Playful learning: Linking play properties to learning designs - a higher education scoping review

Playful learning in higher education is an emerging field of research,
but it lacks a coherent definition or framework of implementation
approaches. This article presents a scoping review of playful learning in
higher education by investigating how the ‘path’ from playful learning
theories and knowledge towards designing playful learning solutions is
described. We examine how other studies have worked on creating
playful learning solutions in terms of what theoretical frameworks
authors mention and how play properties are linked to learning
solutions. In the scoping review, international databases were applied,
and 24 articles were selected for thorough analysis. It describes three
strategies on how authors apply playful approaches in learning contexts
in higher education: adopting a playful activity to implement playful
learning in higher education; adding a playful twist to existing learning
formats; and designing solutions based on a playful learning framework
or play properties. This paper concludes by providing questions about
how to address play properties in learning designs. The questions can
be used to provide direction for making design decisions about playful
learning contexts and solutions.