Debriefing Games-Based Learning
Debriefing Games-Based Learning
Debriefing Games-Based Learning
Using games for teaching and learning is the basis for games-based learning. But, educators and instructors don’t just play games with students or ask their students to play games. Instead, games serve as a critical and fundamental part of the curriculum for helping learners grow. That’s accomplished by making sure that a proper debriefing has occurred after game play.
But what is a debriefing? How is debriefing used in games-based learning?
This article will provide an overview on debriefing as well as the fundamental reasons why debriefing should be included in games-based learning. Games-based learning is part of the experiential learning cycle. So, a connection on this method of teaching and learning will be made as well as how instructors can outline goals for debriefing.
Debriefing can occur at different stages and times during game play. So, proper timing will be discussed as well as how a specific strategy can be pursued to help educators reach specific learning outcomes.
An overview of debriefing in action used in concert with games-based learning will be provided as well as a series of steps to follow with learners. Both the instructor and the players (learners) take an active role in the debriefing process. These roles will be discussed and described in depth in this article.
Finally, a summary of debriefing and games-based learning will be provided as well as actionable takeaways for to use with your own learners.
What is debriefing?
Debriefing is an experience that enables your players (learners) to connect activities with learning outcomes. This is often attributed and closely connected to experiential learning and how learners make sense of their educational experience. The debriefing process is one that is facilitated by an instructor through this experiential learning process.
Debriefing activities can take on multiple forms and formats and through different mediums. Activities can fun, practical, and engaging. No, matter how they are implemented, they are intended to help facilitate learning, growth, and development.
Debriefing can be conducted between an instructor and students or with an instructor, facilitator, or students. It often helps to have instructors and facilitators from different subject areas and areas of expertise who can help shape and moderate the debriefing process.
Debriefing activities almost always include a review of the activity participants engaged with. Most often that is some sort of experiential activity such as games-based learning. Multiple modalities for debriefing become available when games are used. Some of which include reviewing video recordings; audio recordings; or transcripts of the game play session. In addition, learners might also find other methods of reflection conducive to the debriefing process. This could include journaling about the experience and documenting their thoughts and conclusions.
Why debrief?
So what exactly makes debriefing important? It’s important to review learning as a process (such as the experiential learning process) rather than just an outcome to achieve. Learning in this way is grounded in experience. That experience needs to be reconciled with learners’ own preconceived notions; judgments; and conclusions. Following a structured debriefing with learners helps to achieve this understanding.
This is particularly critical during games-based learning (as is with other experiential based activities). This is because certain beliefs, assumptions, and values might have been challenged or undermined during the experience. Taking time to share, discuss, and debate those changes helps facilitate “deep learning” from participants.
Most importantly, debriefing demonstrates to participants how what they have learned is relevant and applicable to their own personal and professional needs. The same way that literature and other media can be consumed and discussed for their relevance; games can be played and discussed through a facilitated debrief.
Such a focus on learners in the debriefing process helps them identify what exactly they have learned and how they have learned it before considering what next steps to consider in their educational journey. Though, it is also important for facilitators to understand the different and unique viewpoints of each learner and how they express and analyze their own experience.
The experiential learning cycle
The experiential learning cycle forms the heart and focus for applied games-based learning. Games-based learning is experiential learning and as such, debriefing takes on a critical and prominent role for learners.
This article will focus on using the experiential learning cycle as a framework for debriefing. There are other ways to focus on debriefing when using games for teaching and learning; however this article will focus on experiential learning as a framework for debriefing learning experiences.
The experiential learning cycle involves learners Concrete Experiences (CE); which usually involves game play in games-based learning. This is followed with Reflective Observation (RO); Abstract Conceptualization (AC); and finally Active Experimentation (AE). The steps are completed by the learner with debriefing occurring in tandem with the learner during the Reflective Observation (RO) and Abstract Conceptualization (AC) stages as ways for instructors to implement and lead a debriefing.
These stages are often most successful for debriefing students experiences because it serves as an inflection point for student learning. That’s because students develop new knowledge through a reflection of their own learning and experiences. Sometimes this is achieved naturally and organically through players’ self reflections. However, active debriefing provides learners with a structured format for actively reflecting on the experience and conceptualizing their own learning; development; and meaning making.
