The power of role-playing games for deeper learning experiences
The power of role-playing games for deeper learning experiences
The power of role-playing games for deeper learning experiences
By Audrie Lamb
January 13, 2023
Summary
Now, as an educator, Gadd uses D&D as a pathway for deeper learning experiences for his students.
When COVID-19 shut down in-person learning experiences, Gadd and co-workers at his former school system, Oldham County Schools, decided they wanted to create something fun, free and engaging for students stuck at home on virtual learning.
Gadd believes role-playing games like D&D promote deeper levels of learning through project-based, experiential activities that help develop many of the skills in Shelby County's Profile of a Graduate, including being a responsible collaborator, effective communicator and critical thinker.
Gadd is not the only Kentucky educator interested in bringing vibrant learning experiences through role-playing games to students.
Adam Watson, a deeper learning design specialist for the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative, created and launched the Kentucky Educators for Role Playing Games website in 2022.
The site, along with a social media presence, promotes the positive impact of role-playing games in school, as well as educational resources to support this unique subset of game-based learning.
"I think we as educators may sometimes be too quick to dismiss play, but the power of play to explore other perspectives, try out solutions, to engage new situations with joy, is not just engaging and fun but it is deeply instructive. In fact, when we think of deeper learning as an outcome of applying what we know in ways that are authentic and enduring, the power of play and game-based learning really becomes apparent."
Reference
Lamb, A. (2023, January 13). The power of role-playing games for deeper learning experiences. Kentucky Teacher. Retrieved January 31, 2023, from https://www.kentuckyteacher.org/features/2023/01/the-power-of-role-playing-games-for-deeper-learning-experiences/