Transformative play: integrating outdoor adventure education and the NPI-cycle to facilitate transformative experience

A proposed framework integrates outdoor adventure education (OAE), transformative experience, and the Neuroception-Play-Integration (NPI) Cycle to enhance adolescent engagement, motivation, and learning through play-based approaches. OAE is posited as a developmentally appropriate form of play due to its combination of voluntary engagement, challenging experiences, pleasure, mental activation, and structured yet negotiable boundaries. These elements, when intentionally facilitated, can guide learners through neurobiological and social processes that foster transformative experiences.

Why it matters

This research outlines a structured approach to leveraging outdoor and experiential learning for developmental outcomes. Understanding the neurobiological and social mechanisms of transformative play can inform program design, resource allocation, and talent development strategies, ensuring more effective engagement and learning outcomes across various contexts.

Key insights

• A framework is proposed integrating Outdoor Adventure Education (OAE), transformative experience, and the Neuroception-Play-Integration (NPI) Cycle for adolescent learning.
• OAE is characterized as a developmentally appropriate form of play that combines voluntary engagement, meaningful challenge, pleasure, mental activation, and structured but negotiable boundaries.
• Intentionally facilitated OAE features can guide learners through the NPI Cycle, which includes environmental safety, neuroception of safety, activation of play circuitry, intrapersonal integration, and interpersonal co-regulation.
• These neurobiological and social processes are believed to create conditions conducive to transformative experiences in learners.

Source

Frontiers in Education — https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1896240