games in the classroom Civilization III

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games in the classroomCivilization III
Kurt Squire University of Wisconsin-Madison Educ
ational Communications Technology Curriculum
Instruction
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Gaps in Research

• 0 published studies of learning through games
• What are people learning through games?
• How does game play remediate players
  understandings?
• How do students read game playing experiences
  (Gee, 2003)?
• What design features support engagement?
  learning?
• Competition, collaboration
• Reflection occurring through game play
• What supporting curricula are useful?
• What happens when computer games come into the
  classroom?
• How do games fit in the curriculum?
• Can players learn academic content through game
  play?

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• Social Studies Issues

• Civilization III Potential

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World History

• Problems of wholes and parts
• History is an emergent process in which a future
  is more than the sum of what went before
• More than the sum of local histories
• History as global (Ross, 2001)
• Not Eurocentric
• Not National
• History as synthetic processes
• Broad trends
• Disconnected facts vs. Patterns across time
• Interdisciplinary History
• Economics, anthropology, geography (Diamond,
  1999)
• Embracing scientific methods tools

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Theoretical Framework Socio-cultural learning
theory

• Vgotsky Social processes ? tools and signs

Tools and signs
Mediation a process involving the potential of
cultural tools to shape action, on the one hand,
and the unique use of these tools, on the other
(Wertsch, 1998)
mediation
Objects
Subject
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Activity Theory
Mediation a process involving the potential of
cultural tools to shape action, on the one hand,
and the unique use of these tools, on the other
(Wertsch 1998)
Outcomes
Artifacts / Tools
Subject
Object
Division of Labor
Rules (formal and informal)
Community
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Contexts

• Media School
• Urban High School
• 18 Students
• 1 Teacher me
• Paid Researcher
• Grade 9 XY
• 1 hour enrichment class
• 3 X 6 weeks
• Additional camp week
• (4 hours X 5 days)
• Total 35 hours

• YWCA after school
• Working class urban
• 10 students, Grades 6-7
• 1 teacher (me)
• 1 paid researcher
• 2 ½ hour enrichment class
• 2 per week for 4 weeks
• Total 20 hours

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Methodology

• Teaching Experiments Framework (Cobb, 2000)
• Examine learning in authentic contexts
• Value messiness ? generate usable knowledge
• Focus on taken as shared meanings
• Case Study Methodology (Stake, 1995)
• Observation, interviews, document analysis
  (Lincoln Guba, 1986)
• Writing narrative case studies (100 pp each)
• Post interviews
• Illuminative accounts Yields petite
  generalizations
• Activity Theory analysis (Engestrom, 1996)
• Characterize activity system
• Identify contradictions and core tensions

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What Happened?
Why am I doing this?
Replaying History
This game isnt bademergence of game talk
Purposeful Game Play Recursive gaming
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Day 1
12
17
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Results Engagement

• Students did not immediately have goals
• Gaming experience
• Race, gender, class politics
• Some students never did
• Students developed differentiated goals
• Dan and Dwayne Rewrite history
• Rob Keep up with Dwayne
• Shirley, Larry Explore the globe
• Andrea Conquer and build
• Kevin, Larry Build a civilization
• Jason Master the game system
• Rewriting history was a motivator for many
  students
• Transgressive Play
• Testing theories

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Civilization Camp
Gaming Culture
Unpacking the Simulation
Reflection
Interdisciplinary Connections
Presentations
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3
Day 1
4
5
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YWCA Camp
Introductions
Adopting Goals
Social Gaming
Civ III as Simulation
Building Civilizations
Socially Mediated Play
Religion
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3
Day 1
4
5
6
7
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What has we learned about history?

• No matter how history play out in the real world,
  it plays by the same set of rules.
• How resources affected civilizations in the past.
• Why how colonization happened

Dujuan
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Engagement

• 1. Replaying history / transgressive play
• Oppressed people, Reverse history
• 2. Alternative histories
• Question driven, Civ III as simulation space
• 3. Building civilizations
• Protecting people
• 4. Beating the game
• Displaying identities as gamers
• 5. A race
• Social space

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Conclusions Learning

• Cursory background knowledge
• All had increased familiarity
• Minimally 233 game concepts
• Students asked many factual questions
• Students found the Civilopedia ineffective
• What is monarchy? Monotheism? Democracy?
• Teacher busy with just-in-time lectures (CTGV,
  1992)
• Taken-as-shared meanings
• Discovering Bering Strait and Greenland
• Colonial imperialism
• No horses in the Americas

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Questions

• Coastal fortresses
• mutual protection pacts
• the corporation
• Refining
• Espionage
• cavalry
• theology
• steam power
• free artistry

• Does threatening other civilizations had an
  impact on diplomacy
• What happened when the game ran out of names for
  new cities
• Can I stay at peace without having to give away
  his money

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• Interviewer What else did you learn through
  playing the game?
• Marvin Inventions, the wheel, alphabet. Also
  that war isnt always the way.
• Interviewer Why?
• Marvin Because it doesntif you always wanted
  to win it wouldnt be the outcome.
• Interviewer Why?
• Marvin Something will happen it will turn on
  you. Its like a strategy game. You have to know
  when you want to do a move. You have to think
  about it before you actually do it. I l learned
  that the hard way.
• Interviewer Oh yeah, how did that happen?
• Marvin I went to war with the Aztecs, and they
  had a treaty with everyone against me.
• Marvin Did you start the war?
• Interviewer No. They did because they threatened
  me, and I said, No take your threats
  somewhere else.
• Interviewer Could you have signed a treaty with
  the Aztecs?
• Marvin No.
• Interviewer You had to go to war with them?
• Marvin Yeah. They were in a difficult position,
  but I thought I was going to win.
• Interviewer They made an alliance with everyone
  against me.
• Marvin What do you think about the United
  States being in wars? Does it change your views?
• Marvin Yeah. In modern times if you become
  strongest nation out therethey should always
  be peace.
• Interviewer Why?
• Marvin War always leads to destruction and
  lost armies.

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Learning

• Failure and learning
• Losing forced me to learn about geography
• The game made me realize I had to trade
  technologies
• Analysis in support of game play
• Which civilization should I be?
• Why is colonization not occurring?
• What is unrealistic about the game?
• World history as interdisciplinary
• The right location gives you luxuries which gives
  you income. More income gives you technology
  which affects your politics. It all connects.
• Entrée into historical positionality
• Money is the key money is the root to
  everything. With money you can save yourself from
  war, and that also means that in politics you can
  save yourself with money.

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Typical Timeline
Reflection
Introduction
Activities
Presentations
Game play
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2
3
4
5
6
Day
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Typical Timeline
Introduction
Activities
Presentations
Reflection
Game Play
1
2
3
4
5
6
Day
Study games present findings
Reflection Comparison
Make maps Timelines
Choose Civilization
Students
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Typical Daily Activity

• Set up the game play
• Seed questions and observations
• Play the game
• Students record actions
• Teacher observe games
• Deliver just-in-time lectures
• Reflection Discussion
• Seed questions and observations

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Choosing a Civilization

• Using the game for discussion
• What factors lead to a strong civilization?
• Who were the first civilizations?
• What civilization would you like to play?
• Where would you like to be located?
• Introduce game
• Log sheets of activities
• Map out the world
• Homework Research ancient civilizations

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Ancient Civilizations

• What were the first civilizations?
• What patterns do you notice?
• River valleys
• Trade / commerce
• Introduce major game concepts
• Food, production, commerce, culture
• Record actions
• Map terrain
• Create log files

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Gaming Communities
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