Using Role-Playing Games for Education-final draft
Using Role-Playing Games for Educational Purposes: Examples of RPGs in Curriculum and Pedagogy
Abstract
Using RPGs in education shows distinct benefits and opportunities which many professional educators have chosen to exploit in their practice. In this paper, I discuss three instances of educators using RPGs in educational contexts, and I detail how each example clearly shows benefits of engagement and deepened learning for its participants.
Keywords: Role-playing games, education, engagement, participatory culture
Introduction: Role-Playing Games in Culture and Education
Using RPGs in education shows distinct benefits and opportunities which many professional educators have chosen to exploit in their practice. In this paper, I discuss three instances of educators using RPGs in educational contexts, and I detail how each example clearly shows benefits of engagement and deepened learning for its participants
Role-playing games (RPGs) are seen as fun and engaging to a significant portion of our population, and their growing popularity holds great potential for educational use. A survey done in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast, the current owners of Dungeons and Dragons, estimates that 5.5 million people in the US alone regularly play tabletop roleplaying games (Phillips, C., 2013), and the number is far greater when you include participation in computer-based RPGs as well. What is less obvious, but turns out to be quite interestingly true, is that RPGs are also incredibly well suited to educational purposes, not only due to their potential for engagement, but also because of their inherent ability to teach skills and knowledge just by playing the game.
Participation in playing RPGs appears to have unintentional educational benefit, leading to the development of a variety of skills that are acquired either through role-play or through preparation outside of the game for better performance during gaming sessions (Mello, H., 2006). Studies conducted by Mello indicate that participants in RPGs use and develop skills and knowledge in a variety of areas such as history, mythology, research skills, reading and writing, and mathematics. In addition to these, participants also use and develop important 21st century skills such as creativity, critical thinking, teamwork, public speaking and communication, and key social skills such as empathy, leadership, and humor. RPGs also foster the learning and mastery of cultural competencies and social skills known as new media literacies (Jenkins, H., 2006) which young and older people alike need in the new media landscape, such as play (the capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of problem-solving, performance (the ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of improvisation and discovery), and simulation (the ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-world processes). Jenkins suggests that when a player engages in role-playing or writes about his or her character, it helps develop the player’s capacity to understand issues from multiple viewpoints, digest information, and problem solve (Herr-Stephenson, B. and Parker, J., 2010). Herr-Stephenson and Parker observe, “The work of understanding and exploring the unique settings found in RPGs can spark creativity and encourage flexible thinking”.
Beyond the specific benefits of role-playing, merely being involved in a ‘game’ can motivate students, sparking their interests and keeping them creatively attentive, engaged and entertained through the entire learning experience. A student assuming the role of ‘game-player’ implies an optional, voluntary relationship to the activity, and through participation, the student feels an intrinsic interest and reward (McGonigal, J., 2011). RPGs also benefit from this intrinsic motivation, which is reinforced through the social nature of the game play. Playing RPGs gives participants the opportunity to be included in a participatory culture (Jenkins, H., 2006) composed of players and enthusiasts, surrounding the activity of game play and the interests that pertain to the content and setting of the RPG. Participatory cultures, according to Jenkins, promote engagement through “low barriers to artistic expression” and through “strong mutual support for creating and sharing one’s creations with others”. The culture and its activities are promoted through “informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices”. This participation and mutual social connection promotes a belief that the participants’ contributions matter, and deepens the level of engagement. Furthermore, RPGs are steeped in dialog and shared perspective between player and narrator, and break down the typical “banking” model of educational practice (Freire, P., 1970) seen in traditional top-down transmission-style classroom education. RPGs allow instead for a relationship of liberation to form between teacher (narrator) and student (player), where the player shares creative capacity with the narrator, and the narrator takes the perspective of the player through management of her/his story elements and reacting to the contributions of the players in the game.
Using RPGs in educational contexts is not without its challenges; the use of RPGs, similar to the use of other kinds of group activity, can be hard to control and can easily result in chaos and noise. They require more control, more multi-tasking, and generally more work on the part of the teacher in order to be heard and understood by the entire group. The noise does not necessarily itself mean a lack of discipline, however, as the game play follows a set of mutually accepted rules, which may include boisterous communication, but still falls within a circumscribed experience where such expression is sanctioned and encouraged (Zalka, C., 2012).
