Course Content
Unit 2: Transformative Leisure Role-playing Games
These types of games were not necessarily designed for an educational or therapeutic purpose, but that players might find them transformative in a variety of different ways.
0/5
Unit 3: Therapeutic Role-playing Games
These types of games are designed for a therapeutic purpose or to help participants develop social skills.
0/4
Unit 5: Research Through Design
We will discuss ways to design and iterate role-playing games, but also how to take that process a step further and engage in formalized analysis of the process through academic writing.
0/7
Unit 6: Ritual, Myth and Symbolism
We can consider role-playing games ritual spaces, but rituals can also be embedded into role-playing games for deeper experiences.
0/4
Unit 9: Game Technologies and RPGs
By its very name, analog role-playing emphasizes interactions between people unmediated by technology, but of course in reality, we often use technologies during play.
0/4
Unit 10: Transformative Game Design and You
In this unit, you will reflect upon the course as a whole, as well as your design and playtest experiences.
0/3
Introduction to Transformative Game Design

Discussion 7: Educational Theories

Read Section 3.8 “Educational Theories” in Diakolambrianou et al.’s “Chapter 3: Theory, Central Concepts, and Inspirational Materials” in Transformative Role-playing Game Design.

Watch Josefin Westborg’s “Introduction to Learning Theories,” “Role-playing Games for Education,” and “Learning in Praxis.”

Choose one (1) video from Westborg’s series on Learning Theories under Recommended Materials to watch.

Then, answer the following questions:

  1. Have you ever experienced and/or facilitated educational role-playing games? Be specific.
  2. Describe a transformational learning situation in which you had a major breakthrough or strong “a-ha” moment.
    • What were the circumstances of the situation?
    • How did this breakthrough impact you? Be specific.
  3. Choose one (1) of the educational theories or another concept from this unit. Provide a brief design sketch of an educational role-playing game based on this concept. Remember to specify your transformational goal.

Finally, respond to at least two (2) of your peers in Ask a Question, Answer a Question format.