Cognitive Science 0328 - Games That Teach

How do we create engaging, interesting, fun games? A growing area of interest for game designers is "educational games." But what does research on learning, especially from games, tell us about effective design that leads to learning? In this course, students will read about, design and play educational games. Through hands-on, project-based work, students will work individually and in teams to create at least two games that teach. These games can be in digital or non-digital format. The class will collaboratively create a set of criteria by which all games products will be measured for solid game design and effective teaching. As grounding for this work, we will read and discuss primary research literature on game design, game theory, effective educational game design practices, and theories about learning and teaching. Evaluations will be based upon game products, class participation and a short paper documenting the theories behind the game products. Prerequisite detail: This course is suited for advanced students (upper Division II or Div III) with some background in game design, education or both.

Writing and Research Independent Work In this course, students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time. This time includes reading, writing, and research.