Farmtasia: A Case Study of Knowledge Building Processes in Game-Based Learning

Farmtasia: A Case Study of Knowledge Building Processes in Game-Based Learning By Cherry Rose Tan

Sustained work with ideas • To create new knowledge is to “discuss, interconnect, revise, and supersede” existing ideas (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2003) • Requires a large amount of knowledge • Success requires cultural change (environment) • Process needs to be sustainable to lead to innovation

Matthew effect • “The more you know, the more you can learn” (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2003) • Inaccessibility for certain communities • Gaming platforms as a way of breaking barriers – e.g. physical, economical, social • Innovation concentrated on select fields – e.g. technology (Silicon Valley)

Three-dimensional digital game-based learning (3D-DGBL) • Literacy-historical spaces for interacting with other players, non-player characters (NPCs), and subject content (Neville & Shelton, 2010) • Players represented by avatars • Are usually role-playing games (RPGs)

Why 3D-DGBL? • Emulates real-world sites or scenarios that would be inaccessible (Thomas, 2004) • High engagement and skill delivery (Barab, Thomas, Dodge, Carteaux, & Tuzun, 2005; Gee, 2003) • Low threshold for participation

Thesis • Three-dimensional digital game-based learning (3D-DGBL) serves as an effective platform for: • Knowledge building -> innovation (sustained work with ideas) • Reducing the Matthew effect • Case study: Farmtasia

Farmtasia • Created by the Centre for the Advancement of Information Technology in Education (CAITE) • Educational video game targeted towards knowledge building

Gameplay • Players act as managers to individually run farms • Concepts: cultivation, horticulture, pasturage • Uses real-world and random events – e.g. natural disasters, neighbourly competition

Purpose • Goal: To create effective investment and operational strategies • Winning variables: financial gain, public reputation

Knowledge building features • Pedagogical scaffolding • Situated learning • Communal debriefings

1) Pedagogical scaffolding • The use of interactive tools for feedback to support individual and group contributions (Zhang, Hong, Scardamalia, Teo, & Morley, 2011)

Constructive uses of authoritative sources • Knowledge Manual – searchable resource bank accessed independently • Wise Genie – gives tips • Teacher console – analyze, prepare, and share information • Record-and-replay function

Improvable ideas • Zone of proximal development (Vygotsky) • Multidisciplinary scaffolds

2) Situated learning • “Missions, tasks, and problems that are generative and open-ended, and there is no prescribed solution” (Jong et al., 2010)

Real ideas and authentic problems • Creating knowledge that is useful to themselves and their community • Event types: farm, market, mass-decision • Farm – localized to individuals – e.g. fire accidents, strikes • Market – affects globally – e.g. price fluctuations • Mass-decision – cooperation and collaboration to succeed – e.g. building a dam

Epistemic agency • Solving problems -> empowerment • Setting goals and long-range planning • High engagement • Social responsibility -> validation

3) Communal debriefings • Public blogging platform • Journal templates – scaffolds • Summative report to Mr. Lam – character whose farm is closing down

Collective responsibility • Sharing and advancing ideas as a community • Achievement of broader and more global goals – e.g. environmental sustainability

Democratizing knowledge • Public space makes ideas transparent and accessible (public objects) • Transcends geographical and economic barriers

Conclusion • 3D-DGBL environments allow us: • To transform ideas into public objects -> sustainability leading to knowledge building • To remove barriers to knowledge -> reducing the Matthew effect

Thank you! E-Mail: cherryr.tan@gmail.com LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cherryrosetan

Farmtasia: A Case Study of Knowledge Building Processes in Game-Based Learning