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Larp in early childhood education_Tanja Lehto (Laurea UAS 2013)

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Tanja Lehto
Tanja Lehto

How can live action role-playing games be designed for children ages 5 to 6? How take the developmental level and the educational environment into account when planning teaching materials for early childhood education environments? These are some of the questions I had to ponder on my bachelor's thesis and here is a quick overlook on how I attempted to answer them.

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DESIGNING AN EDUCATIONAL ROLE-PLAYING GAME FOR FIVE TO SIX YEAR-OLDS Thesis presentation 21.11.2013 Tanja Lehto
Thesis overview (1) Type: Functional thesis Topic: Designing a role-playing game to be used in kindergartens Objective: To test whether role-playing games can be used in the education of five to six year-old children and how should they be planned to fulfill this objective Purpose: Developing early childhood education and increasing the variety of working methods available
Thesis overview (2) Output: The role-playing game Star Travellers and the Mission in Outer Space An educational game to improve social skills The final product was a complete set containing all the materials required to run the game Reference material: early childhood education, social competence, educational games and game design Implementation consisted of planning and testing the role-playing game Star Travellers and the Mission in Outer Space I learned that role-playing games can be designed to be used as educational games with this age group
Learning in the early years The learning process includes the child, the group, the subject matter, the methods, the organisation and the educator (Helenius 2008, 53-55) The learning process needs to be viewed holistically (Bruce 2011, 16) "playing, movement, exploration and self-expression through different forms of art are ways of acting and thinking peculiar to children (The National Curriculum Guidelines on the Early Childhood Education and Care in Finland 2003, 19)
Social constructivist learning theory Reality is constructed by people in social interaction (Kauppila 2007, 89) Learning is an active process wherein the learner is actively forming his or her knowledge of the subject matter (Kauppila 2007, 50) Social interaction reinforces the learning (Kauppila 2007, 114) Reciprocal communication with the teacher and other students has an important role in learning (Kauppila 2007, 114)
Five to six year old children are able to ... Give a coherent, chronologically correct account of events (Nurmi, Ahonen, Lyytinen, Lyytinen, Pulkkinen & Ruoppila 2006, 46) Retrieve four to five units of information from their short term memory (Nurmi et al. 2006, 50) Engage in building games and role play. They are also starting to show interest in rule play (Nurmi et al. 2006, 61) which makes them a suitable target group for this project
Social skills and development In VARSU assessment, social development is divided into three main categories: 1. Interaction in peer relationships 2. Acting in the environment and 3. Awareness of the self and others (Bricker & Pretti- Frontczak 2004, 119) Socially skilled behaviour receives a positive reaction from other which operates as social reinforcement of said behaviour (Salmivalli 2008, 79) Moral cognitions (e.g. values and norms) effect the social information processing of an individual (Salmivalli 2008, 97-98)
Social competence (Salmivalli 2008) Social skills Learned skills Enable context appropriate behaviour Result in a positive outcome Social congnition Includes making observations, assessments and conclusions about social situations Formulations of strategy Emotional regulation Ability to affect the duration and intensity of one's emotional states Motivation Setting social goals is related to an individuals conception of oneself and of others Socially skilled individuals may still select goals that result in antisocial behaviour (e.g aggression or bullying as these may result in a desired outcome) Context The environment and circumstances E.g. the group dynamics of a kindergarten group Social status affects the social attributions of others Socialisation into the groups culture and norms
Defining play (1) "the way in which children within a context, a culture, a family and a community, set about doing any or all of the following: trying to solve a problem they have set themselves; exploring and experiencing something that interests or concerns or scares or excites them; expressing and communicating their feelings related to their experiences. Play is thus always purposeful for the child." (Smidt 2011, 2)
Defining play (2) "play is a voluntary activity or occupation executed within certain fixed limits of time and place, according to rules freely accepted but absolutely binding, having its aim in itself and accompanied by a feeling of tension, joy and the consciousness that it is "different" from "ordinary life"." (Huizinga 1949, 28)
Components of a game (Costikyan 2002, 10-12, 15-16, 18-19, 22, 24) Player Interaction The players interact with the game and each other. Decision making Goals Clear victory conditions or ones that depend on the motivations of the player Struggle Opponents, puzzle solving etc. Structure Rules and mechanics Endogenous meaning Objects of the game have a meaning in the game world, that exists solely in that imaginary reality
Games in education (1) Games are increasingly taken seriously in education and research (Taylor, Backlund &Niklasson 2012, 649) Various names are used for educational games, e.g.: learning games, serious games, pedagogical games, edu-LARPs, simulations Games are suitable for teaching problem solving skills and furthering understanding of complex systems (Schell 2008, 446) Games can be used to create insights and promote curiosity (Schell 2008, 447)
Games in education (2) Role-playing game is an excellent platform for practicing storytelling as all the participants have an opportunity to move the story forward National Curriculum Guidelines on the Early Childhood Education and Care in Finland states that children should be given opportunities to actively participate in varied artistic activities. (Stakes 2005, 23-24) Including role-playing games as an available early childhood education method would increase the number of different experiences available for use in early childhood education.
