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ECGBL!2017:!11th!European!Conference!on!Games!Based!Learning,!ACPI.!FH!JOANNEUM!University!of!Applied!Science,!Graz,!Austria,!5-6!October!2017!(pp.!744-753).!
Reflective,* Creative* and* Computational* Thinking* Strategies* Used* When* Students* Learn* Through* Making*
Games*
!
Charlotte!Lærke!Weitze,!PhD,!Assistant!professor!!
learnT,!center!for!learning!technology,!DTU-Compute,!Technical!University!of!Denmark,!Kgs.!Lyngby,!Denmark!
chwei@dtu.dk!!
!
Abstract:!Since!the!1980s,!scholars!have!had!visions!about!how!computers!can!change!how!we!think!and!learn!
and! may! support! more! engaging! learning! processes.! Recently! many! countries! have! extended! their! formal!
school!systems!to!teach!students!about!computational+thinking,!with!the!aim!to!support!children!in!mastering!
digital!materials,!becoming!digital!producers,!and!using!technology!to!develop!the!ability!to!use!their!creativity!
and! develop! problem-based! digital! projects.! One! of!the! questions! in! this! new! area! of! formal! educational! is!
whether!acquiring!computational!thinking!(CT)!skills!should!be!a!goal!in!itself—that!is,!a!new!subject!matter!in!
the!curriculum—or! whether!CT!should!become! part!of!cross-disciplinary!projects! in! school.! The! basis! for! the!
current!experiment!is!a!longitudinal!(four!years),!design-based!research!experiment,!where!CT!was!used!as!one!
of! the! means! to! reach! learning! goals! in! cross-disciplinary! academic! subjects.! In! the! current! part! of! the!
experiment,! adult! high! school! students!(K–11)!created! digital! learning! games! using! the! game! design! tool!
Scratch.! The! purpose! was! to! teach! their! classmates! about! specific! learning! goals! in! geography,! chemistry,!
biology,! and! social! studies! within! their! digital! learnings! games! while! they! themselves! learned!about! these!
subject!matters!through!the!learning!game!creation!process.!The!findings!were!that!game!design!and!CT!could!
be! used! as! means! to! reach! learning! goals! and! spark! reflections! about! cross-disciplinary! academic! subject!
matter! and! that! the! learning! game! construction! process! involved! the! students’! considerations! about! four!
central!areas!and!processes!within!these!areas.!Also,!as!the!students!transformed!their!games!from!a!vision!to!
a!concept!and!into!a!concrete!digital!object,!they!were!challenged!to!become!innovative!and!creative!and!were!
supported!in! their! thinking!and!learning!processes,!developing!knowledge!about! problem-based!work! and!CT!
competencies.!
!
Key* words:!Computational! Thinking,! Learning! Game! Design,! Students! as! Learning! Game! Designers,!
Constructionism,!Scratch.!!
*
1.*Introduction**
A!major!concern!for!educational!institutions!is!how!to!design!learning!for!students!to!help!them!develop!skills!
that!match!21st-century!requirements.!This!demands!that!we!know!what!skills!should! be! developed,!how!we!
should!teach!and!support!the!students’! learning!processes,! and!what!learning!technologies! could! support! the!
development! of! relevant! individual! and! collaborative! competencies.! The! strategy! that! many! educational!
scholars!suggest! is! to!educate! the! students! so!that!they! become!strong! in! problem-solving,!critical! thinking,!
innovation,!and!creativity,!since!this!will!give!them!the!competencies!to!embrace!and!overcome!the!unknown!
future!challenges!they!will!face.!But!how!do!we!teach!these!21st-century!skills?!!
!
1.1*The*benefits*of*active*learning!
The!philosopher!and!educational!reformer!John!Dewey!suggested!the!development!of!reflective!thinking!skills!
as!the! main! goal! of! education.! Thinking! is! the! method! of! intelligent! learning! and! is! developed! through!
experience:!“trying!to!do!something!and!having! the!thing! perceptibly!do!something!to! one!in!return”!(Dewey,!
1956).!This!learning+ by+ doing!approach! correlates! strongly! with!the!constructionist!pedagogical!approach.!In!
constructionism,!a!fundamental!idea!is!that!there!is!a!strong!connection!between!design!and!learning!and!that!
activity! involving!making,! building,! or! programming! provides! a! rich! context! for! learning! and! building!
knowledge! (Harel! &! Papert,! 1991;! Kafai! &! Resnick,! 1996).! Piaget’s! constructivism,! which! focuses! on! the!
students’! construction! of! meaning! as! a! condition! for! learning,! is! taken! further! by! Papert’s! constructionism!
theory,! which! emphasizes!that! meaning! in! particular! c an! be! constructed! by! the! creation! of! artefacts,! often !
with!the!help! of! different! types! of!digital!media! (Harel! & ! Papert,! 1991).! The! construction! of! these! artefacts!
enables! reflection! and! new! ways! of! thinking! based! on! the! tools! the! students! use! alone! as! well! as!
collaboratively,!empowering!the!students!to!take!charge!of!their!own!education!(Harel!&!Papert,!1991;!Kafai!&!
Resnick,!1996).!Learning!and!creative!development!happens!when!the!material!“talks!back”!to!the!students!in!
unexpected! ways! during! the! development! process!(Schön,! 1992).! But! what! elements!do!the!thinking!and!
learning!processes!require?!!
!
C.!L.!Weitze!-!Reflective,!Creative!and!Computational!Thinking!Strategies!Used!When!Students!Learn!Through!Making!Games.!
!
!
!
European!Conference!on!Games!Based!Learning,!ACPI.!FH!JOANNEUM!University!of!Applied!Science,!Graz,!Austria,!5-6!October!2017!(pp.!744-753).!
!
2!
