Building Meaning in Complex Systems through Play, Sustainable Materials and AI
Lead Author: Nerada Stern
Additional authors:
Timetable: Thursday Session 7: 14:30-15:15, Terrace Room
Description:
Step off the forest path and enter a playful micro-ecosystem where contract law comes to life through colour, tension, and collective making. Working in small groups, participants take on contract‑based roles and attempt to bring a shared vision to life using simple, lightweight materials that must be negotiated, interpreted, and bound together.
The materials are deliberately imperfect. Some are robust and familiar; others are lighter, more fragile, and more sustainable. Participants’ choices and assumptions sit at the centre of the learning. As structures emerge, strain, and sometimes fail, core dynamics of contract formation are unearthed: intention, reliance, ambiguity, and the limits of agreement.
The activity is designed to generate micro‑fails, renegotiations, and moments of productive confusion. Each becomes a learning opportunity that cannot be replicated by reading doctrine alone. Alongside legal insight, participants develop critical awareness of how meaning is delegated, translated, and acted upon through intermediaries. This capability is increasingly central to employability and AI‑mediated professional practice.
Drawing on social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978), adult‑learning principles (Knowles, 1980), recent Serious LEGO research in legal education (Ribary & Starza‑Allen, 2025), and contemporary work on playful and embodied pedagogy, this session offers both the “why” and the “how.” You’ll walk away with a flexible, low‑cost activity you can adapt for large or small groups. It is suitable for any discipline where people must navigate complexity, negotiate meaning, or make sense of messy systems together.
References, web links and other resources:
The following references and resources outline theoretical and pedagogical foundations underpinning this session. They cover adult learning, playful pedagogy, embodied cognition, legal education, and contemporary approaches to learning in complex environments.
Adult Learning and Andragogy
Knowles, M. S. (1980). The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy. Cambridge Books. A foundational text outlining the principles of adult learning.
Playful, Embodied and Tactile Learning
Koeners, M. P., & Francis, J. (2020). The physiology of play: Potential relevance for higher education. International Journal of Play, 9(1), 143–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2020.1720128 Explores the cognitive and physiological mechanisms activated through play, offering insight into why tactile, embodied tasks support adult learning.
Whitton, N., Goodley, C., Lewin, C., et al. (2025). The Magic Circle of Learning: A Framework of Play in Education. Postdigital Science and Education, 7, 542–559. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-025-00558-9 Presents a contemporary framework for understanding how play creates bounded spaces for experimentation, collaboration and alternative modes of interaction.
Heidari Shahreza, M. A. (2025). Light and Delight: Playful Learning as an Ideology and Methodology in Adult Education. In Whitton & Moseley (Eds.), Playful Learning: Events and Activities to Engage Adults. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54956-4 A rich exploration of play as a philosophical and methodological stance in adult education.
Risk, Collaboration and Complex Decision Making
Forbes, D. (2021). Playful pedagogy and safe risk-taking in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 58(5), 565–576. Discusses micro risk, experimentation and psychological safety, key mechanisms activated in ambiguity rich activities.
Carleton Bland, S., & Yamamoto, D. (2023). Role play and gamification in tourism education: Enhancing engagement and decision making. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 23(2), 145–162. Provides evidence for role play and gamified structures as tools for complex, collaborative learning.
Playful and Tactile Approaches in Legal Education
Ribary, M., & Starza Allen, A. (2025). Breaking down (and building up) problem solving in contract law with LEGO®. The Law Teacher, 59(4), 769–794. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069400.2025.2542665 Directly relevant to tactile, construction-based approaches in legal education and the use of material constraints to explore ambiguity and interpretation.
Jacques, P. H. (2017). Gamification and collaborative skills in legal education. The Law Teacher, 51(2), 123–140. Examines how playful and game-based methods support collaborative skill development in law students.
University of East Anglia Law School. (n.d.). Innovative teaching: Games and simulations in law education. https://www.uea.ac.uk Provides examples of playful, simulation-based approaches used in contemporary legal education.
Craft, Creativity and Learning in an AI Infused Landscape
Riis, M. (2025, August 19). Between wood and algorithms: Crafting AI literacy in TVET. UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/between-wood-and-algorithms-crafting-ai-literacy-tvet Explores the intersection of craft, creativity and emerging technologies in vocational education.
Richmond, K. N., Dawson, P., Partridge, H., & Macfarlane, S. (2025). It takes a village… Program wide approaches to redesigning assessment in a time of generative artificial intelligence. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 22(7). https://doi.org/10.53761/zpp2ja61 Contextualises playful, collaborative and authentic assessment in the age of AI.