Role-playing games Came to Finland in the 1970's (Lepp辰lahti, M. 2009, 5) In role-playing games, participants assume a make-believe character in an imaginary setting (Stenros & Harviainen 2011, 63). Have much in common with the imaginary play and role play of children as well as dramatic play and improvisation theatre.
Types of role-playing games Tabletop role-playing games (RPG) Usually the game master describes the setting and actions of non-player characters and the players describe the actions of their characters Usually involves a set of world descriptions and rules called a system The systems are often commercial products, e.g. Dungeons & Dragons (Westerling 2013, 19) Live-action-role-playing games (LARP) Involve a physical aspect Players have a lot of freedom Number of players is not limited (Westerling 2013, 18; Lepp辰lahti 2002, 20) Freeform/Jeepform role-playing games Freedom to adapt the form to the story, for every story (Wrigstad 2008, 127) Combine features of RPG and LARP Game master controls the situation more than in larp
Implementation phases (1) Pre-production Concept development Game type: freeform role-playing game Genre: classic science fiction Target audience: groups of five to six year-old children Name: Star Travellers and the Mission in Outer Space Research and resourcing Gathering information on game design, social development, early childhood education... Evaluationg the cost and availability of resources Printing, laminating, facilities for the test sessions etc. Most of the resources were made available by the worklife partner
Implementation phases (2) Production Content design Game design and development was done in October and November Testing A total of four playtests of the material were arranged One alpha test with two adult playtesters (18.10.) Three beta-tests in the group five to six year-old children of Vilske kindergarten (30.10., 4.11. and 12.11.) The evaluation went on during the entire playtesting-process Evaluation was based on the feedback received from the playtesters and the observations made during the sessions
Implementation phases (3) Post Production Post-production took place in November after the final playtest Creating the material-folder for the game English translation of the game manual Making the material available to the staff of the kindergarten
Game design overview (1) Target group Five to six year old children Learning objectives Reacting to the needs and emotions of others Joining, participating and adhering in joint activities Following of rules and asking for permission Sharing equipment Making choices and expressing preferences Recognising emotions Respecting others: rules and morality
Game design overview (2) Setting and theme Setting: Space travel Themes: Cooperation, trust, managing in a group in a confined space Materials and equipments Economic and ecological concerns were considered Materials and equipment consist mainly of prints, laminated prints, recycled materials and objects commonly found in kindergartens
Game design overview (3) Characters, story and scenes Simple characters are created by the participants in a pre-game- workshop The events are set on a space voyage, on which the characters embark after receiving a message from outer space. The structure of the session consists of exercises selected or created to promote at least one of the learning goals Session structure of the playtests Warm-up Enactment Debrief Feedback
Observations and feedback There are many things that had an effect on how the playtest sessions went The warm-up of the game master Mood, preparedness, emotions regarding the upcoming experience Lighting and soundscape How the instructions are given Clarity, purposefulness Having the materials quickly available Interest, use of imagination, attitude and disposition of the participating children
What I leaned about using role-playing games in education Role-playing game ...is a flexible medium ...allows various learning contents to be incorporated ...allows reusing materials Playtesting is essential in creating repeatable games ...a finished game requires a lot of time to plan thoroughly How to connect the exercises with the learning goals? Requires knowledge of the medium, child developmnet and the subject matter
Ethical considerations Anonymity and confidentiality The thesis is published in Theseus, which must be taken into consideration when describing the setting and participants Informed consent Parents and children Avoiding coercion Role of the kindergartenteacher Multicultural issues Wordings in the game material do not presuppose a certain nationality of the participants