Now that I have made the general case that RPGs have benefits and opportunities for educators, parents, and students, I will spend time to detail three specific examples of RPGs being used in educational contexts, and show you some of the strong benefits and opportunities that they provide.”
Historia: Replacing middle-school world history curriculum with an RPG
Historia is a civilization-simulation and strategy RPG that educates middle school-level students in “world history and cultures, economics, geography and government through interactive game play” (Brennan, R. 2014). Its creators, Rick Brennan and Jason Darnell, both social studies teachers in Houston, TX., created Historia so that their students could take an active role in learning. The game is a replacement for a year-long world cultures curriculum and is aligned to Texas state standards. Historia covers more than 4000 years of history, starting from before 2000 BCE and reaching to 2000 CE, “connecting the ancient past to the present day” (Brennan, R., 2014).
In Historia, students are grouped into teams that form civilizations. The timeline is portioned into 21 Epochs, which serve as the rounds of game play, which includes a tutorial Epoch in the beginning. During the interactive rounds, players must govern and protect their civilizations through their decisions in each Epoch. If a government’s decisions are wise, the civilization flourishes. If they are unwise, the civilization subsequently grows weaker and smaller. The wisdom each government displays depends on the players depth of knowledge regarding the populations, locations and issues encountered in Historia, so student players must “conduct rigorous, content-based research” (Brennan, R. 2014) in order to learn lessons and then use their findings to develop solutions and strategies to advance their own civilization’s path through history. After conducting research and setting strategy, each team creates a budget to allocate the resources their economy produces on public works improvements and scientific advances that aid their population for later rounds. In short, students “learn the lessons of history” (Brennan, R. 2014) and then apply those lessons to the way they play the game.
Each Epoch presents the students with a Dilemma, or test for that civilization that shapes the decisions that they make for that game round. Such Dilemmas might have to do with whether or not to make peace with an invading tyrant such as Alexander the Great, whether or not to build a wonder of the world, or whether to invest in scientific advancement in order to win the space race. The actions of one round have consequences for the next; students learn history by leading history, and using the research of real world events and civilizations to guide their actions.
Brennan and Darnell had tremendous success in piloting their program at Lanier Middle School in Houston Texas, and Historia is currently being used as curriculum at Quest2Learn in New York City, as well as at The Ripley House Promise Community School in Houston, Texas. Brennan and Darnell have since founded Histrionix Learning Company, to guide and develop products such as Historia, and have partnered with ASU’s Center for Games & Impact, E Line Media, and Upper One Games to incorporate additional digital materials for those wishing to use Historia.
Brennan and Darnell report an astounding level of engagement in their RPG; to quote Brennan, “Very simply, this is the best teaching practice. When I didn’t teach this way, I would have ten percent of my class [with] who[m] I would struggle to get to pay attention. I don’t have that problem any more. Right now, my biggest problem is calming kids down [because] they get so excited. And that is a very good problem to have.” (Waniewski, B., 2011) Another teacher, Jennifer Pung, who opted to use the Historia curriculum, comments on the level of excitement the game generates: “When you’re in the classroom, it’s sort of organized chaos, but the students are much more excited to come to class. You can hear them gossiping about it in the hallways!”
In developing the game, Brennan and Darnell also discovered the students’ willingness to engage did not end with the playing of the game, but also extended to the students’ desire to make the game better. Initially, the game was too difficult and students became discouraged, but Brennan and Darnell invited their students to give feedback and suggest improvements, with surprising results. The students showed intense eagerness to help, and took an active role in suggesting innovations, such as Dilemmas, as well as other improvements. Brennan credits his students’ high level of engagement to the game’s creation of a link between knowledge (study) and experience (game play) that matters deeply to the students who play Historia. This extra-game engagement is an example of a participatory culture that promotes engagement even outside of the reward and consequence system of the game itself.
Historia also demonstrates an opportunity to promote more complex thinking in the students that play the game; the experience of the game contributes to and is exemplified in the decision-making processes the students engage with in leading their civilizations. Darnell observes, “When you see a group that has a dictatorship, that group will make decisions in like ten seconds. Whereas the groups that have democracies won’t come to a decision for like five or ten minutes. They take so much longer, and that’s a reflection of how the real world works. The kids experience it, and we discuss it.” The way the game plays reflects what the kids learn in their research, and helps them understand at a deeper level the decisions and processes that shape civilizations and history. As the students play the game, the types of questions they ask become deeper and more nuanced. For example, when studying Hammurabi, students begin asking questions such as ‘Why would a government make a law system that created fear? Why would a government want people to fear it?” These questions are born out of the experiential knowledge and desire to succeed that playing Historia promotes.
