The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown in this presentation are not intended as an endorsement by the U. S. Department of Education.

The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown in this presentation are not intended as an endorsement by the U. S. Department of Education.

Real Games for Real

STEM Education

—Scot OsterweilThe Education Arcade/MITDOEMSP Regional Meeting

13 January [email protected]

www.educationarcade.org

A personal example with blocks.

The player’s motivations are

entirely intrinsic and

personal.

•Freedom to Experiment

•Freedom to Fail

•Freedom to Try on Identities

•Freedom of Effort

The Four Freedoms of Play

How do we channel play into learning activities while still allowing for play’s fundamentally open-ended nature?

The player’s motivations are entirely intrinsic and personal.

GAMES

In games we willingly submit to arbitrary rules and structures in pursuit of mastery, but only if we can continue to be playful.GAMES

The Four Freedoms of Play

=

The Four Freedoms of Learning

≠

The Four Freedoms of School

(as currently embodied)

•“What the world needs is…

Grand Theft Calculus

Without playfulness a game is just going through the motions.

FunLearning

Work Play

Fun

Learning

The Lure of the Labyrinth

labyrinth.thinkport.org

Keep in Mind:Activity

StructureNarrative

Waker

gambit.mit.edu

• Not about memorizing solutions - about learning strategies, processes, habits of mind

• Players understand that “wrong” answers are part of getting the right answer

• Learning to think like a scientist, mathematician, engineer, artist

• Players build a scaffolding for future learning

• Engaging with content in a context

• Activities that are tactile, offer sensory satisfaction

Game Activity

• Multiple passage through challenge (tokens)

• Partial reward for partial success– clear incentives for more success

• Emerging ideas

• No brick walls

• Not just one way to win

• No time pressure - enables collaboration

• Conversation

Game Structure

• A game world that allows players to explore their identity

• Not patronizing or flattering

• Non-gendered

• A game world that embodies the subject matter.

Game Narrative

• Students can play game like any gamer

• Teacher can bring game into class, relate experience of game to new subject

• Students undertake that subject with the enthusiasm of an expert

• Teacher can even use class to discuss future game play strategies – begin to model meta-cognition

• Individual saved games give evidence of students progress

Real Games for Real

STEM Education

—Scot OsterweilThe Education Arcade/MITDOEMSP Regional Meeting

13 January [email protected]

www.educationarcade.org