Recap: My AERO Workshop, 2025
My AERO Conference Workshop:
The Magic Formula for Engaged Learning
by Laurie Block Spigel
I had a blast at the AERO Conference on the morning of June 28, 2025, with my workshop, The Magic Formula for Engaged Learning. Thank you to all who attended! We started with a short slide show, played some games, and finished with a Q & A, all in just 1 hour and 15 minutes. The time flew by, and I wished we had an extra hour to expand on the principles and techniques that were introduced.
My Magic Formula is three-fold: (1) Play a game; (2) Learn Something New; (3) Make Something. This is an over-simplification, because other elements must be present: self-direction, personalization, peer-to-peer learning, nonjudgmental feedback, and creativity, are all essential to this Magic Formula.
In the workshop, we took a deeper dive into #1, and played a few games designed to awaken the body and mind, and access intuition and creativity.
The last game, New York/Lemonade, had a theme of occupations. Players each interpreted the same occupation (mutually agreed upon) while players on the other team called out guesses. Afterwards, with time running short, I neglected to mention that other themes can be chosen that relate to whatever students are studying. For example, a team could all agree on an aspect of science (a flower, tree, animal, or even a scientific concept), or on an aspect of history (an historic figure or event) that they individually interpret while the other team tries to guess.
This game, like many improv games, combines mutual agreement with individual interpretation. Playing New York/Lemonade, nonverbal communication (in this case, miming occupations) is more fun when combined with a rhyming song as the game begins, and a running chase as it ends. The result was increased connection among players, and awakened intuitive awareness which often results from the use of nonverbal communication.
The games played in this AERO Workshop are designed to increase perception and awareness, and lead to discovery. We saw the invisible space ball in Play Ball, saw space objects created in a Space Walk when we played with Space Substance, and saw the imagined hairdressers (one of several occupations) in New York/Lemonade. When the invisible becomes visible, even if only for a moment, it is always a surprise. One discovery leads to another, and another, deepening our engagement while expanding the possibilities, until we are discovering ourselves! This is the power of play!
Learn more about my Magic Formula in my new book, Letting Them Lead: Adventures in Games-Based, Self-Directed Learning.
Resources on Play Theory, Spolin Games, and the catalogued games of Neva Boyd are available on my Resources Page.
Check out the AERO Podcast for more information on the Education Revolution!
Interested in having me lead a workshop for your community? Contact me and let me know what you’re looking for!