UNLIKELY COLLABORATORS
LOS ANGELES, April 23, 2025 — Unlikely Collaborators has awarded a grant to the National Institute for Play to support the 2025 Professors at Play Playposium, an immersive event dedicated to reclaiming play in higher education.
While higher education remains a significantly academic and intellectually rigorous environment, the Playposium helps educators unlock the power of play by driving meaningful student outcomes and reigniting faculty around the teaching mission. Set to take place from June 23-26, 2025 at the University of Denver's Kennedy Mountain Campus in Colorado, the Playposium invites educators to challenge traditional academic constraints through play-based learning. Unlikely Collaborators' support will also mean that need-based scholarships will be available, ensuring broader access to this transformative experience.
Perception Box™ is a groundbreaking concept developed by Elizabeth R. Koch. More than just a metaphor, the Perception Box represents the often unseen framework of biases, beliefs, and narratives that influence how we interpret reality, other people, and ourselves. Rooted in cognitive science and psychological research, this framework illuminates how each person's unique mental model shapes their understanding of the world around them—often limiting their ability to connect with new perspectives and ideas–and offers opportunities to reframe that model.
The Playposium will integrate the Perception Box framework into its methodologies, helping educators recognize and expand their mental models and invigorate more inspired teaching. Through playful pedagogy, participants will explore new ways to connect with students, embrace curiosity and wonder, and foster more dynamic learning environments.
Dr. Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, emphasized the critical role of play in human development: "We are built to play and built by play. Suppressing play can have profound negative consequences, while embracing it leads to greater creativity, problem-solving, and well-being. The Playposium is a vital opportunity to reintegrate play into higher education, benefiting both educators and students alike."
Research underscores the profound benefits of play in learning. According to the National Institute for Play, play enhances cognitive flexibility, fosters collaboration, strengthens problem-solving skills, sustains motivation, and increases resiliency -- critical competencies in today's rapidly evolving world.
Playposium 2025 will feature workshops, seminars, and experiential learning opportunities designed to help educators:
- Reimagine traditional academic structures and methodologies
- Foster deeper student engagement through creativity and play
- Expand their Perception Box and challenge limiting narratives in education
The event aims to drive a larger "Playvolution" in academia, shifting away from rigid, lecture-based instruction toward more dynamic, inclusive, and human-centered learning experiences.
"We are conditioned to think of play as mere distraction," said Koch. "But as Stuart Brown's thesis reminds us, play invites us into a state of curiosity and connection. It unlocks repetitive thinking patterns and inspires creative breakthroughs. It reminds us of the mystery and beauty life is always offering us. At the Playposium, we're inviting educators to drop the tedium, expand their Perception Box walls with joy, and play with new ways of seeing and being seen."
For more information on Playposium 2025, including registration details, visit playposium.com, http://nifplay.org, professorsatplay.org or contact hello@professorsatplay.org. For more information on Unlikely Collaborators, visit https://www.unlikelycollaborators.com.
