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 Osterweil
The Education Arcade/MIT
DOEMSP Regional Meeting
13 January 2010
[email protected]
www.educationarcade.org
A personal example with blocks.
The player’s
motivations are
entirely
intrinsic and
personal.
The Four Freedoms of
Play
• Freedom to Experiment
• Freedom to Fail
• Freedom to Try on Identities
• Freedom of Effort
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
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.
Work
Play
Learning
Fun
Learning
Fun
The Lure of the
Labyrinth
labyrinth.thinkport.org
Keep in Mind:
Activity
Structure
Narrative
Waker
gambit.mit.edu
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
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
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.
•
•
•
•
•
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 metacognition
Individual saved games give evidence of
students progress
Real Games for Real
STEM Education
—Scot Osterweil
The Education Arcade/MIT
DOEMSP Regional Meeting
13 January 2010
[email protected]
www.educationarcade.org