Project ARKHAIA and beyond: An RPG wrapped in an ARG and shrouded in situated learning
Roger Travis · Michael Young · Kevin Ballestrini · Stephen Slota · Karen Zook
Wed., June 15, 2:00–3:00, Inn Wisconsin
With Operation ΚΤΗΜΑ, our UConn team led by Roger Travis (Classics) and Michael Young (Educational Psychology) opened the way to developing game–based curricula of a kind that Travis has called “practomimetic“ (Travis, 2010a; Travis, 2010b; Travis, 2010c). Practomimetic courses map learning objectives onto play objectives in a one–to–one relationship and learning activities into game mechanics. Over the past year, part of that team has developed and implemented several Classics courses, including a course that is currently being offered at UConn and at four Connecticut high schools, entitled Operation LAPIS (see Foran, 2010 and Lemoine, 2010 for press coverage; see The Pericles Group, 2010 for the “recruiting” video). Together these courses constitute Project ΑΡΧΑΙΑ, which will eventually comprise a full game-based curriculum in the field of Classics, from beginning Latin and Greek to advanced disciplinary courses. We have also begun work on curricula in other disciplines, including STEM, opening with a complete secondary-level biology curriculum (Operation BIOME). We hope to demonstrate that learning in a very wide range of subjects can be enhanced with the relatively low-tech toolbox of game-based pedagogy we have developed.
The hallmark of these courses is the adaptation of course learning objectives to the most powerful learning affordances of video games, transforming predictable (and often antiquated) academic tasks into forms of collection and character skill-progression. As detailed by Travis and Young, this “morphing” of game and course presents significant potential affordances with respect to the principles laid down by Warren et al. (2009), and offers many of the same benefits highlighted by virtual reality training programs designed for mechanical engineers, medical students, and a variety of other career fields (Coller & Scott, 2009; de Freitas & Griffiths, 2007; Duque et al, 2008). Students, recruited by a mythical all-powerful creator figure (the "Demiurge," in classics terms), play in teams of three or four to assume control of characters (one per team) in the learning situation of the course--for classics courses, ancient Greece or Italy, and for STEM courses, a variety of settings ranging from the Amazon rain forest to inside the human body. Their mission is to perform as masters of the learning objectives in order to achieve the victory conditions of the game/course. The action takes place in a simple content–management system that includes forums for collaboration and performance, and an online codex that takes the place of a textbook.
In this workshop, members of the UConn game-based learning team will walk participants through a mission of Operation LAPIS, exhibit the tools used to create the game/course, and discuss other courses designed on the model, including a course in ancient Greek language and culture, several advanced classics curricula, and the foundational plans for STEM courses that extend beyond the scope of Operation BIOME. We also plan to share the early data emerging from these courses, which strongly support an increase in engagement without the loss of overall academic performance, closely matching the 2009 game-based science education work published by Annetta et al. (2009). At the presentation’s conclusion, we will provide an outline of our future plans to establish the situated effects of practomime-enriched learning environments for learners with a variety of goals and intentions (including game-based learning and its effects on gamers, academically motivated students, those interested in maintaining a high GPA, and more).
References
Coller, B., & Scott, M. (2009). Effectiveness of using a video game to teach a course in mechanical engineering. Computers & Education, 53(3), 900-912. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2009.05.012.
de Freitas, S., & Griffiths, M. (2007). Online gaming as an educational tool in learning and training. British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(3), 535-537. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2007.00720.x.
Duque, G., Fung, S., Mallet, L., Posel, N., & Fleiszer, D. (2008). Learning while having fun: The use of video gaming to teach geriatric house calls to medical students. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 56(7), 1328-1332. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.01759.x.
Foran, S. (2010). “Keeping Latin Alive and Lively.” UConn Today. http://today.uconn.edu/?p=23176>http://today.uconn.edu/?p=23176>http://today.uconn.edu/?p=23176
Lemoine, A. (2010). Video game has a mission for NFA students: Learn Latin. Norwich Bulletin, 17 November 2010. http://www.norwichbulletin.com/carousel/x684374350/Video-game-has-a-mission-for-NFA-students-Learn-Latin
The Pericles Group (2010). Operation LAPIS recruiting video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzFpGGSqnEY
Travis, R. (2010a). A note on the word practomime: Play the Past. http://www.playthepast.org/?p=198
Travis, R. (2010b). Operation LAPIS is Ite. Living Epic. http://livingepic.blogspot.com/2010/08/operation-lapis-is-ite.html
Travis, R. (2010c). Pedagogical Practomime. Living Epic. http://livingepic.blogspot.com/2010/01/pedagogical-practomime.html