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

2. Real Games for Real STEM Education
—Scot Osterweil
The Education Arcade/MIT
DOEMSP Regional Meeting
30 March 2010

5. A personal example with blocks.

6. The player’s motivations are entirely
intrinsic and personal.

7. The Four Freedoms of Play
Freedom to Experiment
Freedom to Fail
Freedom to Try on Identities
Freedom of Effort

8. GAMES The player’s motivations are entirely intrinsic and personal.
How do we channel play into learning activities while still allowing for play’s fundamentally open-ended nature?
GAMES

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

10. The Four Freedoms of Play=
The Four Freedoms of Learning ≠
The Four Freedoms of School
(as currently embodied)

12. “What the world needs is…
Grand Theft Calculus

13. Without playfulness a game is just going through the motions.

15. Work
Play
Learning
Fun

16. Learning
Fun

17. The Lure of the Labyrinth labyrinth.thinkport.org

19. Keep in Mind: Activity Structure Narrative

20. Waker gambit.mit.edu

22. Game Activity
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

23. Game Structure 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

24. Game Narrative
A game world that allows players to explore their identity
Not patronizing or flattering
Non-gendered
A game world that embodies the subject matter.

25. 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

26. Real Games for Real STEM Education
—Scot Osterweil
The Education Arcade/MIT
DOEMSP Regional Meeting
30 March 2010