Did you know, not having fun or experiencing joy on a daily basis can be detrimental to your health?1
It’s true! Without daily joy or fun, boredom, anxiety, stress and even depression can take over and adversely affect your health and wellbeing.
Renowned science journalist Catherine Price in her TEDx Talk ‘Why having fun is the secret to a healthy life’2 further suggests that defining fun as an expression of human connection, playfulness and flow could be the answer to a healthier and more productive human experience.
In fact, research has also found boredom and anxiety can inhibit learning and development.3 Did you hear that? Intelligence thrives with playfulness. Isn’t that spectacular?
If this is the case, it makes sense for workplaces, and more pertinently, school classrooms, to be havens of overwhelming fun and joy for the holistic benefit of both the student and the teacher.
Port Douglas primary school teacher Kelda Wray seems to definitely have ‘got the assignment’ when it comes to bringing playfulness to work.
Inspired by a social outing with her friendship group, the first-year teacher introduced an ‘escape room’ interactive learning experience to her students.
The room challenges students to solve curriculum-based puzzles and challenges in order to unlock clues and ultimately ‘free’ them from the enclosure and Kelda says she’s surprised by how much enjoyment it has sparked within the school.
'It all started when I went (to an escape room) with my friends,' she said.
'We had so much fun, and I thought to myself ‘how can I bring this to my classroom?’
My cohort is very energetic and they love the hands-on learning stuff. So, the original idea was to try and use the escape room as a formative assessment that I could link to the concepts we were learning.'
What was unexpected for Kelda was the wildfire her idea lit, as the play-based initiative turned into a whole-of-school engagement piece, complete with competitive trophies.
'We’ve had to start keeping a leaderboard of the group’s times (to complete the ‘escape’) and it’s become quite the competition around the school,' said Kelda.
'The best thing is seeing the kids work together as a team and building new friendships. They’re always in there with someone they would never choose. Seeing the social interaction and then the happiness when they escape is just awesome.'
That happiness is not exclusive to the students, with many of Kelda’s colleagues becoming infected with the playful energy, taking inspiration into their own teaching.
'A lot of teachers have approached me saying what a great idea and how creative it is as well as wanting to take part in the escape room itself,' she said.
With the support of her principal, Kelda’s looking forward to continuing to challenge herself with fresh ideas, keeping a focus on ‘fun’ as fundamental to her teaching.
'Now I know I can engage with the other teachers and find out what they’re learning to incorporate their learning outcomes into the escape room challenges, as well as finding new ways to create immersive experiences into my own classroom,' she said.
Sounds like a pretty fun place to work, learn and play. If you’d like to spend your days creating a healthy, happy and engaging work life for yourself, make that dream a reality by visiting
steps to become a teacher.
1 Willis, J, The Neuroscience of Joyful Education in Engaging the Whole Child (online only)
https://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/4141/the-neuroscience-joyful-education-judy-willis-md.pdf (PDF, 123KB)
2 Price, C, 2022, Why Having Fun Is The Secret To A Healthier Life, TED,
https://www.ted.com/talks/catherine_price_why_having_fun_is_the_secret_to_a_healthier_life
3 Smyth, B, 2019, Bored At Work? The Science Behind It And How To Break Free, Skillpath,
https://skillpath.com/blog/bored-at-work-the-science-behind-it-and-how-to-break-free