Joy Study

Positive emotion in movement learning and beyond

What’s the point of feeling good?

Positive emotions feel good, but that’s not all they do.

Each positive emotion provides a unique benefit:

Joy brings connection.

Curiosity invites learning.

Serenity offers stability.

Pride motivates growth.

Hope builds resilience.

Inspiration sparks excellence.

Gratitude renews perceptions.

Love creates oneness.

Learning to design positive emotion helps you provide flexible and sustainable motivation to an individual.

The Joy Study offers education on the conditions that make us feel good and those that make us feel bad, and how to implement these observations in a learning context.

This work is shared through experiential exercises, selected scientific readings and professional design tasks.

An ethos of co-design provides the opportunity to adapt the work to your professional context.

Syllabus

Movement

What movements naturally bring joy? This module is about the wisdom of silliness, lightness and not taking ourselves too seriously.

Mind

What are the states of mind that support joy? This module explores ways of letting go, becoming less self-conscious and finding joy independent of external conditions.

Play

Do we really grow old because we stop playing? This module explores how play can be used in skill progression, how to find play in everyday life and how to design engaging learning games.

Design

How do we design more joyful learning? This module applies a variety of design principles into movement learning, teaching you to create engaging, connecting and fun learning experiences.

“Man is more himself when joy is the fundamental thing in him, and grief the superficial.” G.K. Chesterton

The next Joy Study takes place March 2026.