Building Meaning in Complex Systems through Play, Sustainable Materials and AI
Lead Author: Nerada Stern
Additional authors:
Timetable: Thursday Session 7: 14:30-15:15, Terrace Room
Description:
Step off the forest path and enter a playful micro-ecosystem where contract law comes to life through colour, tension, and collective making. Working in small groups, participants take on contract‑based roles and attempt to bring a shared vision to life using simple, lightweight materials that must be negotiated, interpreted, and bound together.
The materials are deliberately imperfect. Some are robust and familiar; others are lighter, more fragile, and more sustainable. Participants’ choices and assumptions sit at the centre of the learning. As structures emerge, strain, and sometimes fail, core dynamics of contract formation are unearthed: intention, reliance, ambiguity, and the limits of agreement.
The activity is designed to generate micro‑fails, renegotiations, and moments of productive confusion. Each becomes a learning opportunity that cannot be replicated by reading doctrine alone. Alongside legal insight, participants develop critical awareness of how meaning is delegated, translated, and acted upon through intermediaries. This capability is increasingly central to employability and AI‑mediated professional practice.
Drawing on social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978), adult‑learning principles (Knowles, 1980), recent Serious LEGO research in legal education (Ribary & Starza‑Allen, 2025), and contemporary work on playful and embodied pedagogy, this session offers both the “why” and the “how.” You’ll walk away with a flexible, low‑cost activity you can adapt for large or small groups. It is suitable for any discipline where people must navigate complexity, negotiate meaning, or make sense of messy systems together.
References, web links and other resources:
The following references and resources outline theoretical and pedagogical foundations underpinning this session. They cover adult learning, playful pedagogy, embodied cognition, legal education, and contemporary approaches to learning in complex environments.
Adult Learning and Andragogy
Knowles, M. S. (1980). The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy. Cambridge Books. A foundational text outlining the principles of adult learning.
Playful, Embodied and Tactile Learning
Koeners, M. P., & Francis, J. (2020). The physiology of play: Potential relevance for higher education. International Journal of Play, 9(1), 143–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2020.1720128 Explores the cognitive and physiological mechanisms activated through play, offering insight into why tactile, embodied tasks support adult learning.
Whitton, N., Goodley, C., Lewin, C., et al. (2025). The Magic Circle of Learning: A Framework of Play in Education. Postdigital Science and Education, 7, 542–559. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-025-00558-9 Presents a contemporary framework for understanding how play creates bounded spaces for experimentation, collaboration and alternative modes of interaction.
Heidari Shahreza, M. A. (2025). Light and Delight: Playful Learning as an Ideology and Methodology in Adult Education. In Whitton & Moseley (Eds.), Playful Learning: Events and Activities to Engage Adults. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54956-4 A rich exploration of play as a philosophical and methodological stance in adult education.
Risk, Collaboration and Complex Decision Making
Forbes, D. (2021). Playful pedagogy and safe risk-taking in higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 58(5), 565–576. Discusses micro risk, experimentation and psychological safety, key mechanisms activated in ambiguity rich activities.
Carleton Bland, S., & Yamamoto, D. (2023). Role play and gamification in tourism education: Enhancing engagement and decision making. Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, 23(2), 145–162. Provides evidence for role play and gamified structures as tools for complex, collaborative learning.
Playful and Tactile Approaches in Legal Education
Ribary, M., & Starza Allen, A. (2025). Breaking down (and building up) problem solving in contract law with LEGO®. The Law Teacher, 59(4), 769–794. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069400.2025.2542665 Directly relevant to tactile, construction-based approaches in legal education and the use of material constraints to explore ambiguity and interpretation.
Jacques, P. H. (2017). Gamification and collaborative skills in legal education. The Law Teacher, 51(2), 123–140. Examines how playful and game-based methods support collaborative skill development in law students.
University of East Anglia Law School. (n.d.). Innovative teaching: Games and simulations in law education. https://www.uea.ac.uk Provides examples of playful, simulation-based approaches used in contemporary legal education.
Craft, Creativity and Learning in an AI Infused Landscape
Riis, M. (2025, August 19). Between wood and algorithms: Crafting AI literacy in TVET. UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/between-wood-and-algorithms-crafting-ai-literacy-tvet Explores the intersection of craft, creativity and emerging technologies in vocational education.
Richmond, K. N., Dawson, P., Partridge, H., & Macfarlane, S. (2025). It takes a village… Program wide approaches to redesigning assessment in a time of generative artificial intelligence. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 22(7). https://doi.org/10.53761/zpp2ja61 Contextualises playful, collaborative and authentic assessment in the age of AI.