games for change festival 2010. stem and game development
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Game Design and STEM Learning
Rafael Fajardo, P4 GamesScott Leutenegger, P4 Games
Karen Michaelson, Tincan
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Game Education via Making @ DU
Pixels, Programming Play & Pedagogy (P4games)
• High School Summer Game Camp• Teacher Game Institute• School Year Implementation
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Game Camp (P3)• 2 week residential OR 1 week school• Rising 9th and 10th graders• 2.5 hrs / day each Programming, Pixels, Play• Last days: workshopping and programming
STUDENT GAMES
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Teacher Game Institute
• Designing learning environments
• Project based learning
• Performance based assessment
• STEM education
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TGI Continued
• Same curriculum as students but additional pedagogy component
• Adapt curriculum to specific environments
• 120 hours of professional development
• Graduate credit from College of Education
TEACHER GAMES
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Tincan Game Development Programs
Supported by National Science Foundation ITEST grant and U.S. Department of Education Women’s Educational Equity Act Program
Tincan Game Development Programs
Teen Summer Workshops• One week each• Boot Camp and Advanced TopicsAfter School Programs• After school multi week boot camp• Middle school girls program integrating
biotech/CSI and game developmentTeacher Institutes
Teacher Institutes
3 week summer institute with one week of practicum in a student game camp
Goal is to integrate game development into the regular classroom
Teachers bring curriculum to the workshops and have time for development and peer feedback
Same curriculum as students but additional pedagogy component
Implementation
• Contexts of implementation varied• Projects included: – an end of year project where students researched an
organism in the PNW and made a game showing how it would evolve
– made MMF part of my core curriculum…able to tie in parts of what students are doing in science class and use that as a theme
– 1/2 year developing games with an applied science class.– had the 9/10 physical science class use MMF to make a
presentation.
Re-Evolution
Mars-The Search for Life
Trash Planet
Twisted Creek
Energy Farm
www.tincan.org Genetic Colonization
From the Teachers
What are the advantages of game development for STEM learning?
• exemplar of project-based learning• students WANT to make a game => willing to
work to do it• game designs can be tied into any core
subject, not just technology• reluctant learners become excited about
research and story design• Increases interest in STEM careers
What specific skills do you see game development as supporting in the
STEM classroom?• Math 1: coordinate system, variables,
percentages• Math 2: trig, approximate models
(physics), linear relationships• Math 3: detailed models, physics,
simulation, Linear Algebra
What specific skills do you see game development as supporting in the
STEM classroom?• Computing 1 (Scratch): variables,
conditional statements, iteration, broadcast, logic
• Computing 2 (Greenfoot, Flash): All normal CS1 topics
What specific skills do you see game development as supporting in the
STEM classroom?• Background subject research (Science)
for game design• Must use the scientific method in order
to troubleshoot their game • MMF: Computational thinking: patterns
that emerge from computer science but that are useful in much broader contexts
Why do Art and Design matter? How do they help teach STEM?
• Both are the part of the "magic" that make game creation engaging
• Paper games way to quickly engage students• Game design has rules/logic that transition
directly to code• Art can renew students suppressed voice• Game design requires more personal
responsibility for learning
How does game development support diversity (gender, ethnicity) in STEM?
• Girls play games in equal numbers, hence, an equalizer• Many girls and minorities NOT okay with depiction of
women/minorities, opportunity to make a game for themselves (examples from game camps: glass ceiling, reverse fairytales, babysitting game)
• Potential for a career in games motivates students into technology
• Girls enjoy creating avatars and other representations of self embedded in a science context
How do teachers react to games being used to teach STEM?
• Our (self-selecting) participants have been VERY positive
• Half or more not confident or knowledgeable about games: need encouragement
• Truly excited when they see the whole picture• Teachers reported that learning game development
changed some of the ways they approached the learning process in their classroom – more collaboration, inquiry.
• Helped make them stronger teachers