Bildung und Spiel

From the viewpoint of Akademie Remscheid, a leading provider of further education courses involving education through play, this article presents the facets of the phenomenon of play as relevant to education and illustrates them using several examples of play that can be applied to adult education. The focus is on group games which can be played using simple materials. The central fields of learning targeted by play are identified as social skills, perception, expression, creativity and problem-solving strategies.

The ways in which computer games can affect learning are identified using the example of games for fun, starting out with the aspect of research into learning and teaching theory. Approaches used in behaviourism, cognitivism and individual and social constructivism are compared. In the psychology of emotions, activating and deactivating emotions are distinguished with regard to their learning effect. From the point of view of the psychology of motivation, special emphasis is placed on the self-determination theory, as it stresses the basic needs for experiences of one's own competence, for autonomy and for social integration. The spotlight then moves on to games which are specially designed for learning purposes. The authors provide a quality criteria grid which, if followed, ensures learning is encouraged as much as possible.

As part of a joint project a learning game is currently being developed for adults who are functionally illiterate. Following a generally positive experience with the role of the new media in teaching work with this target group, the partners in the project, including the German Institute for Adult Education (DIE), are now focussing specifically on game-based training. This article introduces the reader to the basic concept of the game and identifies the factors in its use which are critical to its success. The game works based on the effect of placing learners in a world where, compared with those around them, they are experts in the written language.

In this article the theory and practice of adult education are described as a system which sustains itself using certain rules of play. The author starts out with an introduction to the term »play/game« placing particular emphasis on the fact that this game sets off further acts of communication: further moves are made. Next, four dimensions are identified in which ways of playing games can be observed: the personal, the social, the organisational and the community dimension. Adult education is interwoven into all four dimensions. Using the example of theoretical discussion and of practice, aspects of the »game of adult education« are singled out: the types of game, where they are played, the rules and the types of player (playing by the rules, playing the fool, cheating).

The education cheque, introduced in North Rhine-Westphalia, is a funding instrument which has been running since 2006 and is based on demand. This article presents the central results of an independent evaluation carried out in 2008. The quantitative aims have been achieved, or are likely to be achieved (212,000 attendees funded, 42,000 small and medium-sized enterprises approached by 2013; increasing attendance of continuing education courses in SMEs by two percent). On the negative side the article points out that many effects would have happened without the funding. Qualitative targets have only been partly achieved so far, such as reaching out to groups not in contact with education, or mobilising small companies.