Designing Games for Social Impact: The Games for Change Student Challenge

Purpose & objective

Participant Outcomes:
- Participants will experience a systems-thinking approach to the game design process
- Participants will draw connections between situating students as game designers and as agents of social change, working in pursuit of the SDGs
- Participants will practice and identify game designer mindsets which develop agency, voice, resiliency
Educational challenge/situation:
Designing games for social impact engages students in practicing critical 21st century skills, STEAM learning, and in developing a sense of voice and agency in helping to solve the complex problems of modern society. Game design for impact is project based learning at its best: students are solving an authentic problem, wearing the hats of designer, digital creator, and agent of social change.
Technology Intervention:
We will demonstrate how game development platforms such as Scratch and Unity can be employed in the classroom to engage students in creative, real-world problem solving.
Models Employed:
Games and game design can help build critical skills like collaboration, systems thinking, creative problem solving, and design thinking. This workshop will introduce you to the Games for Change (G4C) game design curriculum, with tools and strategies to teach students how to design analog and digital games for social change. Participants will walk away with ideas for building STEAM learning experiences around UN Sustainable Development Goals to empower students as designers and agents of change.
Instructional Strategies:
The instructional strategies embedded in teaching game design include backwards design, project based learning, and design thinking.

Outline

Why games? 10 min
Participants will play an interactive whole-group game to get them out of their seats, meeting new colleagues, and then reflect on the play experience and the qualities of their play engagement.

Games are Systems 10 min
In a group discussion, with visual aids and digital handouts, presenter will demonstrate how games are an entry way into teaching students how to be systems thinkers. Presenter will draw connections between systems thinking and developing creative solutions to the world’s most complex problems.

Design Process: Game Mods 20 min
In small groups, participants will move through the game design process by changing the rules, space, goal, or core mechanics of a game they are familiar with.

Games with Purpose: Incorporating the SDGs 20 min
Participants will spend 10 minutes exploring a suite of student created games on Scratch and Unity which were inspired by the SDGs. Following this, small groups will be assigned various SDGs and ideate games

Supporting research

Quest to Learn: Developing the School for Digital Kids by Katie Salen Tekinbas, Robert Torres, Loretta Wolozin, Rebecca Rufo-Tepper, and Arana Shapiro
https://www.google.com/url?q=https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262515658/&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1664389198732316&usg=AOvVaw1cCjdP-nI0K3FmA7xWAid_