References Bricker, D. & Pretti-Frontczak, K. 2004. VARSU: Varhaisen oppimaan ohjaamisen suunnitelma arviointimenetelm辰 3-6-vuotiaille. Jyv辰skyl辰: PS-kustannus. Bruce, T. 2011. Early Childhood Education. London: Hodder Education. Costikyan, G. 2002. I Have No Words & I Must Design: Toward a Critical Vocabulary for Games. In: M辰yr辰 F. (ed.) CGDC Conference Proceedings. Tampere: Tampere University Press, 933. http://www.digra.org/dl/db/05164.51146.pdf Huizinga, J. 1949. Homo Ludens: a Study of the Play Element in Culture. Translated by No Name. London: Routledge. Kauppila, R. A. 2007. Ihmisen tapa oppia: Johdatus sosiokonstruktivistiseen oppimisk辰sityk-seen. Jyv辰skyl辰: PS-kustannus. Lepp辰lahti, M. 2002. Etnografiaa roolipelaamisesta. Lic.Phil. Turku University. Accessed 11 September 2013 http://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/37272/lisensiaatintyo2002Leppalahti.pdf?sequence=1 Nurmi, J-E., Ahonen, T., Lyytinen, H., Lyytinen, P., Pulkkinen, L. & Ruoppila, I. 2006. Ihmisen psykologinen kehitys. Helsinki: WSOY Oppimateriaalit Oy. Salmivalli, C. 2008. Kaverien kanssa Vertaissuhteet ja sosiaalinen kehitys. 2nd Edition. Juva: WSOY. Schell, J. 2008. The Art of Game Design A Book of Lenses. USA: Elsevier. Stenros, J. & Harviainen, J. T. 2011. Katsaus pohjoismaiseen roolipelitutkimukseen. In: Suominen, J., Koskimaa, R., M辰yr辰, F., Sotamaa, O. & Turtiainen, R. (ed.) Pelitutkimuksen vu-osikirja 2011, 62-72. http://www.pelitutkimus.fi/vuosikirja2011/ptvk2011-kaikki.pdf Taylor, A-S., Backlund, P. & Niklasson, L. 2012. The Coaching Cycle: A Coaching-by-Gaming Approach in Serious Games. Simulation & Gaming, 43 (5), 648-672. Accessed 12 October 2013. http://sag.sagepub.com/content/43/5/648 Vygotsky, L. S. 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge Massachussets: Harward University Press.

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Larp in early childhood education_Tanja Lehto (Laurea UAS 2013)

  • 1. DESIGNING AN EDUCATIONAL ROLE-PLAYING GAME FOR FIVE TO SIX YEAR-OLDS Thesis presentation 21.11.2013 Tanja Lehto
  • 2. Thesis overview (1) Type: Functional thesis Topic: Designing a role-playing game to be used in kindergartens Objective: To test whether role-playing games can be used in the education of five to six year-old children and how should they be planned to fulfill this objective Purpose: Developing early childhood education and increasing the variety of working methods available
  • 3. Thesis overview (2) Output: The role-playing game Star Travellers and the Mission in Outer Space An educational game to improve social skills The final product was a complete set containing all the materials required to run the game Reference material: early childhood education, social competence, educational games and game design Implementation consisted of planning and testing the role-playing game Star Travellers and the Mission in Outer Space I learned that role-playing games can be designed to be used as educational games with this age group
  • 4. Learning in the early years The learning process includes the child, the group, the subject matter, the methods, the organisation and the educator (Helenius 2008, 53-55) The learning process needs to be viewed holistically (Bruce 2011, 16) "playing, movement, exploration and self-expression through different forms of art are ways of acting and thinking peculiar to children (The National Curriculum Guidelines on the Early Childhood Education and Care in Finland 2003, 19)
  • 5. Social constructivist learning theory Reality is constructed by people in social interaction (Kauppila 2007, 89) Learning is an active process wherein the learner is actively forming his or her knowledge of the subject matter (Kauppila 2007, 50) Social interaction reinforces the learning (Kauppila 2007, 114) Reciprocal communication with the teacher and other students has an important role in learning (Kauppila 2007, 114)
  • 6. Five to six year old children are able to ... Give a coherent, chronologically correct account of events (Nurmi, Ahonen, Lyytinen, Lyytinen, Pulkkinen & Ruoppila 2006, 46) Retrieve four to five units of information from their short term memory (Nurmi et al. 2006, 50) Engage in building games and role play. They are also starting to show interest in rule play (Nurmi et al. 2006, 61) which makes them a suitable target group for this project
  • 7. Social skills and development In VARSU assessment, social development is divided into three main categories: 1. Interaction in peer relationships 2. Acting in the environment and 3. Awareness of the self and others (Bricker & Pretti- Frontczak 2004, 119) Socially skilled behaviour receives a positive reaction from other which operates as social reinforcement of said behaviour (Salmivalli 2008, 79) Moral cognitions (e.g. values and norms) effect the social information processing of an individual (Salmivalli 2008, 97-98)