Historia has proven to its creators and those who have chosen to adopt the curriculum to be highly engaging to students, and promotes deeper levels of learning through project-based, experiential activities. Students are fully engaged during game play, and talk about the game outside of class with friends and family, working together as a participatory culture to discover better and more effective ways to play the game. Playing Historia promotes a deep understanding of the curriculum through engaging with political processes and decision-making revealed in the students’ research, and the questions that the students ask in class exemplify critical thinking in a way that did not occur before implementing Historia.
Abantey and The Roleplay Workshop: Extra-curricular learning through RPGs
Abantey[1] is an RPG that educates players in academic subjects such as history, biology, earth sciences, math, philosophy, as well as 21st century skills such as problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, and communication skills. Players learn issues of personal responsibility and ethics while playing through mysteries and adventures and experimenting in a safe environment that teaches about actions and consequences.
Rebecca Thomas created Abantey over twenty-five years ago while she was a math and science teacher, as a way to use role-playing games to engage her students in academic subjects in a fun and immersive way. Thomas retired from her teaching post to become the full-time director of The Roleplay Workshop in 1989. The Roleplay Workshop uses Abantey with children 12 years and older for educational enrichment and entertainment in afterschool, holiday and summertime programming. Participants come together in a participatory culture that inspires students to learn and create both in and outside of the game. Seiji Carpenter, one of the program’s alumni participants, describes the effect of the program he has experienced: “Abantey was not only my favorite activity for much of high school, it was the single program which gave me the desire to learn. It motivated me to challenge myself with Advanced Placement science courses and it enabled me to directly apply what I learned. I cannot think of a better program for students. It was a great afterschool and weekend activity that I enjoyed more than any other and at the same time it was a major cause of my academic motivation and success. I cannot stress how much Abantey is to thank for my successes.” Seiji also points out the richness of the game world, which is based on “a foundation of physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and other sciences”, and emphasizes the collaborative nature of the activity, as the students have to “interact, cooperate, and problem-solve to work with other students to accomplish a goal” (Thomas). Clearly, Abantey and the Roleplay Workshop are providing a wide variety of educational benefits to its participants, including many of the critical 21st century skills.
Another important feature of Thomas’ program is the apprentice model she takes with her students, allowing them to advance in real-world responsibilities and privileges, if they decide to pursue advanced status within the participatory culture. Older players may opt to become an assistant, who helps out with environmental management (taking out trash, keeping resources organized and stocked) as well as classroom management (helping less-experienced players at the table, and deferring their own character’s gain for the betterment of the less experienced players) in exchange for reduced cost participation, prestige in the participatory culture, and an opportunity for further advancement. Assistants may eventually attend training sessions taught by Thomas and her staff, and may opt to take tests designed to show the student’s proficiency with the game system and student management issues in order to become an ‘assistant game master’, and finally a fully-paid ‘game master’, if the student shows sufficient levels of responsibility and mastery.
The Roleplay Workshop has many testimonials to their credit as educators and as an empowering influence in their students’ lives. The participants form a family of inspired creators and thinkers, and maintain contact with Thomas and the staff long after they have graduated and have moved on to other pursuits. Each testimonial points to The Roleplay Workshop as being a main influence in the student’s academic and personal lives.
While Abantey and the Roleplay Workshop are not themselves a traditional classroom setting, their situation as an enrichment program which is advertised to children as a game gives them the strong benefits of game-related engagement mentioned by McGonigal. This engagement is reinforced by the participatory culture created by the students in the program and the staff of the Roleplay Workshop. Through parent and student testimonials, it is clear the participants care greatly about their involvement in the game, and show a deepened sense of learning due to their participation.
