Episode 3 Student Gamer Centric

Student Gamer Centric

Hi and welcome to Experience Points by University XP.

On Experience Points we explore different ways we can learn from games.

I’m your host Dave Eng from games-based learning by University XP.

Find out more at www.universityxp.com

On today’s episode we’ll cover the Student Gamer Centric Approach to Learning.

One of the biggest changes to education has been the creation of a learner-centric model for teaching.

I find this kind funny as I believed that teaching had always been learner centric.

Aren’t students the main benefactor of learning?

Isn’t that why we are all here?

I can only come to that conclusion because I think about learning from a games-based mindset.

Games are created for others to interact with, play, and enjoy.

They aren’t for the designers.

Is an un-played game still a game?

If a class isn’t designed for students, then is it still a class?

Let’s talk about the leaner centered model

Students from K-12 programs, higher education, vocational schools, community colleges, and corporate development have hopped on this student centered bandwagon.

It’s because a learner-centered model is better for students’ needs.

That’s because this format wholly appreciates students’ experience learning and engaging.

This is in contrast to the “traditional” way of teaching.

One that taught discipline, standardization, and conformity.

But this way of teaching hasn’t completely gone away.

I know, because I benefited from it.

I still remember how to cite my sources and avoid comma splices.

But the learners of tomorrow can’t rely on just rote memorization alone.

They will need additional skills like critical thinking, problem solving, cooperation, creativity, and communication.

And these are all skills that games are well positioned to help with.

Now let’s think about this in the context of games-based learning

So why consider games for this cause?

Aren’t there other methods of teaching students?

Shouldn’t we help them become the professionals, academics and leaders of tomorrow?

Of course we should.

Games are just one additional tool in the educator’s tool box for helping their students meet their learning outcomes.

But with a games-based learning approach, the instructor must put the student and their learning needs at the center of the activity.

It is the basis of this method.

In this learner-specific model, there are no passive receivers of knowledge.

Instead, knowledge is formed experientially.

Though game play, action, initiative, and critically thinking; our student-gamers create knowledge on their own.

They form connections, detect patterns, and make inferences that isn’t available to those who students who merely “memorize.”

This is a significant role change.

The inclusion of games alone doesn’t make this a learner centered approach.

Students should be active contributors and engagers in their own learning process.

That includes steps that haven’t been widely considered.

That’s because these have been the traditional domain of the teacher.

The teacher has traditionally been tasked with planning lessons, selecting activities, and designing assessments.

Through this model, our teachers transition from being the sole keepers of knowledge.

The sole gatekeepers of learning.

In higher education this is known as the lecturer at the front of the room, the faculty member at the podium, and the “sage on the stage.”

In a student gamer centric approach all students are collaborators.

All students are learners.

All students are teachers.

And all students have agency in their knowledge creation process.

Because of this distributed process, instructors have evolved to serve a new function.

Instructors have now become guides.

Instructors are now informed individuals who not only answer questions but also guide students to new lines of inquiry and to empower them to discover answers on their own.

I have used this model in the past with my application of games-based learning in my classroom.

A simple game of Ultimate Werewolf became a platform for teaching persuasive speaking.

Pandemic became a lesson in asymmetric abilities and cooperation.

Magic Maze became a frenzied experiment on rapid collaboration.

But games exist beyond the table as well.

Due to the latest technological developments, teachers can also use any variety of digital games to aid in their students’ learning.

Such a platform is even more engaging as it can collect data on students’ learning patterns and areas of challenge.

So what is the point of a student gamer centered approach to learning?

This environment provides a lot of space for doing rather than receiving.

In this experiential learning environment there is room for interaction between teachers, students, the environment, and the material.

A student gamer centric approach to learning meets students as a collective society.

Rather than as individual vessels to be filled with knowledge.

Through games, students can discover new interests, disciplines, strategies, and ways of thinking.

This enables them to develop the necessary skills that will help carry them into a future where such collaboration is necessary for progress.

I hope you found this episode useful.

If you’d like to learn more about games-based learning then a great place to start is my blog at www.universityxp.com/blog

You can also get a full transcript of this episode including links to references in the description or show notes.

Thanks for joining me!

Again, I’m your host Dave Eng from games-based learning by University XP.

On Experience Points we explore different ways we can learn from games.

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Game on!