According!to!John!Dewey’s!pragmatic!world! view,!there!is!a!close!relation! between! the! following! elements! in!
students’! ongoing! reflective! process;! they!1)! experience! and! perceive! a! difficulty!or! problem;! 2)! localize,!
analyze,!and!define! the! problem;! 3)!use!spontaneous!and!innovative! ideas! as! hypotheses!for!solutions!to!the!
problem;!4)! reflect!and!elaborate! ideas! and! consideration!of! facts! around! the! problem;! and! 5)! employ!tests!
and!interventions!followed!by!evaluation!of!the!suggested!ideas,!concepts,!or!solutions!to!the!problem.!If!this!
leads! to! a! satisfying! result! and! th ereby! valuable! new! knowledge,! the! process! ends;! otherwise ,!th e! student!
starts! again,! armed! with! his! or! her!new! insight! (Figure! 1).! These! linked! processes! of! reflection! and!
experimentation!are!common!ways!to!approach!and!solve!problems!in!everyday!life!(Dewey,!1910,!p.!72).!But!
how!is!this!turned!into!a!pedagogical!approach?!!
!
Figure*1:!Experience!and!experiments!creating!knowledge!in!everyday!life!(based!on!Dewey,!1910)!
!
The! problem-based! learning! (PBL)! pedagogical! approach! is!a! “learner-centered!approach! that! empowers!
learners!to!conduct!research,!integrate!theory!and!practice,!and!apply!knowledge!and!skills!to!develop!a!viable!
solution! to! a! defined! problem”! (Savery,! 2015,! p.! 5).! PBL! is! strongly! inspired! by! the! elements! in! Dewey’s!
reflective!process.!In!PBL,!the!students!find,!or!are!introduced!to,!ill-structured,!complex!(yet!meaningful),!real-
world!problems.! These!complex!problems!often! do! not! have! a! single!correct!answer,! but! students!can!learn!
from!developing!solutions!for!them.!The!problems!are!the!essential!elements!and!the!driving!force!for!inquiry.!
The!students! work! in!collaborative! groups! to! identify!what! knowledge! is! needed! to! solve!the! problem.! This!
process! helps! them! become! self-directed! and! self-assessed!learners! and! engaged! problem-solvers ! who! use!
critical!thinking!and!reflection!to!identify!the!root!problem!and!the! conditions!needed!for!a! qualified!solution!
(Savery,!2015).! The! teacher! acts! as!a!facilitator!of!learning!through!the!design!of!learning! activities!and!has! a!
major!role!in!supporting!the! development!of!the!metacognitive!thinking!associated!with!the! problem-solving!
process.!
!
1.2*Learning*through*creating*learning*games**
A!frequently!used!PBL!approach!involves!the!use!of!games!for!learning.!There!is!a!growing!body!of!research!on!
extending! game-based! learning—be! it! the! use! of! simulations,! virtual! worlds,! or! games! developed! with! the!
purpose!of!learning—to!the!creation!of!games!for!learning!(Kafai!&!Burke,!2015),!enabling!the!student!to!have!
a!more!active!role!as!a!game!designer!instead!of!a!less!active!role!as!a!game!player.!Using!a!learning-through-
game-design!approach!involves!the!development!of!CT!skills.!!
!
1.3*Computational*thinking*processes**
The! CT!concept! has! gained! attention! and! has! been! researched!by! an! increasing! number! of! educators! and!
researchers!since! the!early!1980s!(Grover!&!Pea,!2013).! The!concept!has!been!defined!in!various!ways!(Voogt!
et!al.,! 2015).!Jeanette!Wing,!for!example,!defined!computational!thinking!as!”the!thought!processes!involved!
in! formulating! problems! and! their! solutions! so! that! the! solutions! are! represented! in! a! form! that! can! be!
effectively!carried!out!by!an!information-processing!agent”!(2011,!p.1).!But! it!is!not!an! entirely!new!concept.!
Papert,! for! example,! argued!the! need! for! procedural! thinking! (1980),! and! diSessa! recommended!
computational! literacy! (2000).! These! scholars! had! visions! about! changing! how! we! think! and! learn! and! how!
computers! could! support! more! engaging! and! committed! learning! processes.! Many! scholars! as! well! as!
practitioners!break!CT!into!subcategories! (Voogt!et!al.,!2015;!Wing,! 2008),!and!it!has!been!defined!as!a!broad!
and!comprehensive!concept! involving! thinking! and! learning!processes!not!very!different!from! PBL!processes.!
But!it! has! also!been!defined!as! a! narrower! concept! related! to! consideration!or!thinking!acts!that!we!need!to!
C.!L.!Weitze!-!Reflective,!Creative!and!Computational!Thinking!Strategies!Used!When!Students!Learn!Through!Making!Games.!
!
!
!
European!Conference!on!Games!Based!Learning,!ACPI.!FH!JOANNEUM!University!of!Applied!Science,!Graz,!Austria,!5-6!October!2017!(pp.!744-753).!
!
3!
learn!to!be!able!to!program!computers!to!perform!procedures.!Many!of!the!narrow!CT!definitions!involve!four!
core!concepts—decomposition,!pattern!recognition,!abstraction,!and!algorithms—as!well!as! evaluation!of!the!
successfulness!of!going!through! these!four!steps!to!solve!the!problem!(Voogt!et!al.,!2015;!Wing,!2008).!These!
concepts!are! natural! stages!for! solving! a!complex! problem! with!the!help! of! a! computer! and! encompass! the!
kind!of! conceptual! understanding!needed! for! a! computer! programmer! to! create!interactive! digital! problem-
solving!of!various!tasks.!!
!
In!this!experiment,!CT!is!used!to!reach!students’!subject-specific!learning!goals.!But!what!kind!of!CT!conceptual!
understanding!is!needed! when! the!assignment!is! to! learn!about!curricular!subject! matter! by!creating! digital!
learning!games?!!
!
