Play, Test, Succeed: Game-Based Paths to Durable Skills

Outline

The moderator will open the presentation with an overview of how durable skills are being integrated into Portraits of a Graduate throughout the country. She will discuss the impact on educators, the lack of student-facing and educator resources, and the need for concrete measurements to support skill achievement. This is an opportunity to leverage the power of technology to meet these needs in ways that are engaging for students and impactful for educators. (5-7 minutes).

She will introduce the panel, highlighting their various areas of content expertise. (3 minutes)

Dr. Michelle Magallanez from AVID, carrying expertise in product development to support executive function and durable skills in K12 students. The lead for AVID Creator Planet, a new game-based learning experience developed on Roblox.

Peter Wonica from the Roblox Community fund—a technical instructional designer who works with educational partners and software developers to create immersive 3D solutions that are engaging and motivating for global users, while also ensuring rigorous educational objectives.

Danielle Eisenberg from ETS, who is leading the development of durable skill measurement tools through the Assessment Design for the Skills for the Future initiative at ETS.

Participating District: TBD. We will have a district who has leveraged game-based learning and measurement instrument to support engaging durable skill development in their classroom.

The next forty minutes will consist of the moderator asking a series of questions 3-4 questions to panelists, including:

Peter - Overview the impact of game-based learning, and the outcomes that have been seen through the Roblox Community Fund.

Michelle - Interactive overview of Avid Creator Planet, and how AVID is supporting durable skill development for AVID schools. There will be a screen for Michelle to showcase the game. Audience members can be invited to play with her.

Danielle - Discussion of pilot where ETS has measured durable skill acquisition to address the shifting educational landscape where there is a stronger focus on competency skill development. Demonstration of the early prototype from ETS in association with the Carnegie Foundation for Learning. How their assessments are linking to Portraits of a Graduate.

District - Discuss how this looked in practice, how their students engaged, and what they learned from the assessment.

The last 10 minutes will consist of Audience Q&A and closing statements.

Supporting research

Clark, D. B., Tanner-Smith, E. E., & Killingsworth, S. S. (2016). Digital Games, Design, and Learning: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research, 86(1), 79–122.

DiCerbo, K. (2014), "All Fun & Games? Understanding Learner Outcomes Through Educational Games," Edutopia.

Gee, J. P. (2007). What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

Gee, J. P. (2017). Teaching, Learning, Literacy in Our High-Risk High-Tech World: A Framework for Becoming Human. Teachers College Press.

McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. Penguin Press.

McGonigal, J. (2021). Imaginable: How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything—Even Things That Seem Impossible Today. Penguin Press.

Miller, A. (2017), "Meshing GBL With PBL: Can It Work?" Edutopia.

Plass, J. L., Mayer, R. E., & Homer, B. D. (Eds.). (2020). Handbook of Game-Based Learning. MIT Press.

Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. MIT Press.

Salen, K., & Torres, R. (2016). All I Really Need to Know (About Creative Thinking) I Learned (By Studying How Children Learn) in Kindergarten: Creative Thinking and Playful Systems in Informal Learning Environments. International Journal of Learning and Media, 1(3).

Schrier, K. (2021). We the Gamers: How Games Teach Ethics and Civics. Oxford University Press.