Epistemic Games--
Ryan Sevy EDT605
Ryan Sevy EDT605
Epistemology- A theory and philosophy the means to be concerned with knowledge was first introduced into English by the Scottish metaphysical writer, James Frederick Ferrier (1808-1864). It asks the questions, “What is knowledge?”, “How is knowledge acquired?” and “What do people know?” Ways in which knowledge was found was believed through Truth, the Scientific Method, and Descriptive Knowledge. Taking truths and beliefs, and combing the two and separating poorly justified true beliefs, one can acquire knowledge. Ferrier expanded on the Greek Philosopher Plato’s Propositions as seen the diagram below:
Epistemic Games are games that contribute to the player learning and gaining knowledge as he/she plays. “Epistemic games are computer games that can help players learn to think like engineers, urban planners, journalists, lawyers, and other innovative professionals, giving them the tools they need for a changing world. In epistemic games, players see what it is like to live in the world of adults” (Baxi, Viplav, 2012, July 27). There are already several popular epistemic games on the market that various schools as part of their instructional model. Using an epistemic game, the students collaborate in their use, create and solve problems both together and individually, and gain new knowledge in the process of the subject in the process. The epistemic games model uses the epistemic frame hypothesis which is “a theory of learning that analyzes thinking in terms of connections among frame elements: skills, knowledge, values, and justification or decision-making (otherwise known as epistemology) of a STEM profession” (Baxi, Viplay, 2012, July 27). The epistemic games instructional model falls under the Constructivist theory as it is one that asks its learners to use their minds to understand new knowledge through their experiences, and uses collaboration and reflection to progress through their problems. Constructivist theory is one that states that learning is not done passively but is something where the learner builds on their knowledge through their experiences in the world, and are able to build on their past and make current connections to achieve new meanings.
An example of an epistemic game that would be used in a lesson is where a student is given a city layout and they are asked to be the new “mayor” of the city and manage all aspects of the city as a new mayor would. Through the game the students will face real life scenarios such as urban development and land management and then have to come up with solutions on how to balance the two. While navigating the game, the students are experiencing real scenarios where they must collaborate at times to reach a solution, and other times they are able to make individual decisions based on their own best knowledge. The teacher acts as a guide or a facilitator and allows the students to open up their minds and make their own decisions about how they interpret what they are learning. As the students’ progress through the game they continue to grow in their knowledge and build onto their prior knowledge and experiences, and through all of this they are learning skills required in structural and civil engineering.
Some characteristics associated with epistemic games are the following:
· Skills – These are the things that other students who are also playing the game (are in the community) are doing. What are the strengths that each student brings to table, such as organizational skills or good communication skills.
· Knowledge – The expertise that is gained by the individual and shared with one another.
· Identity- This is simply the way in which each member sees themselves and those around them. Knowing the role one plays in the game and others as well.
· Values- The morals or beliefs that each of the students involved believe to be true for themselves. This can really play out in listening and decision making, and if one is thinking more if themselves or others.
· Epistemology- The ability to understand and reason with the game. This can be how well a student understands what they have learned and are applying it to what decisions they are making within the game; these also affect others.
This is a video of an example of some epistemic games where kids are learning civil and mechanical engineering skills while playing computer games.
This is a video example of an Epistemic Game for an after school program targeted at at-risk youths called Mind Drive. The program teaches kids through hands on instruction on building and marketing a car, while having fun and learning.
The above video explains one popular epistemic game called Urban Science, where kids get to play as city planners in Wisconsin.
The above link takes you to a popular epistemic game called SodaConstructor.
The above link is a scholarly article on Epistemic Games.
Constructivism includes the following points:
· - Learning occurs by students doing the work.
· -As the learner learns, they construct what they are learning and comprehending.
· - Personal experience contributes to the learning process and knowledge.
· -Social interaction play a key role in the gaining of knowledge and the learning process (group collaboration).
· -The teacher guides the students to gain their own understandings and construct their own knowledge.
In using epistemic games as learning activities, the teacher is engaging the students directly in a constructivist learning environment. The students are able to navigate the game on their own, but also work with their peers. As the students learn more about the game and its elements, they are able to personalize the information and make it uniquely their own new constructed knowledge. Progressing through the game, the students build on their constructed knowledge and share it with others within their communities, and also take their own personal experiences I life to contribute to the decisions they will make.
Another example of how an epistemic game could be used in a Social Studies class would be for the students to play the game Civilization where they create an old world civilization and then are placed in charge of running the entire world. The game begins small and then builds as the students gain more knowledge. The students use the knowledge they have constructed an continue to make decisions that are both influenced by their own real life experiences and the real history they learn as they progress through the game. The teacher would act as their guide for some support but primarily allows the students to construct their world as they desire best based on their knowledge. During the game play the students are faced with scenarios such as what tax rate to set in order to fund what hey need, but also keep the citizens from being unproductive out of anger from high taxes. The students would need to build libraries and hospitals to advance their society and keep it healthy. In the end an assessment could be made based on how successful a students civilization became and what they learned in the process from the game and one another.
References:
Popper, K. (n.d.). Outline of Epistemology , Wikipedia, (2015).
Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_epistemology#History_of_epistemology
Another example of how an epistemic game could be used in a Social Studies class would be for the students to play the game Civilization where they create an old world civilization and then are placed in charge of running the entire world. The game begins small and then builds as the students gain more knowledge. The students use the knowledge they have constructed an continue to make decisions that are both influenced by their own real life experiences and the real history they learn as they progress through the game. The teacher would act as their guide for some support but primarily allows the students to construct their world as they desire best based on their knowledge. During the game play the students are faced with scenarios such as what tax rate to set in order to fund what hey need, but also keep the citizens from being unproductive out of anger from high taxes. The students would need to build libraries and hospitals to advance their society and keep it healthy. In the end an assessment could be made based on how successful a students civilization became and what they learned in the process from the game and one another.
References:
Popper, K. (n.d.). Outline of Epistemology , Wikipedia, (2015).
Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_epistemology#History_of_epistemology
Baxi, V., Epistemic Games (2012). NASSG.org.
Retrieved from
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