1.4*Area*of*investigation*
This! article! investigates:! How+ can+ students+ learn+ specific+ subject+ matter+ by+ designing+ and+ creating+ digital+
games?+Can+the+acquisition+of+CT+skills+support+this+learning+process?+What+learning+game+design+processes+do+
students+go+through+when+they+create+digital+learning+games?!And!finally,!are+there+elements+that+connect+the+
various+layers+of+the+game+design+process+in+a+meaningful+way+that+at+the+same+time+supports+the+development+
of+students’+thinking+and+learning+processes?!!
*
2.*Methodology*and*research*design**
*
2.1*Approach,*data*collection*and*analysis*
*This!investigation!was!conducted!as!a!design-based!research!(DBR)!study!in!which!teachers!and!students!were!
important! co-designers! in! the! development! and! testing! process.! The! study! used! mixed! methods.! The! data!
included! field! notes,! audio-! and! videotaped! actions! and! utteran ces,!o bservations! from! the! workshop!in!Fall!
2016,! semi-structured! interviews! with! both! teachers!and!students,! informal! meetings,! videos! of! students’!
games!being! discussed! and! play-tested,!the! student-created! digital!games,! evaluation! documents!written!by!
students,! and! questionnaires.! The! analysis! was! performed! by! analyzing!teachers’! and! students’! actions,!
utterances,!and! the! digital! games! and! by! coding! the! transcribed! data! using!the!qualitative!research!software!
Dedoose! employing!an! informed! grounded! theory! approach! (Thornberg,! 2012).! The! analysis! used! concept-
driven!coding!(using!concepts!from!the!theory!and!previous!empirical!data!to!find!themes!in!the!data)!as! well!
as! data-driven! coding! (reading! the! data! and! searching! for! new! phenomena! not! known! from! previous!
preconceptions!of!the!subject)!(Kvale!&!Brinkman,!2009;!Charmaz,!2006).!!
!
2.2*Participants*and*setting!
The!participants!in!the!experiment!were!students!from!a!high!school!class!at!VUC!Storstrøm,!an!adult!learning!
center!in! Denmark.! The!students! participated! in! a! full-time! education! program! lasting! two! years,! building!
games!supporting!learning!the!curriculum.!Five!teachers!participated!in!the!game!design!process.!
!
2.3*Workshops!
All!the!students!and!four!teachers!were!new!to!game!design.! The!20!students! in!this!experiment!formed!four!
teams! and! created! four! games! involving! variations! over! the!theme! climate+ change.! The! students!developed!
their! learning-game! concepts! by! following! the! instructions! in! an! overall! learning! design! in! a! three-day!
workshop.!The!pedagogical!approach!was!PBL,!and!the!only!knowledge!the!students!had!about!climate!change!
in!advance!came!from!watching!a!film!about!the!subject;!they! had!access!to!relevant!texts!as!well.!The!aim!of!
the!overall!learning!design!was!to!let!the!students! integrate! aspects! of! relevant! academic!subjects!into!small!
analogue!game!concepts!that!were!then!transformed!into!digital!games.!The!intention!was!for!the!students!to!
become!reflective!about!the!academic!knowledge;!and!as!a!result,!they!would!become!academically!proficient.!
CT!was!not!the!goal!but!one!of! the! means! to!reach!the!overall!learning!goals.! The! students! used!the!digital!
game!design!tool!Scratch!(Scratch,!2017)!to!create!their!digital!games.!The!purpose!was!for!students!to!direct!
their!own!learning! path! and! create!learning!games! that! could! be! played!by!their!fellow! students.! This! would!
enable!the!students! to! become! the! designers!of!their!own! learning! through! collaboration,!and! by!discussing!
ideas! and! possible! solutions.! The! students! created! the! learning! and! game! designs! in! iterative! processes.!
Therefore,!the!learning!goals! and! process! were!addressed!and! questioned! in! many!ways.! The! learning! goals!
were! further! addressed! in! the! collaborative! peer!review/playtests! that! each! student! team!carried! out! with!
other!teams.!!
!
*
C.!L.!Weitze!-!Reflective,!Creative!and!Computational!Thinking!Strategies!Used!When!Students!Learn!Through!Making!Games.!
!
!
!
European!Conference!on!Games!Based!Learning,!ACPI.!FH!JOANNEUM!University!of!Applied!Science,!Graz,!Austria,!5-6!October!2017!(pp.!744-753).!
!
4!
3.*Analysis*of*thinking*and*learning*processes*in*creating*learning*games*
The! following! is! an! analysis! of! the! thinking! and! thereby! learning! processes! that! took! place! as! the! stu dents!
learned!by!creating!digital!learning!games.!The!overall!problem!or!question!for!the!students!was:!How+can+we+
create+a+ learning+game+teaching+ about+ climate+change?! The!learning!game! construction!process!involved!the!
students’!considerations!about!the!following!four!processes:!1)!development!of!learning!goals!for!their!specific!
game!for!the!cross-disciplinary!subject!matter,!2)!learning!design,!3)!game!design,!and!4)!transformation!into!a!
digital! game.! These! four! central! processes,!leading!to!the!creation! of! the! learning! games,! were! deeply!
connected!and!interdependent,!and!the!students!engaged!them!iteratively.!By!separating!them!in!this!analysis,!
it!is!possible!to!investigate!the!characteristic!of!each!knowledge!and!learning!area!and!process.!
*
3.1*Learning*about*subject*matter*and*learning*goals**
The!teachers!chose!climate+change!as!the!overall!subject!and!had!elaborated!the!learning!goals!for! the!cross-
disciplinary!subject!matter!as!well!as!methodological!and! social!learning!goals.!Since! climate! change! involves!
and!influences! social,!geographical,!chemical,! and!biological!matters,!creating! a! project! about! climate! change!
demanded!that!the!students!developed!knowledge!about!all!four! involved! subject! matters.!The! teachers!had!
crucial!roles! as!guides! and! discipline! experts,! they! supported! the! teams,! and! discussed! the! content/subject!
matter!of!the!games!with!the!teams.!!
