Epistemic Games
By:
Ali Shameem
Instructional Technology Masters Student
College of Education
Presentation is based on David Williamson Shaffer’s
book “How Computer Games Help Children to Learn”
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Overview
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Problem in our education system
Epistemic Games
Elements of Epistemic frames
Epistemic frames
Is it really a Game?
Example of Epistemic Games :Digital Zoo
Example of Epistemic Games :Urban Science
Building Epistemic games: Epistemography
More Information about games and Learning
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Problem in our education system
• Currently our Education is about
– giving the learner basic skills
– Preparing students to score well in
standardized tests.
• Basic skills jobs no longer exist
• We should raise the bar on educational
achievement
• Our kids and our economy will be left
behind
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Epistemic Games
• They are a way to help students learn
to think like professionals.
• they are based on what we already
know about how people learn to be
innovative thinkers
• how thinking is used to solve real
problems in the world outside of the
game
• This concept is based on the idea of
“epistemic frames”
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Epistemic Frames
– New way of thinking about thinking
– the way of thinking and working of a
profession or other community of
practice
– entails a situated and action-based
form of learning based on the ways in
which professionals develop these
epistemic frames.
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Elements of Epistemic frame
• 5 elements of Epistemic frame are
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Epistemology
knowledge,
skills,
values &
identity.
• professionals organize their work
around these epistemic frames
• professionals use them to think in
innovative ways
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Is it really a Game?
•The definition of a game from Rules of
Play: Game Design Fundamentals book
A game is a system
In which players
engaged in an artificial conflict
defined by rules
That results in a quantifiable outcome
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Is it really a Game?
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Epistemic games are role playing games
It is system
A number of players involved in game play
Engaged in an accurate simulation of real-life
problem.
– overcome obstacle to achieve the goal
• Defined by rules same as the ones in real life
• May or may not have a quantifiable outcome
– The experience is considered more important
– Learning through experience/interactions of
game play
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Examples of Epistemic Games
:Digital Zoo
• A game developed at the
University of Wisconsin
• Players become biomechanical
engineers and design virtual
creatures.
• Uses Sodaconstructor
– a virtual spring-mass modeling
environment
– Players advance from one level of
the game by producing designs
for clients.
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Example of Epistemic Games
:Urban Science
• Very similar to commercial
game SimCity
• Why not use SimCity?
– SimCity is not an epistemic game.
• Role-playing game of
professional urban planning.
• designed to re-create an urban
planning practicum.
• iPlan is the epistemic game
engine used in Urban Science
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Building Epistemic games:
Epistemography
• Build based on the way professionals develop
skills – Practica
• By analyzing practicum through
epistemography
– By looking at the kind of actions and kind of
reflection-on-action that develops the epistemic
frame of the profession.
• How can we make these learning practices
available for other through games.
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Questions
The following questions are asked when
designing an epistemic game.
– What is worth being able to do in the world?
– Who knows how to do this kind of things
and how do they learn how to do it?
– How can we make these learning practices
available for the others?
• Technology that can create simulations.
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More Information about games
and Learning
• Details on all of these games are
available at Shaffer's Web site,
Epistemic Games
(www.epistemicgames.org).
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Questions ??
Thank you
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