Playful Learning 2026 Programme

Silly Games for Serious Adults: On the Value of Creative Ageing

Lead Author: Natalia Balyasnikova

Additional authors:

Timetable: ,

Description:

This session invites participants to experience play as a serious pedagogical resource in later-life education. Much is known about older adults’ learning (Chesser et al., 2016; Oh et al., 2021; Soto Mas et al., 2015) and, more specifically, in additional language learning (Chen, 2022; Eguz, 2019; Heredia et al., 2024; Kacetl & Klímová, 2021). Considerable scholarship also addresses the transformative potential of creative ageing (Chacur, Serrat, & Villar, 2022; Gallistl, 2021; Reynolds, 2015) and playfulness as a factor of wellbeing in later life (Parker, Kennedy-Behr, Wright, & Brown, 2023; Proyer, 2014; Saliba & Barden, 2021; Yarnal & Qian, 2011). Yet little has been written about the creative affordances of playful pedagogies in classrooms for older immigrants. In response to this critical gap, this presentation asks: What if older adult classrooms were reimagined as playful spaces that challenge conventional models of ageing? The presentation will open by theorizing the role of play in later-life education (Adan & Hashim, 2021; Araki-Metcalfe, 2007; Barabadi, Elahi Shirvan, Shahnama, & Proyer, 2022; Heidari-Shahreza, 2024; Katayama, 2009; Ludke, 2018; Salma, Mirhashemi, & Kennedy, 2024; Tin, 2015; Waring, 2013). It then presents a Collaborative Creative Inquiry (Artem Research Collective, 2024) project with twelve immigrant seniors, participating in 10-week language-learning sessions. Participants will learn how playful pedagogies can affirm older learners’ creative agency and challenge seriousness in education. Data-informed vignettes will illustrate how play supports relationality and social connection for older adult learners.

References, web links and other resources: