David Thomas
Hello:
Professors at Play Playposium 2025
Reclaiming Play in Higher Education
In partnership with the Unlikely Collaborators
and the National Institute for Play
June 23-26, 2025 | Kennedy Mountain Campus, Colorado
playposium.com
Are you ready to play?
Professors at Play Playposium is back, and this time, we are heading for the hills--the Colorado Rocky Mountains, to be precise.
Running June 23 – 26th at the University of Denver’s Kennedy Mountain Campus, this 4-day, 3-night retreat will challenge you to think differently about your teaching. With the generous support of Unlikely Collaborators, we invite you to challenge your Perception Box™, the unseen framework of biases and beliefs that shape your reality. Through play, this event will empower you to break free from limiting narratives and revolutionize your teaching. The Playposium focuses on the unique needs of educators working in and around higher education.
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. Rooted in cognitive science and psychological research, this framework illustrates how each person’s unique mental model shapes their understanding of the world—often limiting their ability to connect with new perspectives and ideas. Through immersive play, we can disrupt these rigid narratives, fostering creativity, curiosity, and deeper connections with students.
The adventure starts at noon on Tuesday, June 23rd. Playposium campers will assemble at the University of Denver Campus and be loaded onto buses. From there, you will be whisked up into the mountains for a program packed with play, creation, community, and lots of relaxing time surrounded by nature. The group cabins are up-to-date shared living spaces you remember as a kid. The included meals will take place in the community dining room.
And yes, there will be s’mores.
Registration is $1,000 for the full event, including all meals and lodging, activities, and optional transportation to and from the mountain campus. Thanks to the generous support of Unlikely Collaborators, scholarships are available to ensure broader access to this transformative experience.
The Playposium: A Transformative Experience
The Playposium is a dynamic, immersive event—part workshop, part seminar, part conference—designed to introduce playful pedagogy as a tool for meaningful change. It creates a space where educators can:
Reclaim your individuality and teaching passion.
Step outside traditional academic constraints.
Foster deep connections with students through creative engagement.
Through play, educators balance the seriousness of learning with joy, strengthening the teacher-student relationship and cultivating a more inclusive, dynamic educational environment. The Playposium encourages educators to:
Examine your playful histories and reconnect with joyful learning.
Interrogate educational narratives that have shaped your teaching.
Reclaim play as an essential practice, fostering flexibility, curiosity, and authenticity.
Become players rather than just facilitators, modeling transformative learning for students.
The Playvolution: Shifting Academia’s Mindset
The Playvolution is at the core of our mission: to inspire educators to move beyond rigid, lecture-based teaching and embrace imaginative, inclusive, and human-centered learning. This shift:
Dismantles hierarchical barriers, creating a culture of collaboration.
Encourages risk-taking and vulnerability in both teaching and learning.
Promotes curiosity, joy, and innovation in academic spaces.
Empower students to challenge outdated systems and think critically.
Playposium Outcomes
Playposium 2025 PlayBook – A collection of techniques and strategies developed through the event.
Stories from Playposium – Documenting transformative experiences.
Impact on the Community
For Faculty: More engaging, meaningful, and human-centered teaching.
For Students: A learning environment that fosters flexibility, creativity, and innovation, equipping them for a rapidly changing world.
For Employers: Graduates who think critically, adapt quickly, and solve problems creatively.
The Challenge: Play With Your Perception Box
You can’t break free from your Perception Box—because you’ll always have one. But what you can do is expand it. Shift it. Play with it. At Playposium, we’ll help you expand beyond rigid teaching norms, loosen the old narratives that no longer serve you, and step into a more flexible, creative, and dynamic way of engaging with your students. Play isn’t just a tool; it’s a mindset shift—one that makes space for curiosity, connection, and transformation.
Our Sponsors
The Professors at Play Playpoisum 2025 would not be possible without the generous support of Unlikely Collaborators. The event is also being produced with support from The National Institute of Play, the University of Denver, and of course, the Professors at Play community.