This doesn’t mean that debriefing alone can only happen once during the experiential learning cycle. Rather, experiential learning is a continuous cycle of experience; reflection; conceptualization; and experimentation. Games promote this process through the core loop of game play. Likewise, instructors and educators can replicate this through repeated and escalating debriefing sessions in which learners’ experiences are challenged and debated in order to further the development process.
This is where the importance of the debriefing exercise rests with the instructor, educator, and learner. Such active debriefing through experiential learning should help learners synergize, strengthen, and transfer learning from their experiences and resolve it with their own values; beliefs; and conclusions.
Goals of debriefing
The goals of debriefing in experiential and games-based learning is to emphasize new and innovative techniques inspired by teachable moments through students’ game play. However, instructors should be careful here as not to lead the debriefing to make a specific point; but rather to emphasize and reinforce active reflection by students in order to make sure that learning is occurring and routinely built upon.
Therefore, one of the goals of debriefing should be to help learners hypothesize about future events. Specifically how their Active Experimentation (AE) through game play might yield the same; similar; or completely different results. This ensures that players are making a conscious effort to examine their own play (and reasons for play) and how those decisions affect the eventual outcome.
This connection is important for learners to tie their own actions to their previous experiences and how expected and actual results compare against one another. Ultimately the goal of debriefing is to compare the expectations against the actual results and forming conclusions based on those outcomes.
This is most applicable in games-based learning because the game or simulations serves as an analog or framework for representing a real world problem or a hypothetical situation. Such games provide a framework for students to actively experiment within this framework and discover (or fail to discover) the results of their actions.
When does debriefing occur?
Debriefing is a critical activity for games-based learning and experiential learning. Really, debriefing can be used to augmented or supplement any educational moment. So when does a debriefing occur? It can happen at multiple points during any sort of structured activity or any kind of “teachable moment” during everyday life.
When used with experiential learning; debriefing usually takes place during the end of an activity or experience. However, there are some conflicting opinions on the timing factor when applied to games-based learning. Some educators debrief the activity after the game has been completed whereas others include in-game debriefing as part of the experience.
Debriefing in games-based learning can happen at both or either stage of the activity. What is important to know is that learners’ experiences should be taken into account for the best possible outcomes. This means that debriefings should complement the learning – rather than take away from it. That is to say that if learners’ are engaging with the activity and the game – and they are gaining from that activity and enjoying that activity – then the debriefing can wait until after the game play is over.
Conversely, students who are feeling stuck; frustrated; or aggravated with game play could benefit by debriefing now and examining their circumstances rather than continue to push forward. These “mid-game” debriefings are good for approaching the foundations and reasons for flawed reasoning or misconceptions that could be hindering learners’ basic understanding of the game or activity.
No matter when the debriefing occurs; it’s important to take learners’ position in the experiential learning cycle in stride. This means that the most effective debriefing sessions are often followed with opportunities for learners to reflect on their own game play experiences and/or implement new conclusions or approaches to achieving a specific goal or outcome.
Debriefing strategy
Debriefing is most frequently lead by the instructor or educator. At a basic level, they must have a thorough understanding of the game; activity; and the expected outcomes from participation. In addition, they should also take note of how learning outcomes were achieved/not achieved over the course of the activity and specific points of game play to be referenced in the post-game debrief.
This debriefing strategy can also take place in a structured co-instructor approach where facilitators pre-plan and prepare different aspects of the debriefing process to discuss and reference. Most commonly, this could include challenging moments in the game play or activity that were overcome/not overcome by the learners. Such moments often form the most tangible memories of game play through games-based learning.
Instructors, educators, and facilitators must also take steps to frame the moments of learning in the game as metaphors or applications of learning outside the game. Sometimes these connections are evident such as games about climate change that include how individuals might address and affect public policy changes. Whereas other games might include more abstract game play. In the latter circumstances; instructors should carefully structure their debriefing strategy to include applications of relevant scenarios inside the game to situations that learners might experience outside of the game.