!
The!students!started!the!project!by!studying!the!learning!goals!and!discussing!climate!change!in!the!context!of!
the! cross-disciplinary! subjects.! They! discussed!what!they! already! knew! about! the! subject!and!where! to! find!
more!knowledge!and!brainstormed!what!educational!content!the!narrative!of!the!learning!game!could!involve!
in! a! meaningful! way.! Two! o f! the! overall! learning! goals! were! “Analyze! and! discuss! what! effect! greenhouse!
gases!have!on!the!atmosphere”! and! “Analyze!the!global!effects!of!the!greenhouse!effect!using!a!self-chosen!
example.”! The! teachers! advised!the! students! to! generate!ideas!based! on!the! leaning! g oals!and! to! connect!
them!into! a! narrative! in! a! meaningful! way.! They!suggested!that! the! students! chose! an! everyday!learning!
situation!as!the!narrative!for!their!game!and!then! gradually!constructed!more!ideas!for!how!to!involve!all!the!
learning!goals.!This!demanded!that!the! students! thought!about!how!to!move!between!the!choice!of! relevant!
and!meaningful! content! and! the! design!of!relevant!learning!situations!in! the! game,!which!would!enable! the!
future!learner/player!of!the!game!to!reach!the!game’s!intended!learning!goals.!!
!
The! students! had! educating! conversations! about! what! to! teach! within! the! game,! becoming! self-directed!
learners!in! this! process,! but! the! teachers! also! had!vital!roles.! Two!of! the! teachers,! for! example,! supervised!
each! team,! asking! them! to! explain!how! the! various! learning! goals! were! met! in! their!game.! If! the! studen ts!
found!it!difficult! to! address! a!learning!goal,!the!teachers!pointed!them!to! a!relevant!article!about!the! subject!
matter.! Then! the!teachers!discussed! the! learning! goal!with! the! team!and! co-ideated! on! how! they! could!
implement!this!goal!in!the!game.!
!
!
Figure*2:*Examples!of!choices!offered!after!educating!episodes!in!two!games!
*
Some! of! the! affordances! learning! games! have,! as! media,! are! possibilities! for! designing! interactions,! giving!
choices!and!connections,! and! showing! cause! and! effects! as! well! as! consequences! in! the! game.! The! analysis!
suggests!that!this! affected! the! students’! choice!of!content! as! well! as! narrative!for!the! games.! Several! of! the!
teams!chose!to!design!games!that!in!various!ways!let!the!learner/player!choose!between!options!in!the!game,!
similar! to! the! cause-and-effect! systems! grounded! in! the! subject! matter.! For! example,!by! offering! complex!
choices! between! the! cheapest! product! or! service! or! the! greenest! solution! (Figure! 2)—such! as! when! the!
C.!L.!Weitze!-!Reflective,!Creative!and!Computational!Thinking!Strategies!Used!When!Students!Learn!Through!Making!Games.!
!
!
!
European!Conference!on!Games!Based!Learning,!ACPI.!FH!JOANNEUM!University!of!Applied!Science,!Graz,!Austria,!5-6!October!2017!(pp.!744-753).!
!
5!
offered!sun-energy!solution! that! seemed! to! be! the! most! climate-friendly! possibility! actually! turned!out!to!be!
the! opposite! when! taking! the! production ! process! of! the! solar! cells! into! account.! The! students! had! to! think!
about!how!to!design! these!various!systems! of!choices,!causal!connections,!and!opportunities! for!interactions,!
and,! according! to! the! teachers,! this! led! the! students! to! develop! new! knowledge! about! the! same! relevant!
systems!within!their!subject!matter.!!
*
3.2*Learning*design*process*for*the*learning*games**
The! students! were! asked! to! create! a! game! that! both! taught! and! evaluated!the! future! learner/player!of! the!
game!about! climate!change.!Problem! identification!for! the!learning!design!phase!involved! questions!like!How+
can+ we+ create+ a+ learning+ design+ within+ a+ learning+ game?!This! involved! understanding!principles! of! what!a!
learning! game! is! and! what! learning! processes! are.! The! creation! of! a! learning! design! traditionally! involves!
considerations!about! who! the!participants!are,!what! learning!environment!the! learning! takes!place! in,! what!
the!learning!goals!are,!what!content!should!be!introduced!for!the!students!to!achieve!these!learning!goals,!and!
what!learning!activities!and!evaluation!processes!the!students!should! experience!for!them!to!go!through! the!
intended! learning! processes! and! reach! the! learning! goals.! From! previous! research,! we! learned! that! the!
abstract! learning! design! elements! are! not! obvious! to! high! school! students.! Therefore,! the! students! were!
introduced!to!a!simple!learning!game!example!in!Scratch!(2017)!that!taught!the!students!about!learning!design!
elements!in!a!learning!game!(Weitze,!2017).!The!students!could!use!this!example!as!a!vision!and!thinking+tool,!
which!made!it!easier!for!them!to!imagine!how!they!could!create!their!own!learning!design!for!a!learning!game.!!
!
3.3*Creation*of*common*learning*design*“systems”*when*creating*learning*games*
As!the! students! started! conceptualizing!their!learning! games! with!paper!and!cardboard,!the!analysis! showed!
that!the!students!deconstructed!the!learning! design!for!the!games!into!the!following!learning!design!areas:!a)!
learning! environments,! b)! communities! of! practice,! c)! learning! activities,! and! d)! learning! paths! for! their!
learning!game!concepts.! The! construction!process! was! categorized! by! the!students!into!the! four!areas!in!the!
following!ways:!
