Designing Games to Be Objects-to-Think-With

• In Event: 52.069 - New Perspectives for Serious Gaming: Games That Integrate Making and Playing for Learning

Abstract

1. Objective
Rather than attempting to directly “teach” predetermined concepts, we propose that educational video games be construction experiences that serve as “objects-to-think-with” for testing and exploring a range of powerful ideas of interest to the player. In this presentation we illustrate this technique with a game of our own design called Particles! and present evidence of players using in-game experiences and tools to reason about the relevant domain.

2. Theoretical framework
Papert (1980) defines “objects-to-think-with” as, “objects in which there is an intersection of cultural presence, embedded knowledge, and the possibility for personal identification” (p. 11). These “objects” serves as a cognitive tool that the “thinker” can observe, manipulate, or probe to explore complex ideas. We argue that by making construction a central mechanic, by embedding conceptual content into construction primitives, and by aligning game-representations with relevant domain formalisms, games can become powerful objects-to-think-with (Holbert & Wilensky, 2014).

3. Methods & Data
To explore the potential of games as objects-to-think-with, we crated Particles!, a platformer game designed to provide tools for reasoning about the particulate nature of matter. In Particles! players design molecular structures that lead to blocks with emergent physical properties potentially useful for navigating through game levels (Fig. 1).


Nine children ages 11-14 were recruited from various after-school clubs. Pre- and post-game clinical interviews about material properties were conducted in informal settings one week before and after game play and included a task where participants drew the particles that compose physical blocks used in the interview. Drawings were feature-coded. This feature-scheme was then reapplied to the full dataset to identify relevant patterns.

4. Results
In prior work we discuss how after playing Particles!, players were more likely to attend to molecular structure rather than substance identity to explain material properties (Holbert, 2013). Here we connect this shift to in-game construction tools.

Participant pre-game drawings of interview block particles varied widely. Post-game drawings were significantly (p<0.05) more likely to include many atoms organized into a clear pattern—often incorporating the “grid” central to structure construction in-game. During post-game interviews participants directly referenced the game when asked about material properties. For example, Ted, when describing a Lego block present in the interview, states, “This one’s like the hard block from the game, well the atoms are more connected. In the game, to make a harder block you had to connect them more ways.” Ted not only connects interview blocks to those made in-game, but also explains exactly how he’d make these blocks using in-game tools. This and other data to be presented in the talk suggest the game serves as an object-to-think-with for imagining how atoms and bonds might together form a recognizable structure, as well as how these structures might lead to emergent properties.

5. Significance
This presentation highlights the potential of educational game as objects-to-think-with. Such a design leads to not only rich interactions with the content directly targeted by the game, but also provides a space for thinking and tinkering about ideas beyond the designers intentions.

Author

• Nathan Holbert, Teachers College, Columbia University