It is often the case that debriefing might not be entirely conclusive or decisive. There might be a sense of ambiguity in learners’ outcomes; experiences; or observations. Those outcomes are fine to have. What should instead be prioritized in the process is how the educator and learner can work with the content (gameplay) in order to find conclusions and application from experiences that help fulfill learners’ needs.
Debriefing overview in action
Overall the use and application of debriefing can have significant effects on learners. This is more the case with adult learning and corporate learning and development. This is because these situations lend connection and often prioritize applications of learning to practical situations.
Therefore, educators and instructor should approach debriefing with learners following a structured model for how they interact and review the experience with those learners. That involves a three step model including at least three questions:
-What? (What exactly happened and what was the experience?)
-So What? (Why is what happened significant or important?)
-Now What? (Given what learners have experienced; what are their next steps?)
The first question involves the learners making sense of their experience and reviewing how it may be consistent or similar to the experiences of other learners. This also helps them examine the experience from multiple perspectives which aids them in comparing information gained from the experience to their prior knowledge.
The second question prioritizes how students find connections and meaning from the experience while determining significance to the activity. Why does it matter what they’ve done? Why is this something that they’ve done? What connection does this activity have with their own personal or professional experiences?
Finally, the third and last question addresses an action orientation as a result of their experience. This question directly leads into the next stage of the experiential learning cycle where active experimentation takes precedence and is informed by what learners will do now after learning what they’ve learned.
Given the fluid nature of experiential learning; debriefing can take place at multiple different times and for multiple different reasons. This can happen at the end of a structured activity through games-based learning or if learners and players are feeling frustrated from their lack of progress throughout a game or activity. In either case, it’s up to the instructor to determine when, if, and how deeply they should engage with a debriefing with learners in order to help them towards their next steps.
Debriefing steps
Asking learners “What? So What? and Now What?” may make for a simple formula to follow in a debriefing. But debriefing is more than a series of questions for facilitators to ask. Rather, educators should also take time to prime and prepare learners for the debriefing and what that may entail and expect from them.
Instructors should explain their role as facilitators in the debriefing process rather than leaders in the discussion. This is to help frame learners’ expectations that the debriefing is an extension of the activity and as much a part of learning as the activity itself. Learners should come prepared to discuss what happened in the activity and any summaries or conclusions that they can draw from it given their experiences.
Sharing is where instructors can also indicate the process though which experiences are communicated. These include a shared ethical duty for facilitators and learners alike to set the expectations for private and privileged conversations between and amongst learners. By doing so, they ensure that the environment is a safe one to share takeaways and insights from learners that may be influenced by unique backgrounds and circumstances.
With these expectations shared; facilitators can also add on additional follow up questions for learners that tie directly back to learning outcomes for the activity or course. Questions asked of participants can directly relate back to what learners should get or achieve as a result of partaking in this exercise.
This is particularly evident for the debriefing question “now what?” because it asks learners to create some sort of action plan given what they know about their experience; their reflection; and the reflections of their fellow learners. Facilitators should note these actions from learners and summarize them in addition to main learning outcomes as an incorporated path towards future learner development.
The instructor in the debriefing process
The instructor, educator, or facilitator plays an important role in the debriefing process. Specifically this is to ensure that that the process proceeds smoothly and in a productive manner in order to help learners and the group overall. In order to accomplish this, individual instructors need to learn and apply different skills in order to best lead a debriefing session.
Familiarity and experience applying the experiential learning cycle to teaching and instruction is helpful (but not always necessary) for instructors to successfully use debriefing in games-based learning. Often this helps because instructors can interpret and apply reflection questions based on the different stages that learners may be in during the experiential learning cycle. Knowing these stages combined with taking an unattached, non-biased, and nonjudgmental approach is critical in order to help learners share their most cogent experiences with one another.
Taking these positions also helps instructors and communicate objective summaries of learners’ experiences based on their own reflections and actions taken within the game. Any connections made and due to the learning content is facilitated by the instructor through the use of applicable and incisive questions.