!
a)* Learning* environments—situated* learning* experiences:* When! designing! a! learning! game! the!
students!needed! to! think!about! how! to!create! learning! situations!within!the! games.! These! learning!
situations! or! scenes! in! the! game! could! involve! relevant! learning! elements,! such! as!backgrounds!
illustrating! climate! change!or!its! consequences! or! objects,!for!example,!giving! the! player! the! choice!
between! solar! panels! or! wind! mills!as! energy! sources! in! the! game.! These! learning! environments!
contributed!to!the!players’/learners’!learning!processes!as!they!played!the!game.!!
!
b)* Communities* of* practice:* In! traditional! learning! situations,! the! learning! community! of! practice!
involves!peer-relations!as!well!as!student–teacher!conversations!and!interactions.!The!same!occurred!
in!the! learning! games.! The!teams!formed! small!communities! of!learning! within! the! game!concepts.!
Some!games! also! invited!the!player—outside!the! game—to! listen! and! learn.! The! in-game-characters!
in! these! game-communities! had! various! roles,! including!teacher,! helper,! apprentice,! the! good!
(climate)! guy,! and!the! bad! (climate)!guy.!These! characters! enabled! educating!conversations!to! take!
place!during!the!game-play.!!
*
c)* Learning* activities:!Depending! on!pedagogical! approach! (for! example,! instructional! or! social!
learning! approaches),! learning! interactions! between! agents! participating! in! a! learning! situation!
generally!take!place!as!instruction,!demonstration,!imitation,!dialogue,!discussion,!or!co-construction.!
Examples!of!previous!learning!activities!in!students’!learning!games!include!inviting!the!learner/player!
to!be! an! apprentice,!learning! by! experience,!learning! from! direct! information,! learning! from! just-in-
time!additional! knowledge,! learning!from!authentic!hints,! learning!by!consequence,!learning!through!
stealth!assessment,!and!learning!and!assessing!by!doing!in!the!game!(Weitze,!2017).!One!of!the!main!
strategies! in! the! design! of! learning! activities,! used! in! this! experiment,! was! to! create! educating!
dialogues! between! two! in-game-characters! or! letting!several! game-characters! first!teach! and! then!
invite! the! learner/player! to!act! by! choosing! between! various! opportunities! in! the! game! (stealth!
assessment)!and!thus!learn!from!the!consequences!of!these!choices.!That!is,!if!the!learner/player!had!
been!listening!and!thereby!learning,!she!would!know!what!to!choose.!
!!
d)*Learning*paths—narratives*and*interactions:*The!challenge!for!the!students!was!to!then!combine!
and! weave! the! above! three! learning! design! areas! into! meaningful! n arratives! in! the! climate! change!
C.!L.!Weitze!-!Reflective,!Creative!and!Computational!Thinking!Strategies!Used!When!Students!Learn!Through!Making!Games.!
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learning!games.!The!students!did!this!by!creating!learning!paths!(Figure!3)—inventing!a!narrative!with!
game-characters! that! took! part! in! relevant! learning! activities! in! various! procedures! over! time.! This!
demanded! procedural! thinking! of! the! students! as! well! as! the! building! of! hypotheses,! arguments,!
connections,!and!causal!explanations!about!the!subject!matter!within! and!around!the!digital!learning!
games.!!
!
!
Figure*3:*Student!storyboards:*Creating!learning!paths!in!the!learning!game!concepts*
!
The! analysis! showed! that! the! students! learned! and! approached! their! learning! goals!through! collaborative!
discussions!and!work!processes!and!reflected!on!the!problem!of!creating!a!learning!design!while!ideating!and!
constructing!their!game!concepts!in!iterative!processes.!!
!
3.4*The*students’*game*design*reflections**
Though!the! game!design!and! learning!design!were! deeply!intertwined,!the!following!is! an! attempt! to!analyze!
relevant!game!design!elements!in!the!students’!constructed!learning!games.!When!setting!learning!“into!play,”!
traditional!game!elements!are!action+space+ and+ narrative,+choice,+challenge,+ rules,+feedback,+and+game+goals!
(Weitze,! 2016b).! Some! of! these! elements! were! directly!connected! to!the! common! learning! design! elements!
that!the!students! used.! Turning! learning! design!elements!into!game!design!elements!can!be!regarded!as!the!
students’! further! development! of! their!vision! for! a! learning! game! with! specific! learning! goals!into! a! more!
specified!and!conceptualized!learning! game! design.! In! their!creative! and! innovative! work,! the! student! game!
designers!kept!moving!between!the!abstract!learning!goals!and!the!specifications!for!a!concrete!learning!game!
design!as! well! as! between!the! whole! and! the!details! of! the! learning!game!concept!though! their!continuous!
reflections!(Löwgren!&!Stolterman,!2007).!!
!
Action* space,* narrative,* and* game* goals:!An! example! of! connections! between! learning! design! and! game!
design!elements!was!that!the!game! design!element!action+ space!in!the!students’!games!corresponded! to! the!
learning+ environment.! Also,!the! game! design! element! narrative!corresponded! with!the! learning+ path!the!
students!used!to! connect! the! relevant! learning!goals!and!content! in! their! learning! games.!The!narrative! also!
presented! the! game! goal! by! creating! a! story!with! a! direction! that! was!meaningful! and! connected! to! the!
learning! goals!in! a!relevant! way.!One! team!explained:! “Our+ climate-polar-bear+ game+involves+various+scenes+
with+ horrible+ pictures+ of+ what+ climate+ changes+ will+ do+ to+ the+ earth+ if+ we+ continue+ living+ like+ we+ do+ at+ the+
moment.+Our+ idea+ is+ to+ make+a+ game+where+ you+ can+ save+the+ planet+ by+ pursuing+various+ climate-connected+
challenges+to+save+the+world,+and+if+you+fail,+the+earth+ends+up+being+destroyed.”!This!game!involved!a!learning!
environment! and! narrative! that! were! connected! to! the! learning! goals,! and! the! game! goal! was! evident:! the!
player/learner!had!to!save!the!world.!!
