What do fiancés and the RPG Skillset have in common? [Spoiler Alert] Engagement is just the beginning
Think about this one: why do people get “engaged” to be married? Isn’t it a major noticing period to determine if the fiancés (which includes fiancées!) are really going to work out as long term partners?
Besides a lover, there are few things that actually capture our attention like games. And like a love interest, the more interesting, mysterious, complicated and fun a game is, the more we stay engaged. The most robust games on Earth are role-playing games. There are three main kinds:
1.) Tabletop Role-Playing Game (TTRPG)
2.) Live Action Role-Playing Game (aka LARPG or Larping)
3.) Computer Role-Playing Game (CRPG)
All three kinds of RPGs have their own context and interface. Although the Live Action RPG requires one to dress in full regalia and live as the character in a game of all others doing the same, when you play a Computer RPG you can be sitting at home in your underwear letting the computer represent what you look, sound and act like. In Larping, humans organize what happens in the full-scale story event, perform the feats themselves to overcome challenges, while others are onsite to judge outcomes and moderate the narrative flow and the rules. In CRPGs, the computer is programmed to provide the story and deliver challenges; calculate and resolve odds; and moderate the narrative and rules of the game.
With TTRPGs (what the Teacher-Gamer Handbook is focused on), players let their imaginations intermingle to establish the context and they interface in person around a table. Although some tech is being brought onto or into the table, the decisions to take action, the determination of odds and the moderation of rules are human. A proposed action’s success is resolved by dice rolling and the degree of failure or success is what moves the linear storyline forward.
The purpose of the RPG Skillset is engaged noticing: to generate multitudes of continuous opportunities to notice things within at least 36 major domains of self-development.
To just say, “Kids need role-playing games!” is not inclusive enough. People need role-playing games! However, at the very least kids need role-playing games. And the majority of parents and adults I describe role-playing games to, want in on the action. The advantage that most kids have is extra time — or even better — they could have school time for RPGs. The reason why schools need RPGs, is that in the time set aside for learning, we can cultivate the most opportunities for engaged noticing by combining academic literacy, socio-emotional competency and life-skills acquisition into authentic educational games.
As an independent educator and researcher, Zach brought “Introduction to Role-playing: Dungeons and Dragons” back to Green School, but this time in Middle School (grades 6–8). The results were great for the students and as a complement to our holistic curriculum. Students were working on finding confidence alone, feeling stronger together and as a team — sharing responsibility for common goals. Role-playing challenged students to take initiative, consider each other’s perspectives and collaborate in a game simulation where their characters would only survive by working together. The students had a blast: There was perfect attendance by all 12 students for the first five classes and 100% of them reported that they ‘liked learning how to play role-playing games‘.” — Glenn Chickering, Head of Upper School Green School Bali
The objectives and achievements listed below are based on both my professional experience and the corroborated reflections of players and parents (click for their own words).
I have spent the last ten years working with students and teachers specifically on acquiring life-skills within the literacy context of acquiring English academic skills to graduate high school in public, private and home-school settings. Parallel to the main foci of my Master’s thesis as it applies to motivation and authentic learning, role-playing games advances, develops and expands one’s sense of each of the 12 Aspects of the RPGs Skillset.
12 Aspects of the RPGs in Schools Skillset
1.) EMPATHY (equity, bystander awareness, and understanding yourself and others)
2.) CREATIVITY (experimentation, failure and improvisation)
3.) MINDFULNESS (self-awareness, risk and perspective)
4.) STRATEGY (critical thinking, systems thinking and problem solving)
5.) NARRATIVE (storytelling, literary forms and goal setting)
6.) COMMUNICATION (collaboration, decorum and active listening)
7.) INITIATIVE (adaptability, sensing motives and simulation)
8.) LITERACY (writing, probability and knowledge)
9.) INFORMATION GATHERING (resourcefulness, diplomacy and persuasion)
10.) SUSTAINABILITY (solutionary awareness, contingent thinking and planning)
11.) PURPOSE (authenticity, empowerment and self-validation)
12.) HONOR (responsibility, ethics and protection of spirit)
Quiz yourself: in order to learn something, anything, what has to happen? Pause, look away from the screen or close your eyes and think about what it requires to learn something.
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Some would say learning is gaining knowledge or competence (in a skill) by experience, teaching or study. Okay, but that’s a general response. Let’s focus in on the mechanism.
You might say, you have to go from not knowing to knowing or you have to experience something that changes your knowledge. Okay, so we are zeroing in on it.
The Single Most Important Function of Learning
Think about it: You can’t learn something unless you notice it. And in order to notice something you have to be engaged with it.
This brings us full-circle to our original question about why people get engaged. Whether it’s role-playing games or two people thinking about tying the knot… exploring and taking the time to play leads to noticing which is how we learn something new. Period.
Thus, I conclude the single most important function of learning is noticing.
Check out what you notice. Check in with yourself: would you call that a moment that you learned something? Now, as teachers we have to cultivate these opportunities where ever we can in terms of the curriculum and learning objectives of the education system we work for, work with or are generating ourselves.
If you are not a teacher, well consider now when you observe (or judge!) educators what in fact your are judging, because this is really at the criteria of what a teacher is capable of. And not all people who call themselves teachers are good at it. Some are really nice people, but that is not the root criteria of getting your child to learn. And let’s not confuse “nice” and “caring”, let’s also not mince words too much, because if you look up the word “nice” you might be surprised by it’s original me.
Let’s leave it at a point of contemplation: what qualities can we notice about the teachers that really got us to learn something and we respected most in our own lives? Further, how did they get us to notice things? Please comment below and let us know how learning is an adventure for you.
#teachergamer #wildmindtraining #rpgsinschools #teachergamerhandbook
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Zachary Reznichek is a life-skills trainer and teacher-gamer running courses between North America, Europe and South East Asia. But globally online for now.
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