Designing an Educational Game - from a Teacher-centred Perspective
Author
Hansen, Charina B. S.
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2009
Abstract
Despite evidence that educational games support learning, they remain underused in elementary classrooms. This thesis explores how to design an educational game with a didactic approach for elementary pupils by placing teachers at the center of development. To address communication gaps between game developers and teachers, a user-centered innovation process with an open design focus was employed. Empirical data were gathered from experienced teachers and analyzed hermeneutically to inform design decisions. The outcome was a game design and a limited pilot developed from teachers' expressed needs and practices. Initial testing indicates that grounding the design in teachers' experience helps produce a product they can and do use. However, the study cannot conclude whether this approach increases overall adoption of educational games in Danish elementary schools; further evaluations and broader trials are needed. Even so, the findings point to promising prospects for teacher-centered, didactic design as a way to strengthen the use of educational games in lessons.
På trods af dokumenterede fordele ved læringsspil bruges de stadig for lidt i folkeskolen. Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan man kan designe et læringsspil med en didaktisk tilgang til folkeskoleelever ved at sætte lærerne i centrum for udviklingen. For at imødegå manglende kommunikation mellem spiludviklere og lærere anvendes en brugercentreret innovationsproces med et åbent designfokus. Empiriske data indsamles fra erfarne lærere og analyseres hermeneutisk for at informere designbeslutningerne. Resultatet er et spildesign og et begrænset pilotforløb udviklet med udgangspunkt i lærernes behov og praksis. Den indledende test tyder på, at et design forankret i lærernes erfaringer hjælper til at skabe et produkt, som lærerne kan og vil bruge. Samtidig kan studiet ikke konkludere, om tilgangen i sig selv øger den generelle anvendelse af læringsspil i danske folkeskoler; yderligere afprøvninger og bredere forsøg er nødvendige. Alligevel peger resultaterne på lovende perspektiver for en lærerdrevet, didaktisk designstrategi til at styrke brugen af læringsspil i undervisningen.
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