Such “killer questions” get to heart of the matter and tie the actions and game play of the game to learners’ individual experiences and expected learning outcomes. Often, experiences and reflections alone aren’t the main drivers of student learning. Rather, the well placed; timed; and phrased question can open up learners’ imaginations to how they might apply their learning outside of the classroom.
All of this takes into account instructors need to balance a naturally stimulating and progressive conversation with the reflections of individual learners’. Without this balance, reflection and debriefing could stall and key educational points missed. This is also why it’s important that instructors interpret the reflections of learners and adapt their questions on the fly in a way that addresses their competencies in real time. Such flexibility allows learners to reach a high level of skill and demonstration of efficacy through games-based learning.
Ultimately this means that instructors should start by setting and emphasizing the tone and expectations for the debriefing session. This is done by re-stating learning outcomes; encouraging open discussion; and moderating a non-judgmental discussion. This is done in conjunction to speaking with learners rather than at them in a conversational rather than didactic approach.
At the end, the instructor will be able to help learners reach specific outcomes through the use of directed questions reflecting queries back to students while also referencing key parts of game play and the activity.
Debriefing and the player experience
Debriefing for learners and players can be a trying and challenging experience. Some learners may find the experience fascinating and enlightening. Others might find it a burden. Either way it’s important to take the player experience into account when implementing their debriefing process for their ultimate benefit.
Instructors play a key role here in understanding their players’ preferences and motivations for playing and learning. Knowing both helps to apply debriefing in the most effective and positive way possible.
Ultimately the greatest buy-in from learners is when they can find relevance in their learning. Relevance is found when clear connections can be made between game play; content; subject mastery; learning outcomes; and ultimate applications to areas outside of the game and the classroom. Such real world applications form the basis for most vocational and professional development focused learning. So it should not be ignored or taken lightly.
Debriefing and games-based learning
Games-based learning and experiential learning work hand and hand with one another. Debriefing is an important part of learning in general. It’s an even more critical component of experiential learning. Since games-based learning is also experiential learning; this means that debriefing also plays a critical role in helping learners achieve their outcomes.
Debriefing in games-based learning helps learners connect activities and insights gained through game play and through interactions with each other to applications of their learning outside of the classroom. In addition, games-based learning also helps learners take greater risks and try new approaches through active experimentation in the experiential learning cycle. Results of this experimentation can be further shaped and refined through successful debriefing activities.
Games-based learning also serves as a visceral experience for learners as it is something that is interactive and engaging over didactic or passive content. However, since learners get to also shape their own experience through games-based learning, it is also important that instructors and educators help refine their conclusions through active debriefing.
While it is most popular and easiest to engage in live conversation and dialogue with other learners and their instructor; debriefing in games-based learning can take on other mediums and formats. This can include written reflections by learners after the activity or post test questionnaires which ask learners how the experience will affect or influence their future behaviors.
Lastly, debriefing can and should take place at the conclusion of any game used for games-based learning. However serious games are games that are created from the ground up for an application (usually education) outside of entertainment. Serious games can take the structure of debriefing into account by providing opportunities for learners and players to reflect on their experiences and work with their peers and instructors for applications of their learning outside of the classroom context.
Takeaways
This article covered and defined debriefing in teaching, learning, training education, and games-based learning. It covered reasons why instructors and students should debrief as part of a learning process.
Debriefing’s role in the experiential learning cycle was covered in addition to the goals that instructors should set for debriefings. Specific times when debriefing can and should occur were covered as well as a strategy that instructors, educators, and facilitators should follow in order to lead an effective debriefing session.
A sample debrief overview in action was provided as well as step by step questions that should be included in debriefings by facilitators. These often include the standard three questions: “What? So What? and Now What?”
Steps to follow in the debriefing process were shared in addition to the specific role that the instructor and the learners play in the debriefing process. Finally, this article ended with how debriefing is influenced (and influences) applications of games-based learning.
This article was about debriefing learners’ experiences in games-based learning. To learn more about gamification, check out the free course on Gamification Explained.
Dave Eng, EdD
Principal
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Cite this Article
Eng, D. (2022, February 1). Debriefing in Games-Based Learning. Retrieved MONTH DATE, YEAR, from https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2022/2/1/debriefing-games-based-learning
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