School of Education, Indiana University Bloomington

Goals and Objectives for R641

This course will emphasize design, development and evaluation of learning games, simulations and role plays.

We will:

An example of a simulation game developed previously in this course: The Diffusion Simulation Game (anyone can play this at http://www.indiana.edu/~istdemo/guest.html). IU students should use the following link, which is the full version: http://www.indiana.edu/~istdemo/dsgnew/login.phtml.

More Details

Games, simulations and role plays can be effective strategies for learning. They can be highly engaging, motivating, and just plain fun for students to participate in. Unfortunately, many games and simulations today are entertaining, but their value is questionable for helping achieve learning objectives that educators have in mind for students. How do you design games, simulations and role plays that are effective, that result in desired learning achievement?

This is not a course on designing computer video games and simulations per se. The focus instead is on designing games that promote adult learning. We will not only design games/simulations, but also evaluate them. We will conduct formative evaluations of the designed games/simulations with actual adult learners. We will assess learner skills and knowledge both before they play and afterwards. We will also observe what adult learners do while playing the games and simulations. The criterion for success is not only that the games are engaging and motivating, but most importantly that students learn. And we will measure that learning.

What forms will the games/simulations take? This will depend on students in the R641 class. For those students with sufficient skills in computer programming and animation, the game or simulation could be electronic in format, but that is not a requirement. Games and simulations can also be in other media that include printed materials and physical objects (e.g., board games). Teams will be formed in R641 with 3-4 students per team. The game format will be adjusted to the abilities of the team members. This is not a course on computer programming or animation -- that is beyond the scope of this course. The emphasis is on design of games/simulations and evaluation of learning. Prototypes of games/simulations designed in R641 could eventually be realized digitally, but the prototypes themselves need not be embedded in computers.

To help stimulate design ideas, we will use and/or adapt templates (or frames) that have been developed by Thiagi. To measure learning achievement, we will incorporate Mager's strategies for measuring instructional results. Formative evaluation and usability testing are also central to this course, and for this we will use strategies from Frick and Boling. For evaluating the learning properties themselves in games and simulations, we will apply Merrill's criteria derived from first principles of instruction. See below resources.

Texts and Other Resources (tentative)

Textbooks

Authors: Theodore Frick and Elizabeth Boling
Title: Effective Web Instruction: Handbook for an Inquiry-Based Process
Publisher: (Web version free to IU students)
Date: 2002-2004

Author: Robert Mager
Title: Measuring Instructional Results
Publisher: Center for Effective Performance (3rd edition)
Date: 1997

Author: Sivasailam Thiagarajan
Title: Design Your Own Games and Activities: Thiagi's Templates for Performance Improvement
Publisher: Pfeiffer
Date: 2003

Author: Sivasailam Thiagarajan
Title: Simulation Games by Thiagi
Publisher: Workshops by Thiagi
Date: 2004

Other Resources

Evaluation and Grading

You will work on teams of 3-4 students. Each team will design, develop and evaluate a game, simulation or role play activity which teaches a set of abstract concepts and processes.

Your grade will be based on individual contributions (35 percent) and team deliverables (65 percent).

The simulation/games you develop will teach concepts and processes of intentional systems (e.g., education systems, school systems, business systems, government systems, military systems).  Your instructor will provide resources for learning about these systems properties yourselves as you design and develop simulation/games to help people learn these properties.

After the first 6 weeks, most class sessions will be devoted to work on team projects with coaching and feedback from your instructor.  In other words, you can use class time for team meetings and design/development work that needs to occur by working together.

Letter Grade Equivalents

Tentative Schedule

Week

Day

Activity

1

Tues.
Jan. 9

Intro to course. Play the Diffusion Simulation Game online (begin in class, continue on own time and repeat at least 4 times before Jan. 16, record scores)

Thurs.
Jan. 11

Premise: Well-designed educational simulations and games can increase successful student engagement in the right activities. Successful student engagement in the right activities promotes learning achievement.

Research on learner engagement. Successful student engagement in the right activities matters.

Representative readings in Academic Learning Time:

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/process/ALT.html (academic learning time)

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/process/class.html (classroom process variables)

What matters to student success at the postsecondary level (Kuh)

http://nces.ed.gov/npec/pdf/Kuh_Team_ExecSumm.pdf (executive summary)

http://nces.ed.gov/npec/pdf/Kuh_Team_Report.pdf (full report, read pp. 7-9)

First principles of instruction (Merrill): Read

http://www.indiana.edu/~istr690/frick/articles/merrill_firstprinciples.pdf (requires IU network ID)

Thiagi (2003). Introduction: Toward Serious Playfulness. In R641 course text, Design Your Own Games and Activities: Thiagi's Templates for Performance Improvement, pp. 1 - 10.