!
Choices,*challenges,* rules,* and* feedback:!The!content! (subject!matter)! was! presented! through!the! narrative!
(in! monologues! and! dialogues)! and! in ! the! learning! activities! in! the! students’! games.! The! learning! activities!
were!formed!as!choices,+challenges,+rules,+and+feedback—opportunities!for!educating!interactions!in!the!game.!
The! choices!in! several!of! the! teams’! learning! games! were! created! so! the! player/learner! had! to! create! a!
hypothesis! about! how! to! answer! from! the! knowledge! that! was! provided! earlier! in! the! game.! One!team!
discussed! the! interactions! in! their!game:! “In+ our+ CO2+ game+ the+ player,+ for+ example,+ is+ challenged+ on+ his+
knowledge+ and+ has+ to+ choose+ between+ two+ green+ energy+ sources.+ He+ has+ to+ listen+ carefully+ to+ our+ game-
characters,+since+it+is+not+the+obvious+choice+he+should+take.+So,+in+this+way+the+rules+of+the+game+are+decided+by+
authentic+facts.+ If+ the+ player+ tries+ to+ save+ the+ environment,+ he+ will+ collect+ money+ for+ building+ a+ fantastic+
sustainable+farm,+and+the+level+of+CO2+will+go+down.+We+have+discussed+if+we+should+create+a+game-rule,+being:+
if+the+player+gives+the+wrong+answers+three+times,+then+he+should+be+told:+‘You+are+terrible+to+the+environment,+
C.!L.!Weitze!-!Reflective,!Creative!and!Computational!Thinking!Strategies!Used!When!Students!Learn!Through!Making!Games.!
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European!Conference!on!Games!Based!Learning,!ACPI.!FH!JOANNEUM!University!of!Applied!Science,!Graz,!Austria,!5-6!October!2017!(pp.!744-753).!
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and+you+know+nothing,’+and+then+it+is+the+end+of+the+world!”!These!students!had!used!rules!that!were!based!in!
facts!from! the! subject!matter!(you!will!not!survive!if! you!make!unsustainable!choices),!and!the!consequences!
were!inspired!by!real-world!consequences.!The!player/learner!received!feedback!instantly!about! whether!he!
had!understood! the!learning!intentions!(Figure!4).!All!games! used!traditional! game! design! elements! as! a! way!
to!set+the+learning+into+play.!!
!
Figure*4:!Example!of!feedback!in!the!game!
!
The!students!chose!to!create!interactions!in! the!form!of!meaningful!choices!with!meaningful!consequences!in!
their!games.!For!example,!in!the!CO2!game!about!sustainable!farming,!the!player!had!several!offers!to!choose!
between!various!opportunities.!With!the!information!she! had!been!given!in!advance!in! the!game,!she!should!
be!able! to!choose!the!most!sustainable!energy!source.!This! gave!the!player/learner!agency! to! make!her! own!
choice!and!gave!her!experience!with!the!subject!matter!presented!in!the!game.!
*
3.5*Computational*thinking*in*action—transformation*into*digital*learning*games**
The!students!were!inexperienced!in! using!the! digital!game!design!tool!(Scratch),!and!some!students!hesitated!
when! approaching! the! technology.! Previous! research! showed! it! is! important! to! guide! the! students! by!
introducing!them!to!small!tutorials!for! the! tool!(Weitze,!2017).!This!part!of! the!process!required!the!students!
to! transform! the! specifications! for! the! learning! game! concept! into! a! functioning! digital! game.! The! students!
used! their! story! boards! (Figure! 3)! illustrating!the! learning! environments,! communities! of! practice,! learning!
activities,!and!learning!paths!as!a!basis!for!discussions!about!how!to!create!their!digital!games.!In!this!process,!
the! students! were! presented! with! many! dilemmas.! Sometimes! part! of! their! concepts! proved! difficult,! or!
perhaps!even!impossible,!to!transform!into!digital!procedures—they!had!to!learn!to!think!computationally.!!
!
The!ideas! and! solutions!did!not!always!work! out! as!planned.!Sometimes! this! was! because!the!affordances!of!
the! game! design! tool! were! too! limited,! or! the! students! did! not! know! the! tool! well! enough! to! find! an!
appropriate! solution.! But! sometimes! the! “conversations”! with! the! game! design! technology!(Schön,! 1992)!
sparked!other!solutions!that!better!met! the! students’! intentions! with! the! learning! games.!In!these!boundary!
areas,! the! learning! game! was!transformed! from! a! vision! with! specific! learning! goals! into! a! concept! for! a!
specified! learning! game! design!and! then! the! transformation! into! a! functioning! digital! game—an! operative!
image!(Löwgren!&!Stolterman,!2007).!These!boundary!areas!often!represented!dilemmas!and!processes!where!
a! “creative! leap”! took! place.! Here!the! learning! game! designers! exceeded!the! limits! of! the! present,! an d! by!
handling!these!dilemmas!the!students!were!forced!to!learn,!be!innovative,!and!create!new!concepts.!!
!
3.6*Computational*learning*elements*in*the*students’*games**
The! analysis! of! the! current! experiment! showed! that! the! abstract! learning! design! elements! the! students!
designed!for! in! their! games! to! some! extent! were! significant!and!could!be!decomposed!into!specific!patterns!
that!could! be! performed! by! procedures! or! algorithms.!This! should!of! course! be!seen! in! light!of! the! learning!
games!being! quite!simple!games,!given! that!the!students!were! novices! in!game!design!and!the! short!amount!
of! time! they! were! given!to! develop! their!games.! These! computational! learning! elements! have,! however,!
proved!efficient!as!inspiring!examples!for!students!in!their!digital!learning!game!design!in!later!experiments.!!
