Description
Book SynopsisHow are expert educators using games in their classrooms to give students agency, while also teaching twenty-first century skills, like empathy, systems thinking, and design thinking? This question has motivated Matthew Farber's Game-Based Learning in Action: How an Expert Affinity Group Teaches With Games showcasing how one affinity group of K12 educatorsknown as The Tribeteaches with games. They are transformational leaders outside the classroom, in communities of practice. They mentor and lead newcomers to game-based learning, as well as advise game developers, academics, and policymakers.
Teachers in The Tribe do not teach in isolationthey share, support, and mentor each other in a community of practice. Farber shares his findings about the social practices of these educators. Game-Based Learning in Action details how the classrooms of expert game-based learning teachers function, from how they rollout games to how they assess learning outcomes.
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Trade Review
“If you want to become an expert on games for learning, I know no better way than Game-Based Learning in Action. It makes research accessible, and is full of thoughtful case studies on exemplary games as well as great advice about how to integrate all of it into a classroom. It is rare to find a book that is great for researchers, game designers, and teachers, but here it is!”—Jesse Schell, CEO Schell Games, and Distinguished Professor of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University
“Game-Based Learning in Action by Matthew Farber is an excellent and timely book. It offers fresh and imaginative solutions that are all too rare in charting the future of American education. By documenting an innovative tribe of remarkable teachers who have proven, compelling ways to use games to revolutionize twenty-first century teaching, learning and assessment, Farber has done the field a real service. Chock full of practical insights on ways to catalyze the ‘playful learning movement’ the book delivers the passion, knowledge and ‘game plan’ of the real heroes who can, if given a shot, transform America’s classrooms.”—Michael Levine, Founder and Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
Table of Contents
List of Figures – James Paul Gee: Foreword – Acknowledgments – Introduction – The Tribe – Learning from the Experts – Games in School – "The Godmother of Educational Gaming" – "For the Next 3 Hours, You Have a License to Snoop Around the House" – "Life Just Got Epic!" – Playful Learning – Gameful Learning – Games as High Quality Curricular Materials – "How Can I Twist This Game to My Purposes?" – The Case for Experiential Learning – Open-Ended Assessments for Open-Ended Games – The Role of the Game-Based Teacher – Conclusion – Index.
