Abstract:

I’ve been using learner-centered teaching techniques (Weimer, 2013) for the last two years with some positive outcomes in my classes. I’ve also been resistant to making my courses too game-like and have balked at the more overt transformation of course syllabi into skill trees and experience points articulated in The Multiplayer Classroom (Sheldon, 2011). Game-based learning obviously requires more than changing language on a syllabus. It, and learner-centered teaching are attractive precisely because they aid teachers who take a developmental approach to their students and who teach complex technical or interdisciplinary curricula. What I’ve been curious about, and explore in this paper, is the relationship between game-based learning and learner-centered teaching. Specifically, I review the literature and simultaneously stake out a position on a useful overlap of game-based learning and learner-centered teaching, assessing possible strengths and weaknesses of both approaches in the context of educational psychology. I also weave in my own experience teaching computer programming and game design and development to beginner undergraduates in the context of these ideas.

References:
[1] Sheldon, L. (2011). The multiplayer classroom: Designing coursework as a game. Cengage Learning.
[2] Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice (2 ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Keywords:

Game-based learning, learner-centered teaching, gamification, pedagogy, programming, game development, game design.