At the end of November, Andy Milne and Justin Schleider organized the #slowchatgiftx, a holiday gift exchange for health and physical educators in the US. Approximately 30 teachers signed up and agreed to send a surprise gift (with a $20 limit) to another educator. I received the book, Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Dr. Stuart Brown, from Terri Drain.

According to Brown, “people have a dominant mode of play that falls into one of eight types,” which he calls play personalities. “No one is a perfect example of a single play personality type. Most of us are a mix of them. At different times and in different situations, people might find themselves playing in a mode that is different than their dominant type” (Brown 65).

While I read the section about play personalities, my mind was racing. I started to identify my own play personality and realized it had changed since I was younger. I tried to guess which personalities best fit my friends. I wondered how they could be used in my middle school physical education classes to help me develop a culture of play (my big focus this quarter). I looked at a few resources, including this article from the University of Michigan, and put together a document for my 8th-grade students that would allow them to identify their own play personalities.

On Monday, they read the descriptions and answered three questions on a slip of paper:

1. Which play personalities best describe you?
2. Explain why you chose those personalities.
3. Which activities in P.E. are you most drawn to based on your play personality?

That night, I read each slip. Sixty-four students completed the assignment. Within my three 8th-grade classes, there are forty-two Competitors, thirty Explorers, twenty-four Kinesthetes, twenty-one Artists/Creators, twenty Jokers, eighteen Storytellers, ten Collectors, and six Directors. I looked over my quarterly plan and made a few adjustments based on my students’ play personalities.

On Tuesday, I posted the results and asked each group, “What does this information tell us about our class?” We dug into the data and shared our thoughts. My students noticed that many of them are competitive, many of them like to explore, and very few students like to take charge (the Directors). Then, I said, “Based on the play personalities in this class, I chose a variety of activities for you to experience. Many of you are competitive, love to try new things, and love to think creatively. Some of you just love to move and others enjoy telling stories. I guarantee that at least one thing this quarter will totally be your jam.” I read through the list and didn’t hear any groans! (…until I reminded them the quarter ends with the human sexuality unit.)

I would like to encourage you to try three things:

1. Determine how you can use play personalities within your #PhysEd program. What can the information tell you about your classes?
2. Give your students the opportunity to identify their play personalities. Feel free to make a copy of my document and modify it for your use.
3. Take some time to read Dr. Stuart Brown’s book, Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Resources:

• Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Dr. Stuart Brown
• Your Play Personality, CAPS Counseling and Psychological Services, University of Michigan