2

Tues.
Jan. 16

Complete the online survey: http://www.indiana.edu/~edsurvey/evaluate/

Discussion of student self-reports on academic learning time, academic achievement, Merrill's first principles of instruction, and typical course evaluation items. See the key.

Read Mager (1997), Measuring Instructional Results (R641 text)

Thurs.
Jan. 18

The activities in the simulation/game need to match the learning objectives. Measurement of learning achievement needs to match the learning objectives.

Debrief.   Discuss learning objectives of the DSG and how we could measure learner achievement.

Measurement of learning – discuss how to evaluate learning objectives of educational simulation/games.

Read Mager (1997), Measuring Instructional Results (R641 text)

Plan schedule for game playing.

3

Tues.
Jan. 23

Read Maccia's epistemology (pp. 111-117) in Frick, T. (1997). Artificially intelligent tutoring systems: what computers can and can't know. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 16(2), 107-124.

Discuss measurement of: knowing that one, knowing that, and knowing how.

Plan schedule for game playing.

Thurs.
Jan. 25

Play educational simulation/games from Thiagi’s books – led by students in class; debrief; discuss measurement of learning objectives for that simulation/game

4

Tues.
Jan. 30

Guest: Sivasailam Thiagarajan a.k.a. Thiagi

Thurs.
Feb. 1

Continued:  Play educational simulation/games from Thiagi’s books – led by students in class; debrief; discuss measurement of learning objectives for that simulation/game

5

Tues.
Feb. 6

Continued:  Play educational simulation/games from Thiagi’s books – led by students in class; debrief; discuss measurement of learning objectives for that simulation/game

Thurs.
Feb. 8

Continued:  Play educational simulation/games from Thiagi’s books – led by students in class; debrief; discuss measurement of learning objectives for that simulation/game

6

Tues.
Feb. 13

Continued:  Play educational simulation/games from Thiagi’s books – led by students in class; debrief; discuss measurement of learning objectives for that simulation/game

Begin discussion of learning objectives for games to be developed by student teams in R641.

Thurs.
Feb. 15

Form teams.  Begin team planning for simulation/game(s) to be developed to achieve learning objectives.   Guest appearance by Thiagi?

7

Tues.
Feb. 20

Rapid prototyping of simulation/games by teams

Thurs.
Feb. 22

Rapid prototyping of simulation/games by teams

8

Tues.
Feb. 27

Rapid prototyping of simulation/games by teams

Thurs.
Mar. 1

Formative evaluation of simulation/game prototypes, including usability evaluation (play testing) and measurement of learning achievement

9

Tues.
Mar. 6

Formative evaluation of simulation/game prototypes, continued

Thurs.
Mar. 8

Formative evaluation of simulation/game prototypes, continued

10

Tues.
Mar. 13

No class – Spring Break

Thurs.
Mar. 15

No class – Spring Break

11

Tues.
Mar. 20

Develop simulation/games based on what you learned from formative evaluation of prototypes

Thurs.
Mar. 22

Develop simulation/games based on what you learned from formative evaluation of prototypes

12

Tues.
Mar. 27

Develop simulation/games based on what you learned from formative evaluation of prototypes

Thurs.
Mar. 29

Develop simulation/games based on what you learned from formative evaluation of prototypes

13

Tues.
Apr. 3

Develop simulation/games based on what you learned from formative evaluation of prototypes

Thurs.
Apr. 5

Develop simulation/games based on what you learned from formative evaluation of prototypes

14

Tues.
Apr. 10

No class – AERA Conference in Chicago
Formative evaluations of simulation/games developed

Thurs.
Apr. 12

No class – AERA Conference in Chicago
Formative evaluations of simulation/games developed

15

Tues.
Apr. 17

Revisions of simulation/games based on formative evaluations

Thurs.
Apr. 19

Revisions of simulation/games based on formative evaluations

16

Tues.
Apr. 24

Team project demos in class:  Play final versions of simulation/games developed

Thurs.
Apr. 26

Team project demos in class:  Play final versions of simulation/games developed

17

Tues.
May 1

Finals week:  Final reports Due

Thurs.
May 3

Finals week:  Self- and Peer-Evaluations Due

 

Last updated: January 18, 2007 by T. Frick
Copyright 2007, The Trustees of Indiana University