  • 8. Social competence (Salmivalli 2008) Social skills Learned skills Enable context appropriate behaviour Result in a positive outcome Social congnition Includes making observations, assessments and conclusions about social situations Formulations of strategy Emotional regulation Ability to affect the duration and intensity of one's emotional states Motivation Setting social goals is related to an individuals conception of oneself and of others Socially skilled individuals may still select goals that result in antisocial behaviour (e.g aggression or bullying as these may result in a desired outcome) Context The environment and circumstances E.g. the group dynamics of a kindergarten group Social status affects the social attributions of others Socialisation into the groups culture and norms
  • 9. Defining play (1) "the way in which children within a context, a culture, a family and a community, set about doing any or all of the following: trying to solve a problem they have set themselves; exploring and experiencing something that interests or concerns or scares or excites them; expressing and communicating their feelings related to their experiences. Play is thus always purposeful for the child." (Smidt 2011, 2)
  • 10. Defining play (2) "play is a voluntary activity or occupation executed within certain fixed limits of time and place, according to rules freely accepted but absolutely binding, having its aim in itself and accompanied by a feeling of tension, joy and the consciousness that it is "different" from "ordinary life"." (Huizinga 1949, 28)
  • 11. Components of a game (Costikyan 2002, 10-12, 15-16, 18-19, 22, 24) Player Interaction The players interact with the game and each other. Decision making Goals Clear victory conditions or ones that depend on the motivations of the player Struggle Opponents, puzzle solving etc. Structure Rules and mechanics Endogenous meaning Objects of the game have a meaning in the game world, that exists solely in that imaginary reality
  • 12. Games in education (1) Games are increasingly taken seriously in education and research (Taylor, Backlund &Niklasson 2012, 649) Various names are used for educational games, e.g.: learning games, serious games, pedagogical games, edu-LARPs, simulations Games are suitable for teaching problem solving skills and furthering understanding of complex systems (Schell 2008, 446) Games can be used to create insights and promote curiosity (Schell 2008, 447)
  • 13. Games in education (2) Role-playing game is an excellent platform for practicing storytelling as all the participants have an opportunity to move the story forward National Curriculum Guidelines on the Early Childhood Education and Care in Finland states that children should be given opportunities to actively participate in varied artistic activities. (Stakes 2005, 23-24) Including role-playing games as an available early childhood education method would increase the number of different experiences available for use in early childhood education.
  • 14. Role-playing games Came to Finland in the 1970's (Lepp辰lahti, M. 2009, 5) In role-playing games, participants assume a make-believe character in an imaginary setting (Stenros & Harviainen 2011, 63). Have much in common with the imaginary play and role play of children as well as dramatic play and improvisation theatre.
  • 15. Types of role-playing games Tabletop role-playing games (RPG) Usually the game master describes the setting and actions of non-player characters and the players describe the actions of their characters Usually involves a set of world descriptions and rules called a system The systems are often commercial products, e.g. Dungeons & Dragons (Westerling 2013, 19) Live-action-role-playing games (LARP) Involve a physical aspect Players have a lot of freedom Number of players is not limited (Westerling 2013, 18; Lepp辰lahti 2002, 20) Freeform/Jeepform role-playing games Freedom to adapt the form to the story, for every story (Wrigstad 2008, 127) Combine features of RPG and LARP Game master controls the situation more than in larp
  • 16. Implementation phases (1) Pre-production Concept development Game type: freeform role-playing game Genre: classic science fiction Target audience: groups of five to six year-old children Name: Star Travellers and the Mission in Outer Space Research and resourcing Gathering information on game design, social development, early childhood education... Evaluationg the cost and availability of resources Printing, laminating, facilities for the test sessions etc. Most of the resources were made available by the worklife partner
