Quandary Game: A Catalyst for Moral Discussion

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 76
  In Roundtable Session: New Possibilities for Moral Development and Education

Abstract

An intervention using the computer game Quandary was administered to fifth and sixth graders in California, Massachusetts, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Quandary aims to engage players in ethical decision-making, as they assume the role of a captain of a colony of explorers on the planet Braxos. Students played the game in pairs, and were prompted to complete written questions as they played. Students' discourse was recorded during game-play. Using a framework of transactive discourse, we coded students’ conversations for operational transacts. A pre-test and post-test was administered that consisted of two moral dilemmas and a pro-social reasoning item. Findings show that students engaged in transactive discourse during gameplay and arguments used during peer discourse appeared in students’ post-test justifications.

Authors

• Robyn Gee, University of California - Berkeley

• Lacey J. Hilliard, Tufts University