# Let's Play Co-op!

Let's Play is a new [community of practice](#user-content-fn-1)[^1] for people who want [co-op education](#user-content-fn-2)[^2] to be more inviting and motivating. At regular meetings, members test new experiences and critique their teaching methods. To join our group, [start here!](https://lets.play.coop/teachers-toolkit/community-of-practice)

### Our Mission

Co-op training must not re-create the same power imbalances that cooperative movements are trying to upend. We all share a powerful disgust with conventional education - a knower lecturing passive learners, "objective" testing prioritized over our subjective life experiences, and a refusal to acknowledge that all learning affects our opinions on public policy.

<div align="right" data-full-width="false"><figure><img src="https://527478269-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F75xApkqgvxOBrYCmAKPf%2Fuploads%2FpUM5LAAZiFDbm4ORpKkj%2Fimage.png?alt=media&#x26;token=965d10bd-614d-45f5-93a6-9f68f39c89c0" alt=""><figcaption><p>Parker J. Palmer's model for non-hierarchical classrooms.</p></figcaption></figure></div>

Flipping it all upside down is not hard. Many co-op educators have been doing it for decades. For example, a study group focused on a book like [Collective Courage](https://kheprw.org/collectivecourage) uses [critical pedagogy](https://lets.play.coop/level-up-your-instruction/critical-pedagogy-101) by focusing on personal reflection and systems change. A fun board game designed by the [Tesa Collective](https://www.tesacollective.com/) can offer [experiential learning](https://lets.play.coop/level-up-your-instruction/experiential-education-101) that most people could never access otherwise.&#x20;

### The Play Anywhere Method

As an experiment made possible by the [Cooperative Education Fund](https://www.cdf.coop/cooperative-education), we conducted a 90-minute, crash course on co-op 101 with a group of adults. **But there was a twist!** The group had no instructor, just a time limit and smartphone-friendly instructions to guide the group through a series of exercises.&#x20;

<figure><img src="https://527478269-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F75xApkqgvxOBrYCmAKPf%2Fuploads%2FpZDeE4jDZQu78IsB3eW6%2FPicture2.png?alt=media&#x26;token=fa62ec76-fc51-45cc-befb-d0b8f9d93785" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The workshop was a hit with participants and professors alike. One participant shared that she had never viewed herself as a leader, but with the scaffolding provided during the workshop she set an intention afterwards to explore leadership roles. Others were surprised how easy it was to begin imagining a business model that might meet their clients’ needs.

This experiential curriculum is easy to copy and adapt. [Give it a try.](https://lets.play.coop/play-anywhere-methods/steal-our-model)

## About Let's Play Co-op

This network was seeded by a small experimental project funded by the [Cooperative Development Foundation](https://www.cdf.coop/cooperative-education) and led by Stephen Shelato. While drinking bad coffee together at the YMCA Stephen and experiential education guru, David Funderburk, spent their mornings talking about co-ops when they should have been working out.  They quickly decided that "gamifying" education, buying extractive education technology and dipping a toe into critical theory wasn't enough.

They tested some of their ideas in a Co-op 101 workshop with the help of social work students at the University of South Carolina. After this pilot program it was immediately clear that structural/environmental barriers for instructors wanting to use these techniques were significant. The Let's Play project shifted to focus on train-the-trainer resources and peer support for cooperative educators.&#x20;

[^1]: A **community of practice** is a group of people who share a passion for a set of skills and who try to get better at it during regular meetups.

[^2]: Co-op education includes the history of cooperative economics, public workshops, internal new member orientation programs, board training, developer training, etc.