quest2teach: the impact of immersive games to bridge theory & practice in teacher education

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Quest2Teach: The Impact of Immersive Games To Bridge Theory and Practice in Teacher Education ANNA ARICI DIRECTOR OF QUEST2TEACH & LEARNING SCIENTIST , CENTER FOR GAMES & IMPACT MARY LOU FULTON TEACHERS COLLEGE ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY SASHA BARAB DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR GAMES & IMPACT PINNACLE WEST CHAIR OF EDUCATION MARY LOU FULTON TEACHERS COLLEGE ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

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Quest2Teach: The Impact of Immersive GamesTo Bridge Theory and Practice in Teacher Education

ANNA ARICIDIRECTOR OF QUEST2TEACH & LEARNING SCIENTIST, CENTER FOR GAMES & IMPACT

MARY LOU FULTON TEACHERS COLLEGE

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

SASHA BARABDIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR GAMES & IMPACT

PINNACLE WEST CHAIR OF EDUCATION

MARY LOU FULTON TEACHERS COLLEGE

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

• ‘Learning by doing’ isn’t new, but technology is giving educators around the world unprecedented access and avenues to engage their students’ in meaningful ways.

“a communicative action or activity involving two parties or things that reciprocally affect or influence each other—changing both.”

Transactive Learning

John Dewey

Videogames as 21st Century Curricula

Videogames as a learning context offer ….

• entire worlds in which learners are central, important, active participants;

• a place where the actions one takes has a significant impact on the world;

• and a place in which what you know is directlyrelated to what you are able to do and,ultimately, who you become.

Transformational Play

an experiential state that involves:

(a) projection into the role of a character who,

(b) is recruited into a partly fantastical problematic context,

(c) must apply conceptual understandings,

(d) to transform the context,

(e) and, ultimately, oneself.

It involves positioning …

• Person With Intentionality• Content With Legitimacy• Context With Consequentiality

(Barab, Gresalfi, & Arici, 2009

Barab, Gresalfi, & Ingram-Goble, 2010)

Learning scientists

Game designers, publishers

Donors, domain experts, educators

Multi-StakeholderCollaboration

www.quest2teach.org

Quest2Teach is a series of game-infused 3D virtual learning curricula and socio-professional network designed for teacher education, to help bridge between educational theory and classroom practice.

In Quest2Teach, students create a professional avatar, play out roles, solve complex problems, fail safely, and see the impact of their decisions while gaining fluency in theories-in-action. Pre-service teachers evolve their professional identity in a variety of narrative-based 3D role-playing scenarios, each with a particular theoretical focus, and embedded within a larger experience-based curricula and network.

Joan Ganz Cooney Center (Sesame Workshop) Article and Video on Quest2Teach

• The Cooney Center chose Quest2Teach as the first in their documentary series of the top 5 innovations in Teacher Education.

• Here’s the article and resources: http://www.gamesandlearning.org/2014/10/14/game-based-approach-to-teacher-education-at-asu-builds-essential-skills

• Their film on Q2T: http://youtu.be/LHKRLIi47DQ

Protagonist in a nuancedand authentic Narrative

‘Diving into Data’ game: 3DM

• slide 7

• 20 seconds

• In-game tools help learners interrogate and interpret the scenarios and theories

• No single ‘correct’ game interpretation

• Players can flag and question the game scores

• Means for deeper discussion of the theories

Games for Learning aren’t software, they’re curricula…

All of the games we create are maximized when driven by an instructor, within a blended course framework, with some elements student-directed and some instructor-guided, and all being applied towards their real world experiences.

Teacher Toolkit & Dashboard

Small “g” gamesOur ‘video games’; self-contained and completeable; optimized to engage learners in a particular educational theory in a safe, simulated and structured environment.

An open-ended, flexible ‘meta-game’ structure and affinity spaces that foster locally-driven extensions and adaptations in support of real-world goals and outcomes.

• Data and Analytics Dashboard

• Social Communities/Affinity Spaces/Network

• Learning trajectories and gamification layers

• Smart/Modding Tools

Big “G” game

(A distinction from CGI co-founder Jim Gee)

Q2T Socio-Professional Network

Quest2Teach 3D Hub

DBIR Research Cycles

• A series of multiple Design-Based Implementation Research (DBIR) cycles over 4 semesters

• The three Q2T games and network were implemented by faculty and engaged by over 800 pre-service teachers in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College (MLFTC) in intact classrooms.

• Research cycles alternated with design cycles, with the research findings informing the design iterations, as well as the ecology of implementation.

