In your current learning design, are you really just teaching content, or are you creating change?
Updated: Oct 13
Many people think that “learning through play” is more suitable for children.
But over the past two days, during the 22nd Shanghai Six Bricks Level 1 and Level 2 certification course, I once again felt that adults, in fact, have an even greater need to be opened up again to learning.
This time, the participants included corporate HR professionals, as well as facilitators and coaches, kindergarten and primary school teacher.
Everyone came with professional backgrounds and their own work experience. However, once they entered an experiential learning environment, the most common first reaction from adults was not immediate engagement, but observation.
This is not resistance to learning.
Rather, they first want to evaluate: Does this activity have value? Can this method really promote learning?
Therefore, what a Six Bricks facilitator truly needs to design is not just the activity itself.
It is also how to help participants move from “let me watch first,” to “I’m willing to give it a try,” and then to “I can genuinely see learning happening here.”
There was one scene this time that left a deep impression on me.
In a large team activity, everyone initially had their own ideas and abilities. But once the goal became clear and the direction was set first, collaboration began to emerge.
That process was actually very much like cross-department collaboration in a company.
It is not that people are not capable enough. Rather, the more capable people are, the more they need to align first before moving forward. Otherwise, it is easy for everyone to work hard in their own way without creating real momentum together.
What was even more striking was the change in the participants.
Some people did not originally believe they could complete the challenge. But as they gradually became involved, adjusted, and kept trying step by step, the expressions on their faces at the moment of success were incredibly genuine.
That was not just about completing a Six Brick activity.
It was about beginning to believe that they could become more confident and more engaged learners.
I have always believed that learning through play is never about making learning superficial or less serious. Rather, it is about opening the door to learning.
When participants can experience change through direct involvement, they not only learn how to facilitate an activity, but also gain a deeper understanding of how to adjust the design for different age groups and how to truly drive learning forward.
This is also something I have continued to care deeply about, even after so many years in training:
Good facilitation is not just about finishing the process; it is about allowing people to go through a process in which they truly experience change.
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