How the Principles Behind Game- Based Learning Will Change Our Approach to Teaching and Learning David Finkel WPI, Computer Science Department Interactive Media and Game Development Interactive Media and Game Development

How Games Teach, and What We Can Learn From Them David Finkel WPI, Computer Science Department Interactive Media and Game Development Interactive Media and Game Development

3 Background  My recent experience playing games  Book: –What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy, by James Paul Gee

4 Interactive Media and Game Development What do video games teach?  They teach how to play the game! –A very complex task –Games are very effective teachers  How do games teach so effectively?  What can we learn about teaching by observing how games teach?

5 Interactive Media and Game Development How do games teach?  Printed manuals. (Some players ignore them, some players read them thoroughly.)  Static on-screen image of the controller or keyboard  In-game instructions or hints  Friends, teammates, opponents more …

6 Interactive Media and Game Development How do games teach? - 2  In-game tutorials. May be –Lesson based (do this, now do this …) –In-game mentor –Sandbox game environment  Game provides a graded series of experiences –becoming gradually more difficult –requiring more mastery

7 Interactive Media and Game Development Why is the teaching effective  Players really want to master the games  The players learn the skills in the same environment that they’ll be using the skills. (Situated learning)  The players can practice the skills immediately after learning them. (Just-in- time learning)  The game domain encourages experimentation (Active learning)

8 Interactive Media and Game Development Why is the teaching effective - 2  Teaching material can be adapted to the level of the player  Player can control the amount and timing of tutorials  Player can return for additional help at any time  Game play later in the game depends on successful adaptation of what was learned earlier and innovation

9 Interactive Media and Game Development Some educational examples …  Lots of bad examples – flashcard, drill programs  History Simulations –Oregon Trail –Commercial history-based games –Realistic war simulations

10 Interactive Media and Game Development University-based projects  USC and Department of Defense –Tactical Language Project (learning Arabic) –Full Spectrum Warrior (Squad-level tactics) –Leaders Project   MIT and Microsoft –Engineering and Science Games

11 Interactive Media and Game Development Challenges for educators and librarians  Harness the teaching power of games in schools and libraries  Find a way to afford the cost of developing first-class games (upwards of $10M)  For libraries: How to incorporate games into library collections

12 Interactive Media and Game Development Reference

How Games Teach, and What We Can Learn From Them David Finkel WPI, Computer Science Department Interactive Media and Game Development Interactive Media and Game Development