Demographic Findings

Our Teachers College Demographic data showed:• Most common use of computers was for homework or

social networks.• Only 9% reported that they only played video games 1-5

hours/week. (Compared with 70% nationally, across all majors)

• 87% of students indicated that they rarely played video games.

• Only 5% described themselves as a ‘gamer’

Digital natives are Not always Gamers

N= ~800 pre-service undergraduate students

Positive Results• All studies showed significant learning gains in targeted

standards, and significant increases in engagement.

• Nearly two-thirds of students (62%) reported that the game helped them to see themselves as a professional teacher more than they did before playing it.

• 45% of students reported that the games helped increasetheir level of confidence in their future teaching ability.

• 52% of students indicated that the games helped increase their commitment to future teaching.

Comparison Findings: Professionalism Game

Regular class setting

• “This unit made me more aware of my actions”

• “It taught me about a lot of different professional situations”

Summary: learned ‘about’ professionalism, and became ‘aware’

Game-infused class

• “This game allowed me to practice how to be respectful in a disagreement, it gave me skills in interpersonal relationships and how to work better with others.””

• “This experience gave me the language to approach new and challenging situations in my professional career.”

Summary: learned ‘skills’, ‘language’, active rather than passive voice

first-person protagonist in learning new skills

Findings: Authentic practice

When students were asked what they learned in this unit that will stay with them, many responded they felt better equipped to handle difficult interactionsin the real world.

“I like how this game gave us scripts for handling conversations. I think that’s huge. Sometimes we know what we’re supposed to say but it’s hard to find the words. It was great just reading the various options and seeing there are a lot of different ways to approach it.”

Students said that the game felt more real than the role play they did in class (around student mentoring) because they knew their fellow students would basically follow a supportive and predictive script.

Findings: Identity as a ProfessionalGame role supported Identity shift from Student to Teacher

Several students felt that this game was the first time they felt like they saw themselves as a teacher, rather than a student.

“This was a significant shift out of not being a student anymore, you know? We are in the professional world now, and we need to see ourselves as teachers. This game was like a shift into ‘the real life’, and people can relate to these struggles.”

Findings: Relevance to Real World

Students participating in their student teaching shared that they had already experienced conflicts very similar to these scenarios, and that the virtual experience reflected the real world.

“I just want to say that I definitely give a lot of points for relevance, because a lot of these situations were like things that I’ve already experienced. I was immediately able relate to some of these situations.”

Unlike the real world, students really appreciate the ability to fail safely, play again to see different outcomes, and gain extra practice and fluency in these ideas before student teaching.

Findings: Ecology of ImplementationSome students initially need more support with Technology

• Reframing gaming as a ‘simulation’ (instead of a video game) went far in shifting reactions from hesitancy to enthusiasm.

• We built in explicit supports in the 3D worlds, with tutorials initiated through player inactivity, and guidance from in-game characters, but they quickly became adept.

Scope and Sequence in Program: ‘Just-in-Time’ vs. ‘Just-in-Case’• Very different reactions from students in their 1st semester vs Student teachers when

playing the Professionalism game.

First semester student: “I would never have a conflict with my mentor. I’m just going to roll over and do whatever she says.”

Student Teacher reaction:“I don’t think if we played this last semester or last year, any one of us would have taken it as seriously, but now we know, this is for real!”

Findings: Ecology of Implementation

Network was redundant with their own

• They already had a (more divergent) network created in Facebook

• We needed to brainstorm alternative network services we could provide to meet actual needs.

Instructor influence • Instructors welcomed and embraced the innovation• The few with negative attitudes passed those on to students• Teacher support and training is essential, and they are eager for it.

Summary of Research Findings

• All studies showed significant learning & engagement gains

• Significant shift from identifying self as ‘student’ to seeing self as a ‘teacher’

• Students reported increased confidence in going out to real world field placement.

• Students reported increased commitment to teaching as future profession.

Summary of Ecology of Implementation Findings & Changes

Expectation changes: ‘Simulation’, not a Video Game. Highlight the bridge this makes between theory and practice.

Semester changes: Time it so they have enough context and experience to make meaning, Just-in-Time.

Design changes: Supports and tutorials in the 3D worlds and network.

Network changes: Encourage participation by meeting their real needs, with meaningful reasons for participation.

Instructor Training: New innovations call for new pedagogies and lots of support.

Big G Infrastructure: Be responsive to the learners and build in flexibility. Allow the instructors to mod for local needs and goals.

Ongoing as we scale, with the goal of adapting to local needs and infrastructures.

Achieving Impact

Disruptive Innovations

Design-Based Implementation

Research

Tech-Enabled Services

Questions or Guest Accounts?

Contact: [email protected] or visit www.quest2teach.org