Games-To-Teach or Games-To-Learn: Unlocking the Power of Digital Game-Based Learning Through Performance

199 Pages·2016·8.356 MB·English

by  Yam San Chee (auth.)

Gaming Media and Social Effects
Yam San Chee
Games-To-Teach
or Games-To-Learn
Unlocking the Power of Digital Game-Based
Learning Through Performance
Gaming Media and Social Effects
Editor-in-chief
Henry Been-Lirn Duh, Hobart, Australia
Series editor
Anton Nijholt, Enschede, The Netherlands
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11864
Yam San Chee
Games-To-Teach
or Games-To-Learn
Unlocking the Power of Digital Game-Based
Learning Through Performance
1 3
Yam San Chee
Learning Sciences and Technologies
National Institute of Education
Singapore
Singapore
ISSN 2197-9685 ISSN 2197-9693 (electronic)
Gaming Media and Social Effects
ISBN 978-981-287-517-4 ISBN 978-981-287-518-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-518-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015946996
Springer Singapore Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016
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Printed on acid-free paper
Springer Science+Business Media Singapore Pte Ltd. is part of Springer Science+Business Media
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In loving memory of my father, Chee Keng Lim,
who gave me much.
Preface
This book represents the culmination of a decade of game-based learning research
spanning the years 2005–2014. It was conducted in the context of my academic
work at the National Institute of Education, Singapore. The research effort sub-
sumes conceptualization and theoretical construction, game design and devel-
opment, classroom research interventions in Singapore schools, and sustained
teacher professional development to support teachers’ uptake of game-based
learning.
In this book, I present a critical evaluation of current approaches related to the
use of digital games in education. I identify two competing paradigms: that of
games-to-teach and games-to-learn. Arguing in favor of the latter, I advance the
case for approaching game-based learning through the theoretical lens of perfor-
mance, rooted in play and dialog, to unlock the power of digital games for twenty-
first-century learning. Drawing upon my research, three concrete exemplars
of game-based learning curricula are described and discussed. The challenge of
advancing game-based learning in education is then addressed in the context of
school reform. Finally, future prospects of and educational opportunities for game-
based learning are articulated.
I believe that readers of this book will find the explication of performance
theory applied to game-based learning especially useful. This work constitutes
my original theorization. Readers may expect to derive four main benefits: (1) an
explication of the difference between game-based-teaching and game-based learn-
ing, and why this difference is of critical importance, (2) an exposition of the the-
ory of game-based learning as performance, (3) concrete exemplars and research
outcomes relating to three game-based learning curricula that have been empiri-
cally evaluated in schools, and (4) an understanding of complex issues related to
the human side of school change that must be effectively addressed to achieve suc-
cessful take-up of game-based learning in schools. Related to item (3), the detailed
descriptions of the educational games in Chaps. 4–6, supported by color screen-
shots, should prove invaluable to game designers seeking a deeper understanding
of how to inflect pedagogical principles into educational game conceptualization
and design.
vii
Acknowledgments
The work reported in this book would not have been possible without generous
research funding. I wish to gratefully acknowledge research grants NRF2007-
IDM005-MOE-006CYS and NRF2007-IDM005-MOE-007CYS from the National
Research Foundation, Singapore. These grants supported the projects related to
Legends of Alkhimia and Statecraft X, respectively. Research grant OER-02/11-
CYS from the Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education,
Singapore, supported subsequent work focusing on teacher professional develop-
ment related to the Statecraft X curriculum. Research grant R8019.735.SG01 from
the Learning Sciences Lab, National Institute of Education, funded the Escape
from Centauri 7 project.
I am especially grateful to members of all the research project teams who par-
ticipated and contributed to the above-named projects. Their names are listed
alphabetically in last name order: Daniel Gan, Aldinny Abdul Gapar, Susan Gwee,
Ahmed Hazyl Hilmy, Won Kit Ho, Mingfong Jan, Henry Kang, Judy Lai Har
Lee, Andy Lim, Eric Salim Lim, Qiang Liu, Swati Mehrotra, Rahul Nath, Cher
Yee Ong, Jing Chuan Ong, Ek Ming Tan, Daniel Kim Chwee Tan, Rave Tan, Yuan
Tien, Ittirat Vayachut, Yik Shan Wee, and Simon Yang.
ix
Contents
1 Introduction ................................................ 1
1.1 Background ............................................ 1
1.2 Some Early Critical Considerations .......................... 2
1.3 Contemporary Trends in Games for Learning .................. 5
1.3.1 Serious Games .................................... 5
1.3.2 Gamification ...................................... 9
1.4 Current Educational Context ............................... 12
1.4.1 Needs ........................................... 12
1.4.2 Challenges ....................................... 14
1.5 Overview of This Book ................................... 16
References .................................................. 17
2 Games-to-Teach or Games-to-Learn: What’s the Difference
and Why It Matters .......................................... 19
2.1 Games-to-Teach ......................................... 19
2.2 Interrogating the Thinking Underlying Games-to-Teach .......... 24
2.2.1 Epistemological Confusions .......................... 24
2.2.2 Ontological Errors ................................. 26
2.2.3 Anti-praxiological Bias ............................. 30
2.2.4 Axiological Neutrality .............................. 33
2.3 Games-to-Learn ......................................... 34
2.4 The Difference and Why It Matters .......................... 37
References .................................................. 40
3 Theory of Game-Based Learning as Performance ................. 43
3.1 How People Learn ....................................... 43
3.1.1 Inadequacy of Human Information Processing ........... 44
3.1.2 Approach of Pragmatism ............................ 46
3.1.3 Learning from a Social Standpoint ..................... 48
xi
xii Contents
3.2 The Performance–Play–Dialog (PPD) Model .................. 52
3.2.1 Performance ...................................... 53
3.2.2 Play ............................................. 54
3.2.3 Dialog ........................................... 55
3.3 Learning as Becoming and the Development of Identity .......... 57
References .................................................. 59
4 Statecraft X: Learning Governance by Governing ................. 63
4.1 Learning Citizenship and Governance ........................ 63
4.1.1 The School Curriculum ............................. 66
4.1.2 Curriculum Challenges .............................. 67
4.2 Design for Learning ...................................... 68
4.3 The Statecraft X Game and Game Play ....................... 71
4.4 Student Learning Outcomes ................................ 85
4.5 Facilitating Take-up of the Statecraft X Curriculum in Schools .... 87
References .................................................. 88
5 Legends of Alkhimia: Engaging in Scientific Inquiry
by Being a Chemist .......................................... 91
5.1 Culture of Learning Chemistry in Schools
and the Need for Scientific Inquiry .......................... 91
5.1.1 The School Curriculum ............................. 94
5.1.2 Curriculum Challenges .............................. 95
5.2 Design for Learning ...................................... 96
5.3 The Legends of Alkhimia Game and Game Play ................ 101
5.4 Student Learning Outcomes ................................ 116
5.5 Reflections on the Legends of Alkhimia Chemistry Curriculum .... 118
References .................................................. 119
6 Escape from Centauri 7: Reifying Electromagnetic Forces
Through Simulation ......................................... 121
6.1 Learning Electromagnetism ................................ 121
6.1.1 The School Curriculum ............................. 122
6.1.2 Curriculum Challenges .............................. 123
6.2 Design for Learning ...................................... 124
6.3 The Escape from Centauri 7 Game and Game Play .............. 126
6.4 Student Learning Outcomes ................................ 135
6.5 A Teacher’s Reflection on the Escape from Centauri 7
Curriculum ............................................. 138
References .................................................. 139