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35. “Resilience Finders”: Flourishing in life through immersive game experiences

  • Rachel Delta Higdon (author)
  • Hilary Thomson (author)
Chapter of: Stories of Hope: Reimagining Education(pp. 423–432)

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Metadata
Title35. “Resilience Finders”
SubtitleFlourishing in life through immersive game experiences
ContributorRachel Delta Higdon (author)
Hilary Thomson (author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0462.35
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0462/chapters/10.11647/obp.0462.35
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
CopyrightRachel Higdon; Hilary Thomson;
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Published on2025-07-02
Long abstractThe resilience game “Resilience Finders” integrates storytelling, character creation, gamification, and immersive learning to offer a unique board game and live action experience for young people and adults. Designed as an alternative to formal educational and training models, the game focuses on personal development and building agency, supporting participants to flourish in both personal and professional contexts. Responding to the growing global demand for resilience amid challenges such as conflict, pandemics, sustainability issues, and uncertainty, Resilience Finders provides an experiential learning framework that fosters adaptability, creativity, and solution-finding skills. In alignment with the goals set out by the 2022 United Nations Transforming Education Summit—which calls for more dynamic, inclusive, and student-centred learning—Resilience Finders reimagines education to prioritise flexibility, strength, and human flourishing in an unpredictable world.
Page rangepp. 423–432
Print length10 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Contributors

Rachel Delta Higdon

(author)

Rachel Delta Higdon is an Associate Professor in Education. Rachel researches creativity and the creative transdisciplinary themes between the arts, education, and industry. In addition to her academic role, she is a consultant working in education and business using creative methodologies.

Hilary Thomson

(author)

Hilary Thomson (BA/PGCE) is Founder of The Ministry of Imagination. Hilary has over thirty years professional experience as an actor, director, teacher, university tutor, and business trainer. She has successfully combined creativity with people development in the arts, business, and education sector and is passionate about how this combination works. Hilary is currently teaching part time on the BA Hons Drama Degree at the university of East Anglia and is working as a freelance creative practitioner in arts and education. She writes and delivers educational projects and workshops for children, young people, and adults, working in both formal and informal learning environments. Over the years she has developed a system of creative processes that unlock people’s potential and take them on a journey to find their own story. By designing social and educational programmes Hilary fosters healthy people and healthy communities: “Working with the landscape in front of me, I use a creative approach to help people develop new ways of being”. At the heart of Hilary’s style is effective interpersonal and communication skills. “I want people to find their own identity and their own story”, says Hilary.

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