Games have always been part of human culture and a method of learning for life. Consequently, using games to support learning about, for and through democracy is not a far-fetched idea. Game-based learning has been on the forefront in both formal education and non-formal youth work for quite some time now and experienced an additional push in the 21st century through digitalization processes and the rise of online gaming.
Nevertheless, the use of games for learning, beyond childhood, still faces some criticisms. For example, critics highlight that used in an un-reflected way, the broad phenomenon of gamification (the transfer of games and game elements to non-game related fields) bears the risk to overly prioritize fun and entertainment in education at the expense of a serious engagement with the topics to be learned (this is sometimes referred to as edutainment).
Contents
Gamification
The transfer of games and game elements to non-game related fields.
Game
A game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome (Salen, Zimmerman 2004: 94). [1]
Game describes very different forms in regards to their mechanisms, material forms or goals: Cards, dices, board, online, simulation/role play, cooperation, competition, escape, logic, adventure...
Serious Games
To go beyond mere entertainment and counter this criticism, in recent years, educators turned towards the development of so-called (analogue and digital) serious games to teach about a diverse set of topics. If well-designed, serious games allow educators to create safe and engaging learning environments, which allow learners to approach the matter at hand from new perspectives and at the same time avoid the pitfall of merely entertaining them. While game-based learning has first and foremost been a field of analog gaming, digital games have become more centre stage in recent years. Both analog and digital games share several characteristics which make them beneficial to teach about, for and through democracy.
Serious Games
Playing games as a method for experiential learning. Play is embedded in a learning process.
Serious games intend to provide players with the opportunity to interact with each other, experiment with different strategies, and re-evaluate their behaviour based on the reaction of other players.
While analogue games build on face-to-face interaction of players, digital games build on player-interface interaction. Both forms of interaction have their pros and cons. For example, digital games can be used to create reactive single-player experiences, while analogue games often utilise the interactions between players. Digitally enabled online interactions can allow a diverse set of players to engage with each other from different locations, while face-to-face interaction allows players to meaningfully engage with each other without a mediating interface. Both analogue and digital games foster immersive, experiential learning.
Consciously Embedding Play in a Learning Concept
Using games for learning does not “just” include playing a game. On the contrary, while players make new experiences during game play, it is essential for the learnings success that a game-play phase is flanked by both an input and output phase as well as a thorough debriefing. Providing players with additional input before the game or appropriate exercises after the game play empowers players to make the most of the game-play experience and sets the right mood for the learning environment.
In essence, game-based learning mirrors the core elements of Kolb’s (2015) experiential learning cycle [2]. Game-based learning allows learners to evaluate their newly made experiences through reflective observation and ideally leads to abstract conceptualisation, and the transfer of in-game experiences to other relevant areas. Finally, serious games also allow for do-overs – which fosters a central element in any learning theory: experimentation. Through playing a game several times, players can actively experiment with different strategies and adjust their behaviour to changing environments.
Due to this, game-based learning is an inclusive tool, which allows teachers, trainers, and youth workers to integrate different learning styles into their activities.
Phases of Game-based Facilitation
1. Input Phase
The introduction. Depending on the game and on the learning targets, different kinds of activities might be useful. For some games, a first engagement with the topic (‘about democracy’) may help players to immerse themselves into the situation. For other games, a team-building activity may be fruitful (e.g., an icebreaker, check-in, maybe with elements of ‘through democracy’ education).
2. Gameplay
After the input phase follows the actual gameplay. In this phase, it is crucial that the facilitator is familiar with the game rules and has chosen (if applicable) the game variant to be played. Facilitators should also decide beforehand if they will explain the game rules, or if the players will read them by themselves. Some games come with different suggestions regarding time management (e.g., set a time or a game round limit or play until the game ends).
3. Post-Gameplay/Output
Typically, players directly engage either with the game material or with a specific issue encountered in the game and continue to actively engage with this topic. For example, they create their own game cards, further research a topic, write a text, and/or hold a presentation about it. The output phase enhances learning effects as players engage in an even more active and independent way.
4. Debriefing
Familiar to facilitators of experiential learning processes, debriefing means analysing the learning experience in terms of...
