Abstract:

Games and simulations may present a way of creating a situated learning experience, through which the learners may engage themselves in playful learning. Through games the learner can interact in a narrative learning environment, which offers direct immersion and engagement.
There has been a surge of interest in the concept of serious digital games, which offers learning through digital simulations and immersion in virtual worlds, which has had an increasing use in education.

However the use of live action role-game play, as an overarching framework for learning, may bring fresh potentials for insights into game-based learning in terms of creativity and flexibility in the design of games, as well as the interactivity and collaborations between the learners and teachers which may have implications for the design of digital learning games.

A project on live action role-game play in Danish schools is currently looking at how role-games can be used as a creative framework for learning. It is investigating how games can anchor an entire curriculum within a narrative game-based framework, in order to enhance the learners’ creativity and motivation for learning.

Based on qualitative and processual research methods, this paper will present preliminary results from the project and discuss its implications for the design and redesign of concepts for game-based creative and interactive learning in schools.