Generative Play
Generative Play is a K-20 educational design program that instills good health habits in children.
Integrating generative design, flow, play therapy, and generative justice (the design of systems that generate value in unalienated forms), this educational program on social innovation in design introduces information design students to generative play, an entrepreneurial design research method for tackling inequities in health education in K-12 formal and informal learning environments. In a term-long project, students engage in generative play and collaborate in small groups to innovate design toolkits in a participatory manner with youth, their parents, and teachers. These toolkits aim to address wicked challenges they face regarding health education. The toolkits are designed to be integrated seamlessly into South African children's formal and informal systems of learning and to engender awareness and preventive behaviors regarding hygiene, germs, infection risks, emotional well-being, and optimal development through well-managed screen-time.