!
The!following!are!examples!of!the!computational!learning!elements!in!the!students’!games.!Again,!these!were!
connected!to!the!previously!mentioned!abstract!learning!design!areas.!The!students!created:!
!
C.!L.!Weitze!-!Reflective,!Creative!and!Computational!Thinking!Strategies!Used!When!Students!Learn!Through!Making!Games.!
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European!Conference!on!Games!Based!Learning,!ACPI.!FH!JOANNEUM!University!of!Applied!Science,!Graz,!Austria,!5-6!October!2017!(pp.!744-753).!
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Learning* environment* and* learning* objects:! This! demanded! that! the! students! imported!backgrounds! and!
objects!into!the!digital!game.!
Communities*of* practice:* This! demanded! that! the! students! imported!or!created!various!relevant!characters,!
teachers,!and!learners!in!their!games!as!well!as!showed!and!hided!these!characters.*
Learning*activities:*There!were!many!examples!of!computational!learning!elements!for!learning!activities!and!
interactions,!illustrating!the!benefits!of!using!games!to!teach!as!opposed!to!e.g.!books.!Activity!examples!were:!!
1) Dialogues* in* the* game,* con versations* with* one* or* more* characters:! This! demanded! that! the! students!
broadcasted!messages!between!the!characters,!enabling!one!character!to!react!to!what!another!character!
sends,!creating!dialogues,!other!actions,!and!interactions!in!this!process.!
2) Methods*for*advancing*in*the*game*and*receiving*feedback*on*whether*the*leaners/player*choices*were*
correct:!This!demanded!that! the! students! created! various!levels! and!scenes! in! the!game.! This! was! done!
e.g.!by!broadcasting!messages!to!change!backgrounds!and!objects.!
3) A*way*to*explore*the*environment:!This!was!e.g.!done!by!programing!the!arrow!keys.!
4) Evaluation*in*the*game:!This!could!be!programmed!in!various!ways.!For!example,!by!using!the!CT!concept,!
events!describing!one! thing! cause! another!thing!to!happen!(Brennan!&! Resnick,!2012)—e.g.,! letting!two!
choices!lead! to! different!consequences,! giving!different!feedback!depending!on!what!the!correct! answer!
was.!
*
Creating*learning*paths*in*the*game:*This!took!place!when!the!students!mentally!decomposed!all!the!various!
activities!into!small!entities!and!then!turned!them!into!procedures!in!the!game—for!example,!by!combining!an!
informative!dialogue! with!a!possibility!to! explore! the!learning!environment!followed! by! an! opportunity!to!be!
evaluated!in! the!game.!The!students!looked! for! patterns!when!they!repeated! various! identical!procedures!or!
algorithms! in! the! game,! altering!the! dialogues! or! background! when! they! wanted! to! create! serial! learning!
situations.!!
!
That! students! were! sometimes! frustrated! if! they! did! not! have! time! to! finish! their! digital! games!proved! the!
importance! of! teachers!continuously! conducting!meta-conversations!with! the! students! discussing! and!
confirming!how!and!what!they!learned!while!creating!their!games.!That!said,!we!saw!proud!students!showing!
their!games!to!fellow!students!at!the!final!exhibition.!
!
4.*Discussion*and*conclusion*
This! article! investigated! how! students! could! learn! specific! subject! matter! by! designing! and! creating! digital!
games! and! whether!the! acquisition! of! CT!skills! could! support! this! learning! process.! It! also! explored! what!
learning!game!design! processes! students! carried!out!when!creating!digital!learning!games!and!what!elements!
were! found! to! connect!the! various! layers! of! the! game! design! process! in! a! meaningful! way,! supporting!the!
development!of!students’!thinking!and!learning!processes.!!
!
The!analysis! found! that! the!learning! game! construction! process!involved!the! students’! considerations! about!
four!central!areas!and!processes!within!these!areas!that!were!deeply!connected!and!interdependent:!1)!game-
specific! learning! goals! for! cross-disciplinary! subject! matter,! 2)! learning! design,! 3)! game! design,! and! 4)!
transformation!into!a!digital!game!(Figure!5).!!
!
As! the! students! started! conceptualizing! their! learning! games! in! analogue! materials,! they! typically!
deconstructed! the! learning! design! for! the! games! into! the! following! learning! design! areas:! learning!
environments,! communities! of! practice,! learning! content,! learning! activities,! and!learning! paths! for! their!
learning!game!concepts.!
!
When!they!moved!on! to! set!the!learning! design! “into!play,”!the!applied!game!design!element!in!many! ways!
corresponded! with! the! learning! design! elements.! For! example,! the! game! design! element! narrative!
corresponded!with!the! learning! design! element! learning+ path!that!was!used!to!connect!the!relevant!learning!
goals,!content,!learning!activities!and!evaluation!processes!in!their!learning!games.!!
!
Finally,!when!the!students!transformed!the!abstract!learning!design!elements!into!a!digital!game,!they!needed!
CT!skills.!CT!was!used!to!decompose!the!tasks,!simplify!the!process!by!looking!for!similar!patterns,!and!create!
algorithmic! procedures! performed! in! the! game! design!tool.! In! this ! part! of! the! process! the! students! created!
learning! paths! in! the! computational! systems,! which!allowed! the! learner/player! to! experience! in-game!
conversations!and!explore,!get!feedback,!and!be!evaluated!in!the!games.!!
C.!L.!Weitze!-!Reflective,!Creative!and!Computational!Thinking!Strategies!Used!When!Students!Learn!Through!Making!Games.!
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European!Conference!on!Games!Based!Learning,!ACPI.!FH!JOANNEUM!University!of!Applied!Science,!Graz,!Austria,!5-6!October!2017!(pp.!744-753).!
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!