  • 17. Implementation phases (2) Production Content design Game design and development was done in October and November Testing A total of four playtests of the material were arranged One alpha test with two adult playtesters (18.10.) Three beta-tests in the group five to six year-old children of Vilske kindergarten (30.10., 4.11. and 12.11.) The evaluation went on during the entire playtesting-process Evaluation was based on the feedback received from the playtesters and the observations made during the sessions
  • 18. Implementation phases (3) Post Production Post-production took place in November after the final playtest Creating the material-folder for the game English translation of the game manual Making the material available to the staff of the kindergarten
  • 19. Game design overview (1) Target group Five to six year old children Learning objectives Reacting to the needs and emotions of others Joining, participating and adhering in joint activities Following of rules and asking for permission Sharing equipment Making choices and expressing preferences Recognising emotions Respecting others: rules and morality
  • 20. Game design overview (2) Setting and theme Setting: Space travel Themes: Cooperation, trust, managing in a group in a confined space Materials and equipments Economic and ecological concerns were considered Materials and equipment consist mainly of prints, laminated prints, recycled materials and objects commonly found in kindergartens
  • 21. Game design overview (3) Characters, story and scenes Simple characters are created by the participants in a pre-game- workshop The events are set on a space voyage, on which the characters embark after receiving a message from outer space. The structure of the session consists of exercises selected or created to promote at least one of the learning goals Session structure of the playtests Warm-up Enactment Debrief Feedback
  • 22. Observations and feedback There are many things that had an effect on how the playtest sessions went The warm-up of the game master Mood, preparedness, emotions regarding the upcoming experience Lighting and soundscape How the instructions are given Clarity, purposefulness Having the materials quickly available Interest, use of imagination, attitude and disposition of the participating children
  • 23. What I leaned about using role-playing games in education Role-playing game ...is a flexible medium ...allows various learning contents to be incorporated ...allows reusing materials Playtesting is essential in creating repeatable games ...a finished game requires a lot of time to plan thoroughly How to connect the exercises with the learning goals? Requires knowledge of the medium, child developmnet and the subject matter
  • 24. Ethical considerations Anonymity and confidentiality The thesis is published in Theseus, which must be taken into consideration when describing the setting and participants Informed consent Parents and children Avoiding coercion Role of the kindergartenteacher Multicultural issues Wordings in the game material do not presuppose a certain nationality of the participants
  • 25. References Bricker, D. & Pretti-Frontczak, K. 2004. VARSU: Varhaisen oppimaan ohjaamisen suunnitelma arviointimenetelm辰 3-6-vuotiaille. Jyv辰skyl辰: PS-kustannus. Bruce, T. 2011. Early Childhood Education. London: Hodder Education. Costikyan, G. 2002. I Have No Words & I Must Design: Toward a Critical Vocabulary for Games. In: M辰yr辰 F. (ed.) CGDC Conference Proceedings. Tampere: Tampere University Press, 933. http://www.digra.org/dl/db/05164.51146.pdf Huizinga, J. 1949. Homo Ludens: a Study of the Play Element in Culture. Translated by No Name. London: Routledge. Kauppila, R. A. 2007. Ihmisen tapa oppia: Johdatus sosiokonstruktivistiseen oppimisk辰sityk-seen. Jyv辰skyl辰: PS-kustannus. Lepp辰lahti, M. 2002. Etnografiaa roolipelaamisesta. Lic.Phil. Turku University. Accessed 11 September 2013 http://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/37272/lisensiaatintyo2002Leppalahti.pdf?sequence=1 Nurmi, J-E., Ahonen, T., Lyytinen, H., Lyytinen, P., Pulkkinen, L. & Ruoppila, I. 2006. Ihmisen psykologinen kehitys. Helsinki: WSOY Oppimateriaalit Oy. Salmivalli, C. 2008. Kaverien kanssa Vertaissuhteet ja sosiaalinen kehitys. 2nd Edition. Juva: WSOY. Schell, J. 2008. The Art of Game Design A Book of Lenses. USA: Elsevier. Stenros, J. & Harviainen, J. T. 2011. Katsaus pohjoismaiseen roolipelitutkimukseen. In: Suominen, J., Koskimaa, R., M辰yr辰, F., Sotamaa, O. & Turtiainen, R. (ed.) Pelitutkimuksen vu-osikirja 2011, 62-72. http://www.pelitutkimus.fi/vuosikirja2011/ptvk2011-kaikki.pdf Taylor, A-S., Backlund, P. & Niklasson, L. 2012. The Coaching Cycle: A Coaching-by-Gaming Approach in Serious Games. Simulation & Gaming, 43 (5), 648-672. Accessed 12 October 2013. http://sag.sagepub.com/content/43/5/648 Vygotsky, L. S. 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge Massachussets: Harward University Press.