Games and Writing

I recently wrote about the importance of themes to my teaching of writing and cannot wait to share my excitement about shaping my Writing II classes in the Spring 2019 semester around games.  Lee Bessette and Jason Helms inspired my theme, but my approach (and the games we will play) will be more traditional (old school even). However, just like my friends’ students, we will explore what games can teach us about learning and communication. We will play a lot of games along the way and my students will also create (or hack) a game, but the central focus of our class will be writing and text. I think it is important that we continue to explore the evolving definition of text. Like other popular culture texts I have used in my classroom, I believe that games offer a great deal of insight into the human experience. I also think the experience of playing, studying, and creating games will help us develop a new appreciation for and understanding of audience, context, and rules of writing.

The semester will be roughly divided into four parts. Our initial focus will include playing four types of games: board games, electronic games, party games, and escape games when we meet in class. As my classes are hybrid we will also engage in online work as well and there we will explore the ideas of authors such as James Paul Gee, Jesper Juul, and Jane McGonigal as well as rhetoricians. At the culmination of this unit my students will craft a narrative argument about what games can (or cannot) teach us about learning and communication using their own gaming history as well as the texts we have explored.

Once we have set that rhetorical and gaming foundation we will dig into some serious rhetorical work and analyze one specific game to explore what that game can teach us about our culture and the ways that we communicate. This analysis will explore the text and context of the game as well as the community it engages.

We will then apply our developing analysis skills to our textbook, Reading the World, and craft arguments exploring an enduring question posed by humankind.

Finally, we will culminate in the development of a game that inspires players to explore the enduring question at the core of their argument paper, observe others playing their game, and compose an argument about what games can teach us about learning and communication.

I believe that games will bring us together as a community and help us become better thinkers and writers – achievement unlocked!

Author: Deanna Mascle
#TeachingWriting and leading #NWP site @ Morehead State (KY): Passionate about #AuthenticWriting, #DeeperLearning, #PBL, #Ungrading, and #HyperDocs.

2 thoughts on “Games and Writing

  1. Hi Deanna,
    This is such a fun and great idea! I love how you have planned and implemented your lesson. It is engaging and effective, and I can’t wait to try it with my students. Implementing different strategies such as visual aids, group assignments, individual assignments, videos, and peer assessment assists students in applying the newly gained knowledge or skills to enhance their understanding and application of the topic. A subject that requires an immense amount of creativity is writing. I either have students who love writing or who dislike it. Students are rarely on the fence about it, and I believe it’s because it requires more creativity than other subjects. Writing requires students to use their imagination, creativity, and critical thinking skills to be successful. Integrating games and exploring texts for students to craft a narrative argument is an excellent way to use their imagination, creativity, and critical thinking skills. This form of integrated learning will also allow students to focus on making connections, allowing students to practice self-expression through communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. It also includes understanding the learner’s prior knowledge of the topic, which leads to constructing knowledge and skills.
    Wiggins and McTighe(2005) state that learning activities must be engaging and effective. It highlights the importance of gaining the students’ attention using novel, positive and engaging experiences. Once students are positively engaged, information will be effectively processed. Information will continue to be effectively processed by students if the learning activities and environment are consistently positively engaging.

    Thanks for sharing!

    References
    Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Planning for Learning. Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Design. 191-226

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