Play in Classrooms – An Innovative Spin on Teaching

Charter for Compassion Pakistan (CfC), under their project Ruhbaru, conducted an online training session on implementing Play Techniques in the Classroom to teach the 9 compassionate skills to students. The training took place on zoom with teachers from the following schools in Sukkur: GGHS Arain, GHS Bedal Bekas, GHS Abad Lakha, GHS Dodanko, Government (National) Modern High School; and in Khairpur: GHS Kourogoth, GHS Tando Nazar Ali, GHSS Setharja and GHSS Hussainabad.

The training was conducted by an Associate Psychologist that lasted four days with each district i.e. Sukkur and Khairpur. The first day consisted of introducing the teacher to what ‘play’ is, its importance, and benefits in the classroom. The teachers were also introduced to play therapy techniques related to the 9 compassionate skills i.e. mindfulness, empathy, gratitude, courage, humility, forgiveness, integrity, self-compassion, and altruism..

The training was a relatively new concept for the teachers but they showed immense interest and learned how they can incorporate play techniques in their classrooms to teach the 9 compassionate skills and their subjects.

On the last day, the teachers were divided into groups and were asked to represent a mock lesson plan that included a 'play technique' and one of the compassionate skills for a subject. The teachers thoroughly enjoyed the mock and showed great learning.

After the training, CfC shared two booklets with the teachers that consisted of play techniques that can be used for each skill. The two booklets were divided according to grades i.e. Grade 1 to 5 and 6 to 10.

This training was the first of its kind and both private and government teachers actively took part in it, which was a clear reflection of the training’s success. Looking at the response, CfC intends to expand its reach and will be conducting more such sessions with teachers from both private and public schools to ensure that every classroom adopts play techniques for better development of children.