Østerskov Efterskole: The Role-Players’ School in Denmark
Østerskov Efterskole, a boarding school founded in 2006 in Hobro, Denmark by Mads Lunau and Malik Hyltoft, is Denmark’s first school to base its pedagogy and curriculum on RPGs and game play. It was created as “an alternative approach to the persistent pedagogical restrictions they encountered in the school systems they both worked in” (Hyltoft, M., 2008). Each course is organized into interdisciplinary narrative units, which are one to three weeks long. These units teach from most to all of the subjects in the school, and contain elements of workshops, story telling, role-playing, project-oriented teaching and classroom teaching. The school takes a learner-centric approach; the students, through role-playing their characters, engage with the unit’s curriculum. The students are presented with challenges to overcome with creative problem solving, and are tasked with understanding “briefings” that allow them to function in the presented setting. During game play, students generate questions and take the initiative in their own learning.
The purpose of the school is to include all subjects in roleplaying-related activities, where the flow of the game engages the student to strive for learning. Østerskov reports that their system of instruction covers a wide range of content in fewer lessons than in traditional pedagogy, and consequently the school has completely eliminated homework in favor of focusing on other, more important aspects of education. At the end of each school day, the student works with his or her portfolio, which collects the work from the project-based learning that takes place during the school day, and allows educators a window in on the student’s learning process, and provides a platform for the teacher to assist the student in processing any information with which she or he may be having problems. The students also maintain a blog to demonstrate their learning projects to other students and their family at home.
Østerskov has shown remarkable results with its alternative teaching methods, allowing pupils that have trouble fitting in at other schools to do extremely well, and showing marked improvement in most students who attend. Students learn to be flexible and adaptable, show an understanding of social dynamics, and demonstrate high levels of initiative. Also, the majority of the students in the school continue on to higher education. Østerskov takes a very special position as being both a full school and a RPG, and through testimonials from students and staff it is clear that the school creates a high level of engagement through participation in the educational game units and through interaction with the participatory culture formed by students and staff. Students at Østerskov that have been unsuccessful in more traditional settings report higher levels of satisfaction and a deeper sense of learning and accomplishment.
Conclusion
These three examples of the educational use of RPGs are a very small sample of the many instances I have discovered in my research, and I have high confidence that there are many others I have not yet discovered. However, jt is clear through these examples that there is tremendous power and potential in the use of RPGs as highly effective educational tools. As I have shown, RPGs bind students together into communities, help promote engagement with and deeper learning of academic subjects, and develop crucial social and creative skills. I would like to see more research into the quantitative effects of their employment, and it is clear there is need for greater scholarship on the subject.
References
Brennan, R. (2014). Historia: Game-Based Learning for Middle School History. Edutopia, 1–4.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Penguin
Herr-Stephenson, B. and Parker, J. (2010). Role-Playing: Writing and Performing Beyond the Classroom. In Parker, J., Teaching Tech-Savvy Kids: Bringing Digital Media Into the Classroom, Grades 5-12. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Corwin
Hyltoft, M. (2008). Chapter 1: The Role-Players’ School: Østerskov
Efterskole. In M. Montola & J. Stenros, Playground Worlds.
Jenkins, H. (2009). Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture. MIT Press.
McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World
Mello, H. (2006). Invoking the Avatar: Gaming Skills as Cultural and Out-of-Game Capital. In Williams, J.P., Hendricks, S.Q., and Winkler, W.K. (Eds.), Gaming as Culture. North Carolina: McFarland.
Phillips, C. (2013). After 40 years, popularity of tabletop gaming rises despite high-tech competition. Timesfreepress.com. Retrieved December 6, 2014, from http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/jul/29/after-40-years-popularity-tabletop-gaming-ri/?entertainmentlifeentertainment
Tabletop role-playing game (n.d.), Retrieved December 3, 2014 from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabletop_role-playing_game#History
Waniewski, B. (2014, November 16). Designing a Classroom Game That Can Get Kids Excited About History. The Atlantic. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/11/designing-a-classroom-game-that-can-get-kids-excited-about-history/248614/
Zalka, C. (2012). Adventures in the Classroom: Creating Role-Playing Games Based on Traditional Stories for the High School Curriculum. (Submission for Masters Degree). East Tennessee State University, Tennessee.
http://osterskov.dk/om-os/osterskov-in-english/
http://www.roleplayworkshop.com
Endnotes
[1] The name Abantey is derived from Bisayan (a dialect of the Philippines) and means: “to forge ahead or lead”.