(Design) Thinking Out Loud: Analyzing the Complexities of Teens' Game Design Processes as Enacted Through Talk

• In Event: 51.081 - Sheraton Roundtable Session Nine - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 51.081-9 - Thinking and Designing: Place, Pedagogy, Purpose

Abstract

Games, game design (Kafai, 2012), and design thinking are popular topics of educational research (Goldman et al., 2014; 2016) and yet not much is known about the actual enactment of design thinking in game design contexts. In this proposal, we describe one instance of game design following the framework of design thinking in a library game design workshop. We use qualitative methods to analyze four teenage boys’ talk as they design a board game, Pollutaplop, to educate players about water pollution. Our findings confirm that design thinking is not as linear a process as projected by K-12 educational research and indicate that design phases might overlap. We consider implications for educator and mentors working in game design contexts.

Authors

• Priyanka Parekh, Northern Arizona University

• Earl Aguilera, California State University - Fresno

• Taylor M. Kessner, Arizona State University

• Kelly M Tran, Arizona State University

• Luis Enrique Perez Cortes, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Arizona State University

• Elisabeth R. Gee, Arizona State University

• Sinem Siyahhan, California State University - San Marcos