- topics & concepts embedded,
- methods & tools employed,
- relationships developed during the game/learning activity, and
- any connection between these aspects and the real life of the learners
...at the end of any kind of learning element or of the whole process (more: Evaluation).
Application Scenarios
Last, but not least, serious games and game-based learning have been linked to several desirable learning outcomes.
- For example, playing games enables learners to acquire new knowledge about a topic or apply their existing knowledge to a different field.
- Games may train certain skills – especially related to human interaction, like cooperation or deliberation, to name just a few.
- Moreover, one of the major advantages frequently voiced by educators of game-based learning tools is their potential to spark the interest of players and to promote (intrinsic) motivation of learners to engage with a certain topic.
These types of activities entail an increase in the motivation of those who participate, which results in an increase in engagement.
Hence, against the criticism of edutainment, “the fun theory” defends the use of games as entertaining learning tools, since if we intend to develop learners’ opinions, values or their behaviour, it will be easier if the activities we design for these objectives are – among other things – also fun.
Examples for Game-based Methods in Competendo:
Further Inspiration:
Digitalisation: Games and Interactive
Are you you?
Interactive documentary and challenge: Beat face recognition systems by Tijmen Schep and Sherpa project
Online
Bad News
Online game - From fake news to chaos!
play online
Disinformation Diaries
Learn how disinformation interferes with elections
play online
Fake it to make it
A game about fake news
play online
Online test: filter bubble
interactive introduction by Zentrum fir politesch Bildung (ZpB) Luxemburg
Online
Harmony Square
Game about fake news
play online
How normal am I?
How normal am I? By Tijmen Schep. play online
Test: Human vs. AI
Can We Tell the Difference Anymore? play online
Your Data Mirror
Learn about the mechanisms of data collection and the impact this practice on society. By Interactive Media Foundation.
online
Week with Wanda
A game about the impact of Artificial Intelligence
play online
Game-based Learning and Facilitation - digital
DemoDice
A cube-based non-commercial storytelling app (Demogames project, code by Curiousbirds)
Info
Observers
Card-based online riddle game based on the principle of the popular "Black Stories" (project Demogames, code by Curiousbirds).
play online
Game-based Learning - Offline
RFCDC Competence Card Game
Explore the of Council of Europe's Reference Framework Competences for Democratic Culture
Online
Let's Play Democracybarometer
Learning democracy through analog card games by GIGA and demokrative
Download
Enter Dignityland
Learning About Social Rights with Young People within the framework of Human Rights Education by Council of Europe Download
PlayDecide
Card game platform & game sets for respectful & fact-based group discussion, created by Ecsite European network of science engagement organisations Download
Innovate!
The policymakers' board game by Nesta
Download
Consortium
Reimagine the Internet – by playing a boardgame by Nesta Download
References:
Authors of the Introductory Article:
Sabine Jenni
Co-founder and member of the board of the Swiss non-profit organisation Demokrative - Initiative for civic education. Independent professional in the areas of in the areas of applied political research, civic education, knowledge transfer, international cooperation and project management. PhD from ETH Zurich. More: Website
Rebecca Welge
Trainer and consultant in youth and adult education, public and private sector, Lecturer and co-founder of the Swiss non-profit organisation Demokrative - Initiative for civic education. Board member of DARE - Democracy in Human Rights Education in Europe. PhD in Political Science from ETH Zurich. More: Website
Saskia Ruth-Lovell
Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science at Radboud University in Nijmegen, NL. Her research focus is on the impact of clientelism and populism on different facets of representative democracy in Latin America and beyond. More: Website
Jordi Sabari
Co-author of the article and part of the project Demogames.
Corina Leca
President and project coordinator at the cultural-education organisation Friendship Ambassadors (Ambasadorii prieteniei) in Targoviste (RO). MA in Human Rights from Central European University/CEU Budapest. Expert for Education for Democratic Citizenship/Human Rights Education.
Demogames
This text was first published in the frame of the project Demogames: Democracy and Games – Analog and Digital Game-Based-Learning Tools for Youth Work in the Demogames Facilitator's Manual