The!analysis!suggests!that!the!use!of!learning!game!design!as!a!learning!approach—with!possibilities!to!design!
interactions,! choices,! connections,!consequences,! and! cause!and!effects!in!the!game—affected!the!students’!
choice!of!content!as!well!as!narrative!for!the!games!and!thereby!what!and!how!they!learned.!
*
Figure*5:*Central!conceptual!areas!and!elements!the!students!reflected!on!and!created!in!the!learning!game!
construction!process*
The!materials!in!this!experiment!were!used!as!“discussion!partners”!by!the!students.!They!learned!by!thinking,!
doing,!thinking!and!doing!again,!working!through!the!various!layers!of!processes!in!an!iterative!process!(Figure!
6).! As! the! students! designed! narratives,! built! hypotheses,! created! arguments! and! choices! with! different!
consequences,!and!demonstrated!connections!and!causal!explanations! about!the!subject!matter! in!the!game,!
deep!thought!processes!were!demanded!of!the!students.!According!to!the!analysis!of!the!interviews!with! the!
teachers! and! observations! from!the! experiment,! this! appeared! to! give! the! students! opportunities!to!learn!
about!1)!the! cross-disciplinary! subject! matter,!2)!learning! to! learn,! and! 3)! CT.! According! to! the! teachers,!
working!with!designing!learning!games!led! the!students!to! develop!new!knowledge!about!relevant!rules!and!
cause-and-effect!systems!within!their!respective!subject!matter!areas.!!
!
!
!
Figure*6:!The!creative!processes!in!the!boundary!areas!between!vision!and!concept!and!concrete!object!
!
To!summarize,!the!students!experienced!how!to!work!from!a!PBL!approach!as!they!started!to!create!ideas!and!
visions!for! the! specific! subject! matter! they!wanted!to!teach!for!their!future!players!to! reach! specific! learning!
goals.!They! then! turned!these!visions!into! learning!game!concepts!involving!learning! design! and!game!design!
elements.! Finally,! they! then! transformed! the! learning! game! concept! into! a! functioning! digital! game—a!
concrete! digital! object.! Despite!being! areas! of! dilemma,! frustration,! and! hard! work,! the! boundary! areas!
C.!L.!Weitze!-!Reflective,!Creative!and!Computational!Thinking!Strategies!Used!When!Students!Learn!Through!Making!Games.!
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between!vision,! concept,! and! concrete! object!sparked! the! students’!creativity! and! innovative! solutions,! and!
the!students’!thinking!and!learning!processes!that!were!demanded!empowered!them!to!create!ideas!and!solve!
problems!when!learning!through!the!design!of!digital!learning!games.!!
*
5.*References**
Brennan,!K.!&!Resnick,!M.!(2012)!“New!frameworks!for!studying!and!assessing!the!development!of!
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Association,!Vancouver,!Canada.!!
Charmaz,!K.!(2006)!Constructing+grounded+theory:+A+practical+guide+through+qualitative+research.!Sage!
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Dewey,!J.!(1956)!“Thinking!in!education.!Chapter!12”!in!Democracy+and+education:+An+introduction+to+the+
philosophy+of+education.Free!Press,!New!York!
Dewey,!J.!(1910).!How+we+think.!D.C.Heath!&!Co.!Publishers,!Boston.!
diSessa,!A.!A.!(2000)!Changing+minds:+Computers,+learning,+and+literacy.!MIT!Press,!Cambridge.!
Grover,!S.,!&!Pea,!R.!(2013)!“Computational!Thinking”!in!K–12+A+Review+of+the+State+of+the+Field.+Educational+
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Harel,!I.!E.,!&!Papert,!S.!E.!(1991)!Constructionism.!Ablex!Publishing,!New!York.!
Kafai,!Y.!B.,!&!Resnick,!M.!(1996)!Constructionism+in+practice:+Designing,+thinking,+and+learning+in+a+digital+
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Kafai,!Y.!B.,!&!Burke,!Q.!(2015)!“Constructionist!gaming:!Understanding!the!benefits!of!making!games!for!
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Kvale,!S.!&!Brinkmann,!S.!(2009)!Interview,+Introduktion+til+et+håndværk.!Hans!Reitzels!Forlag,!Copenhagen.!
Löwgren,!J.!and!Stolterman,!E.!(2007)!Thoughtful+Interaction+Design:+A+Design+Perspective+on+Information+
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Papert,!S.!(1980)!Mindstorms:+Children,+computers,+and+powerful+ideas.!Basic!Books,!New!York.!
Savery,!J.!R.!(2015)!“Overview!of!problem-based!learning:!Definitions!and!distinctions”.!In!Walker,!A.,!Leary,!H.,!
Hmelo-Silver,!C.!E.,!&!Ertmer,!P.!(Eds.).!Essential+Readings+in+Problem-Based+Learning:+Exploring+and+
Extending+the+Legacy+of+Howard+S.+Barrows.!(pp!5-15).!Purdue!University!Press,!Lafayette.!
Scratch![Computer!software]!(2017)!Retrieved!from!https://scratch.mit.edu!
Schön,!D.A.!(1992)!“Designing!as!Reflective!Conversation!with!the!Materials!of!a!Design!Situation”,!Knowledge-
Based+Systems,!Vol.!5,!No.!1,!pp!3–14.!
Thornberg,!R.!(2012)!“Informed!grounded!theory”.!Scandinavian+Journal+of+Educational+Research,!56!(3),!pp!
243–!259.!
Voogt,!J.,!Fisser,!P.,!Good,!J.,!Mishra,!P.,!&!Yadav,!A.!(2015)!“Computational!thinking!in!compulsory!education:!
Towards!an!agenda!for!research!and!practice.”!Education+and+Information+Technologies,!20(4),!715-728.!
Weitze,!C.!L.!(2016/7)!“How!Student!Game!Designers!Design!Learning!into!Games.”!In!GLS+12+conference+
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