson for the Peters School of Business at Assiniboine College We're brought to you by Ontario Tech Universities Ludic Pedagogy Lab. For more information about Ludic Pedagogy, our founders, and the Ludic Pedagogy Book visit www.ludicpedagogylab.com

Our guest today is Dr. Wayne Geerling, Professor of Instruction in Economics at the University of Texas at Austin, is well known for using pop culture and social media influencers to teach core economic concepts. He’s a prolific author, writing numerous books and scholarly articles, and his incredibly fun and engaging instructional style has earned him numerous teaching excellence. He generously shares his teaching resources and insights with other educators through his publications and presentations. Twitter: @WayneGeerling https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=MPjBWgMAAAAJ

Our guest today, Michelle Cummings, M.S., is the Big Wheel and founder of Training Wheels, a known leader in the Team Building field. She is also the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer for Personify Leadership, a Leadership Development organization. Michelle is an accomplished author and a dynamic, sought-after speaker in the areas of leadership, team-building, and experiential learning. Michelle has created a wide variety of facilitation, debriefing, and team-building activities that have collectively changed the way trainers and educators work. Michelle speaks at more than 25 local, national, and international conferences each year and authors a weekly team-building newsletter called The Spokesperson that has over 24,000 subscribers in over 100 countries. You can find free Training Wheels resources, course offerings, and facilitation products here: https://training-wheels.com/

Bruce Palmer is one of the OG’s of fun in the classroom. He’s been instructing and developing courses in the School of Nursing for over 40 years, and was on the forefront of the online digital transformation in the late 80’s. His innovative educational practices have been recognized across Canada and led to several teaching excellence awards from industry and public institutions. We’re brought to by Ontario Tech Universities Ludic Pedagogy Lab. For more information about Ludic Pedagogy, our founders, and the Ludic Pedagogy book, be sure to check out www.ludicpedagogylab.com Cover photo by: SabinaMusicRich on Unsplash

Our guest today is Master Sargent Bonnie Rushing, course director and instructor at the United States Airforce Academy. She’s also a Flight instructor and evaluator, Special Operations Aircrew Linguist, Certified Professional Innovator, Coach, and entrepreneur holding a Masters Degree in Strategic Intelligence. Master Sargent Rushing believes in immersive learning, diversity, equity, inclusion, and having fun in the classroom. https://thebonnierushing.com/ Episode Cover Photo by ElvisAba on Unsplash

Our guests today are entrepreneurship educator Dr. Heidi Neck and software engineer Anton Yakushin, founders of Venture Blocks. Venture Blocks is an online, immersive 3D simulation teaching students about customer discovery, as it relates to business and entrepreneurship. Dr. Neck, or Prof Neck as she’s often referred to, is the Jeffery A. Timmons Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Babson College. She’s sought after as a speaker internationally, and the author of many things, including the much-lauded textbook, “Entrepreneurship – The Practice and Mindset”. Lately she’s been thinking and writing a lot about the elusive role of play in entrepreneurship education. Prior to Venture Blocks, Anton founded a company partnering with educational institutions to create purpose built educational applications. He’s worked with organizations of all sizes, in education, finance, government, healthcare and others to develop apps, websites, databases and software.  https://ventureblocks.com/ https://www.babson.edu/professional/entrepreneurship-education/faculty-and-staff-programs/price-babson-symposium-for-entrepreneurship-educators/ Episode Cover Photo by ClemOnojeghuo on Unsplash

Join the Free Book Launch Party the Evening of June 15th!! www.ludicpedagogylab.com Our guest today is Dr. Kat Schrier (she/they) Associate Professor, Director of the Play Innovation Lab, and Director of the Games and Emerging Media program at Marist College. She is the author/editor of over 100 published works, such as We the Gamers: How Games Teach Ethics & Civics (Oxford University Press, 2021) and Knowledge Games (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016). She has previously edited two book series, Ethics and Game Design and Learning, Education, & Games. She was a Belfer Fellow with the ADL's Center for Technology & Society, and she is co-PI for a Templeton Grant on designing VR games for empathy. Prior to joining the Marist College faculty, she worked as a media producer at Scholastic, Nickelodeon, and BrainPOP. She is currently consulting with the World Health Organization (WHO) as a game designer. She has a doctorate from Columbia University, a master’s from MIT, and a bachelor’s from Amherst College. Kat's websites: https://www.karenschrier.com/ https://platyplay.com/

"Ludic Pedagogy - A Seriously Fun Way to Teach and Learn", launches in exactly one month! Todays guest wrote the foreward to the much anticipated book. Professor Alison James is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the United Kingdom, and Professor Emerita of the University of Winchester. She’s also an accredited facilitator of the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method. Allison has written and collaborated on many projects, her most recent being “The Value of Play in Higher Education – A Study” is available now as a free download via her website https://engagingimagination.com/

Co-Developer Dr. Keith Edmunds provides a short introductory video about Ludic Pedagogy - a pedagogical model that reintroduces fun, play, playfulness and positivity into higher education. Episode art by: Katie Moum on Unsplash

Our guest today is Tim Smyth. Tim is a high school social studies teacher with over 20 years experience, and holds a reading specialist degree. He also works with the United States Department of Education through an online global comics and education program teaching educators around the globe how to teach using comics and graphic novels in the classroom. He’s a published author, his first book, Teaching With Comics and Graphic novels is available now. Tim's Classroom: https://youtu.be/wwanUU-0mMY Tim's Website: http://www.historycomics.net/ Tim's Book: https://www.routledge.com/Teaching-with-Comics-and-Graphic-Novels-Fun-and-Engaging-Strategies-to/Smyth/p/book/9780367520373 For more information about Ludic Pedagogy and associated instructional tools, visit our website at ⁠www.ludicpedagogylab.com⁠.

Interactive Media Arts Instructor, Malena Gonzalez came to higher education bringing a broad based skill set built through her international industry roles of Creative Coordinator, Brand Manager, and Web Strategist. We talk to Malena about problem based learning and why her classrooms are always filled with laughter, inquiry, and fun. Episode art by: Suhash Villuri on Unsplash

Our guest is Chris Whittaker, Physics instructor and Program Coordinator for Enriched Science at Dawson College in Montreal, Quebec. Chris is also a committee member for SALTISE - Supporting Active Learning, a learning community service for instructors, that aspires to implement evidenced-based pedagogy, involving instructional innovations, and leveraging the use of educational technologies to promote improved learning. He has numerous research interests including computer supported collaborative learning and student motivation.  Episode art by: Marjan Blan | @marjanblan on Unsplash

Dr. Rowan Brookes talks about connecting STEM students to the world, by guiding them through a Leadership Quest full of challenges and personal inquiry. She also talks about using improv techniques in class sessions, being authentic, and fostering psychological safety.

Dr. Lisa Forbes and Dr. David Thomas, developers of Professors at Play, explain why being playful is important in higher education.  Professors at Play is a community serving as a positive, inviting, and playful space for people to share their experiences, develop their ideas, and get resources and inspiration about fun and play in higher education. They’re also the editors of the soon to be released “Professors at Play – Playbook”, showcasing a wide range of playful approaches to teaching. Website: Professors at Play

We speak with Ludic Pedagogy developers, Dr. Sharon Lauricella and Dr. Keith Edmunds about the importance of fun in higher education. Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash