Game-Based Learning in Action: How an Expert Affinity Group Teaches With Games (New Literacies and Digital Epistemologies)

Description

How are expert educators using games in their classrooms to give students agency, while also teaching 21st century skills, like empathy, systems thinking, and design thinking? This question has motivated Matthew Farber’s Game-Based Learning in Action: How an Expert Affinity Group Teaches with Games showcasing how one affinity group of K12 educators— known as "The Tribe"— teaches with games. They are transformational leaders outside the classroom, in communities of practice. They mentor and lead newcomers to game-based learning, as well as advise game developers, academics, and policymakers.   Teachers in "The Tribe" do not teach in isolation—, they share, support, and mentor each other in a community of practice. Farber shares his findings about the social practices of these educators. Game-Based Learning in Action details how the classrooms of expert game-based learning teachers function, from how they rollout games to how they assess learning outcomes.   There are plenty of lessons to be learned from the best practices of expert educators. These teachers use games to provide a shared meaningful experience for students. Games are often the focal point of instruction. Featuring a foreword from James Paul Gee—, Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies, and Regents’ Professor, —Farber comments on promises and challenges of game-based learning in 21st century classrooms. If you are looking to innovate your classroom with playful and gameful learning practices, then Game-Based Learning in Action is for you! Cover Contents Figures Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction Structure of This Book References Part 1: An Affinity Group of Game-Based Learning Educators Chapter 1: The Tribe Red Bandanas and Educational Anarchists The Tribe as Community of Practice The Games in Education Symposium as Affinity Space Selecting the Keynote Speakers The Speakers’ Dinner Birds of a Feather Play Together Birds of a Feather Tweet Together Chapter Summary References Chapter 2: Learning From the Experts The Inner Circle The Tribe as Affinity Group Taking Risks and Changing Paradigms Game-Based Learning Evangelism Pioneering Practitioners Trusting the Experts The Trouble With Experts Chapter Summary References Chapter 3: Games in School The “Horizontal Learning Space” in Quest Atlantis Minecraft Mentors Balanced Learning Games Epistemic Games Gamification Game-Like Learning Games as Designed Spaces The Intersection of Games and Learning The Business of Games4Ed Chapter Summary References Part II: A Close Look at The Tribe in Action Chapter 4: "The Godmother of Educational Gaming” Room 339: Home to Epic Learners Teaching Her Heroes Thursday Friday References Chapter 5: "For the Next 3 Hours, You Have a License to Snoop Around the House” Gone Home The School Observing Gone Home in the Classroom References Chapter 6: "Life Just Got Epic!” Room 322: Iterative Design and Student Choice Day 1 Day 2 References Part III: "Go Where the Game Takes You!” Chapter 7: Playful Learning Play Theory Play Theory in Practice Balancing Play and Game Montessorian, by Design Playful Learning Environments Chapter Summary References Chapter 8: Gameful Learning Gameful Learning Practices Making School Replayable Learner Agency Meaningful Role Play Scaffolding Student Choice Designing Branched Quests Chapter Summary References Chapter 9: Games as High Quality Curricular Materials Video Games as Text Video Games and Literary Devices Humanities Games as “Standalone Pieces” The Versatility of Humanities Games Turning Literature Into Role-Playing Games Reskinning Games Chapter Summary References Chapter 10: “How Can I Twist This Game to My Purposes?” How World of Warcraft Became Sheehy’s Curriculum Contextual Transposition The Malleability of Minecraft Cell Games Applying the EPIC Framework Using The Walking Dead to Teach Ethics Chapter Summary References Chapter 11: The Case for Experiential Learning Shared Experiences Games as Digital Field Trips Lesson Planning for Experiences Games and Mentorship Learning Virtual Internships Virtual Internship Authorware How The Tribe Engaged Students in Affinity Groups Chapter Summary References Chapter 12: Open-Ended Assessments for Open-Ended Games Games, the Curriculum, and Assessments The Tribe’s (Non)Use of Dashboard Analytics “The Ultimate Assessment” The Case for Schönian Reflective Practices Narrativizing Game Events Unobtrusive Assessments Games and Dispositional Behaviors Chapter Summary References Chapter 13: The Role of the Game-Based Teacher The Teacher as Game-Master Flash Lessons and Teaching on the Fly The Game Explosion The Husøy/Staaby Pendulum Teachers as Learning Designers Chapter Summary References Conclusion Lessons Learned Follow—and Join—The Tribe! Index