This White Paper on the efficacy of play as a training tool for adults was first published in part in the New England Corporate Events Magazine in 2002.

Play has been used for centuries as a training tool for adults. The game of chess ("chess" being the Persian word for "king") is a training game created sometime in the 4^th Century to teach military and political leaders how to strategize. While it can be a challenge to convince some adults of its efficacy children instinctively know the value of play.

"Naturally play is fun for children.  However, it's also serious business.  Children use play to explore the world and practice skills.  Children engaged in cooperative play take parts or play roles, follow rules, and lead or follow others.  Playing this way helps them learn to handle cooperation and competition, conflicts, power, role taking, and communication.  Cooperative play is a big step toward participating in social life.  It's easy for adults to dismiss play as silly or trivial.  In fact, play is one of the most important [human] activities."  (Kaplan, 1998)

A study done by the Harvard Business School showed that graduating students did their best work and were the most successful in the first ten years after graduating.  After ten years their accomplishments tended to be less frequent and less spectacular.

So can adults continue to grow and learn?  Absolutely!  Studies have shown that the "learning curve" is not a foregone conclusion.  A person in good physical and mental health can continue to learn and grow well into maturity.  And "play" is one of the best tools available to us.

The Benefits of Play

So why is "play" such a wonderful learning tool?

1.      It's Safe Play is a safe environment in which much can be learned through trial and error.  On his way to making the light bulb, Edison discovered over 1,800 ways not to build one.  One of Madame Curie's failures was radium.  Columbus was looking for India.  Every one of these mistakes had valuable lessons and benefits attached to them.  Woody Allen is quoted as saying, "If you're not failing every now and again, it's a sign you're not doing anything very innovative."  The problem is that while big advances come from big risks not all employers are forgiving about mistakes.  While some employers encourage employees to try new things there would still be repercussions if the biggest account was lost, or the marketing scheme failed, or the product development stage took much longer than projected. "Play" offers participants a safe environment in which to explore, risk, try new ideas and make mistakes without the threat of termination or castigation.

2.       Team Dynamics  Team play is a means by which the dynamics of a group may be examined in a controlled environment. Every group/team develops a personality of its own.  It is a gestalt; the whole is greater than the sum of all its parts.  How does this group function, breath, eat, produce, communicate, and plan? How does this group make its decisions?  What are its weaknesses and what are its strengths?  What roles do the various members take in different situations?  How does the group adapt to change?  All these questions and more can be examined in a play environment.

3.       Self-Awareness  Just as a team can be examined in a controlled "play" environment, so too can the individual members.  Participants are afforded an opportunity to try their hand at new experiences and new ideas.  This makes for moments of self-examination and awareness.  It also affords team members an opportunity to see their teammates in a new light.  I can't count how many times over the years I have heard statements such as, "I had no idea Harry was so creative!" or "Who knew Mary was that clever?"  Plato said, "You learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."  An increased awareness of ourselves and those around us can only improve the effectiveness of a team and open up exciting new possibilities.

4.       Trust  As team members become more familiar with their fellow teammates, more aware of the team dynamics, and begin to understand where they fit into the team, they become more comfortable.  Allowing teams to work together in a "play" environment builds trust within the team.

5.       The Value of the Team  Team "play" is an excellent tool for convincing the skeptics of the value of teamwork.  Many workers are so competitive or so inexperienced with working on a team that they doubt the benefits of teamwork.  This makes for hesitation in sharing information and responsibilities.  Team building games afford these skeptics the opportunity to observe first-hand how two (or more) heads are better than one and how sharing information and responsibilities can bring amazing results.  Team "play" also affords participants an opportunity to discover the value of diversity.  The more diverse a team the more successful it tends to be, as it has a broader knowledge base upon which to draw when solving problems or achieving goals.

6.       It's Fun  Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between pleasure and productivity.  "Surprise!  Surprise!  What government agency funded that study and where do I submit my grant application?"  It makes perfect sense that pleasure would be a powerful motivator.  The pleasure of playing a game and learning through "play" can revitalize a group and build morale.  Pleasure also effects a commitment in the participants to the game and causes them to learn more and retain it longer.

"You know that I don't believe that anyone has ever taught anything to anyone.  I question the efficacy of teaching.  Maybe a teacher is a facilitator, a person who puts things down and shows people how exciting and wonderful it is and asks them to eat."  (Carl Rogers)

At the Ant & the Grasshopper we strive to prepare the most exciting, enticing and delicious learning games possible.  Once the banquet has been served it is simply a question of letting the participants feast.  Could learning be any more pleasurable?

7.       Specific Lessons  Each event has its own lessons, skills and experiences that the participants learn by "playing" the game.  Some of these are group lessons.  Some are individual lessons.  Some are problem-solving skills, some are physical skills, some are communications skills, some are organizational skills.  The list goes on and on.  However, a huge part of "play" is learning to tap into a part of the brain that may rarely be used in the workplace.  That is the part of the brain that uses imagination, creativity and intuition.  Long thought to be the part of the brain useful only to those in creative professions we now know that right brain thinking is a vital tool in the business world as well.  Where would we be without "innovative" thinkers?

8.       Retention  The best way to learn new skills is through "active learning" and play is involving.  Test results have shown that subjects who passively learned by listening to a lecture retained only 20% of what they heard.  Similar results were found with all types of "passive learning" including reading, watching a demonstration, looking at illustrations, etc.  However, tests showed that participants involved in "active learning" such as doing the actual job, doing a simulation, giving a dramatic presentation, etc. retained 90% of the information.  (Dale, 1969)  Playing a training game, participating in a simulation, role playing or playing a team building event involves the participants in "active learning".

At The Ant & the Grasshopper we firmly believe that play has the ability to empower participants by affording them new experiences and information for their professional and personal development.  Experience one of The Ant & the Grasshopper Innovative Games for yourself and discover the benefits of  Mixing Business with Pleasure.

The Power of Play Copyright 2002 Kevin W. Prentice All Rights Reserved

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