Post on 03-Feb-2022
Jan L. Plass, Ph.D.Co-Director, Games for Learning Institute New York University
AAA Game Mechanics Inspiring Learning and Assessment Mechanics
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Game Mechanics
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RelevancePISA: We are falling behind
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Games for Learning Institute●Members
●NYU (Ken Perlin, Jan L. Plass, Co-Directors, Katherine Isbister)●TC Columbia University (Chuck Kinzer)●CUNY Graduate Center (Bruce D. Homer)●Parsons, Dartmouth, RIT, PUC●Total of 11 faculty from 7 universities and their labs Game designers, computer scientists, engineers, educators, learning scientists, psychologists
Collaborators!!!!!!!!!!!!!Ken!Perlin!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!Bruce!Homer!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!Chuck!Kinzer!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!Catherine!Milne!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!Katherine!Isbister!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!Trace!Jordan!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!Joel!Wein!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!Mary!Flanagan!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!Andy!Phelps!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!Miguel!Nussbaum!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!Colleen!Macklin!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!Juan!Barrientos!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!Melissa!Biles!
!!!!!!!!!!!Anna!Brady!
!!!!!!!!!!!Meagan!Bromley!
!!!!!!!!!!!Jennifer!Case!
!!!!!!!!!!!Anand!Chandrasekaran!
!!!!!!!!!!!Yoo!Kyung!Chang!
!!!!!!!!!!!Dixie!Ching!
!!!!!!!!!!!Jonathan!Frye!
!!!!!!!!!!!Elizabeth!Hayward!
!!!!!!!!!!!Charles!Hendee!
!!!!!!!!!!!TsuITing!Huang!
!!!!!!!!!!!Yolanta!Kornak!
!!!!!!!!!!!Helen!Kwah!
!!!!!!!!!!!Susan!Letourneau!
!!!!!!!!!!!William!Meyer!
!!!!!!!!!!!Paul!O’Keefe!
!!!!!!!!!!!MarNn!Pusic!
!!!!!!!!!!!Darshanand!Ramdass!
!!!!!!!!!!!Adina!Kalet!
!!!!!!!!!!!Mubina!Khan!!
!!!!!!!!!!!Ruth!Schwartz!
!!!!!!!!!!!Hyuksoon!Song!
!!!!!!!!!!!Murphy!Stein!
!!!!!!!!!!!Tzuchi!Tsai!
!!!!!!!!!!!Yan!Wang!
!!!!!!!!!!!Steve!Yavner!
!!!!!!!!!!!Helen!Zhen!Zeng!
Games for Learning Institute●Mission
●Design Patterns for Games for Learning●Guide for Designers●Embedded Assessment●Evidence of Effectiveness of Games for Learning●Focus on STEM, Language, Literacy
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Why use Games for Learning?
Highly Contextualized, Situated Problem Solving Spaces
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Why use Games for Learning?
Highly Engaging, Individualized Learning
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Why use Games for Learning?
Bridge in-school and out-of-school learning
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Why use Games for Learning?
Emotional Impact by Design
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Why use Games for Learning?
Embedded Assessment (learning, learner variables)
Why use Games for Learning?
Community of Practice, Participatory Learning Culture
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Games for Learning Institute
Games for Learning Institute●Research Methods
●Playtesting ●Design Research●Experimental Research●Using a variety of measures:●Physiological (biometrics, eye tracking)●Behavioral (in-game assessment, video observations)●Self-reports (think-aloud, interviews, surveys)
Why do so many Educational Games fail?
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Games for Learning●Types of Games for Learning
●Prepare future learning●Gain new subject knowledge or skills●Practice existing knowledge or skills●Develop learning & innovation skills
Game Mechanics●Essential Game Play ●Different when goal is learning●Fun and Engaging●Engage player in meaningful learning activities●Elicit relevant behaviors that can reveal player’s thinking
Game Mechanics
Assessment Mechanics
Learning Mechanics Patterns of behavior or building blocks of learner interactivity
Patterns of behavior or building blocks of diagnostic interactivity
Game Mechanics
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Game Mechanics
Assessment Mechanics
Learning Mechanics Patterns of behavior or building blocks of learner interactivity
Patterns of behavior or building blocks of diagnostic interactivity
Game Mechanics
Learning Mechanics●Design Process
●Describe desired outcomes●Apply a learning approach●Design meaningful interaction with the specific subject
●Select Game Mechanic
Domagk, Schwartz, & Plass, 2010
Learning Mechanics●Example
●Desired outcomes: Geometry rules●Learning approach: Reciprocal teaching●Learning Mechanic: Learner solves problems by identifying the correct rule to apply
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Learning Mechanics●Learner solves problems by identifying the correct rule to apply
150º? ?
Select the correct rule and drag it to the corresponding angle
30º60º
Learning Mechanics●Learner solves problems by identifying the correct rule to apply●Game Mechanic: Sling-shot
150º? ?
Select the correct rule to and shoot it to the corresponding angle
30º60º
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Learning Mechanics●Learner solves problems by identifying the correct rule to apply●Game Mechanic: Jet Pack
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Learning Mechanics●Learner solves problems by identifying the correct rule to apply●Game Mechanic: Object search
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It couldn’t be *that* simple?
Game Mechanics●Requirements
●Don’t introduce excessive demands by irrelevant tasks
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Game Mechanics●Requirement
●Keep it challenging–don’t make it too easy
Game Mechanics●Requirements
●Don’t introduce unnecessary confounds (fine motor skills, content knowledge or skills, etc.)
Learning Mechanics Library
Learning Mechanic Game MechanicGame MechanicGame MechanicGame Mechanic
Learner places icons representing key concepts to solve problems
Learner creates authentic problems to solve by other players
Reciprocal teaching: Learner teaches concepts to game characters
[ your ideas here... ] [ your examples here... ]
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Game Mechanics
Assessment Mechanics
Learning Mechanics Patterns of behavior or building blocks of learner interactivity
Patterns of behavior or building blocks of diagnostic interactivity
Game Mechanics
Assessment Mechanics●Design Process (Evidence-Centered Design, Mislevy et al.)
Evidence ModelCompetency Model
Observation Model
Task Model
what should be assessed?
what behaviors reveal these constructs??
what tasks should elicit these behaviors?
what observations can capture these behaviors?
Assessment Mechanics●Learner applies rules to solve problems
150º? ?150º? ?
20º30º40º50º60º Select the correct answer and
drag it to the corresponding angleSelect the correct rule and drag it
to the corresponding angle
60º
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Assessment Mechanics●Requirements
●Consider item dependencies●Allow for multiple observations●Don’t rely on unrelated skills (e.g., fine motor skills)●Don’t introduce confounds - other content knowledge/skills●Consider Emotional Response (Bird Anger)
Learning Mechanics Library
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Assessment Mechanic Game MechanicGame MechanicGame MechanicGame Mechanic
Learners apply rules to solve problems
Learner arrange items in space and time to solve problems
Learner show which items belong to each other in time or space
[ your ideas here... ] [ your examples here ]
Conclusion●Game Mechanics are different for learning games●Clear process to effective mechanics●In line with specialization areas of designers ●Step closer to educational games that don’t fail
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