Featured Research
The Worldbuilding Workshop: Teaching Critical Thinking and Empathy Through World Modeling, Simulation, and Play (2025)
Published through MIT Press, this forthcoming treatise on worldbuilding establishes a theoretical foundation and organizational template for (de)constructing complex systems via socially collaborative, narrative-driven methods. Part I: Foundation reflects on the history of education and the evolution of different learning theories that support worldbuilding-based pedagogy. Part II: Concepts focuses on the application of theory to develop worldbuilding units of different lengths and for different purposes. Part III: World Modeling explains the process by which a worldbuilding project proceeds in the classroom. The final portion, Part IV: Case Studies, provides real-world cases from instructors who delivered units on world modeling, simulation, and play.
Frontiers in Playful Learning was a three-day, international conference (1-3 June 2022) founded and organized by Stephen Slota at the University of Connecticut. Its overarching goals were to 1) support discussion and collaboration concerning interdisciplinary game- and play-based teaching, research, design, and outreach strategies; and 2) connect educators, researchers, and designers to explore relationships between game- and play-based teaching and learning, contemporary learning sciences research, play-based problem solving, and the future of instructional game/play research and design. The schedule included daily plenaries, presentations, and ‘unconference’ sessions.
A full archive of recordings and photos from the event is available HERE.
Frontiers in Playful Learning Conference (2022)
Una Vita: Exploring the Relationship Between Play, Learning Science, & Cultural Competency (2019)
Although there are no one-size-fits-all solutions that can satisfy the demands of every classroom and discipline, we have a sense of how the education of student intention and attention contribute to the fulfillment of teacher and student instructional goals (i.e., tuning: see Gibson, 1966 and 1969). The key lies in crafting theoretically sound pedagogical foundations using tools that afford open-ended problem-solving, moor students to overarching learning objectives, and create a ‘time for telling’ through personalization (Schwartz and Bransford, 1998): game-based learning and its conceptual predecessor, anchored instruction.
Game Narrative, Interactive Fiction, and Storytelling: Creating a “Time for Telling” in the Classroom (2015)
In Sartre’s (1938) words, “a man is always a teller of stories. He lives surrounded by his own stories and those of other people. He sees everything that happens to him in terms of these stories, and he tries to live his life as if he were recounting it.” However, research on the role of narrative in games and in the classroom is far from conclusive. This has fueled our interest in game-based narratives and how they can support the implementation of instruction and curriculum. In this chapter, we describe narrative through the framework of situated cognition and posit how, viewed this way, narrative might coordinate the learning of groups to create a “time for telling.”
Project TECHNOLOGIA: A Game-Based Approach to Understanding Situated Intentionality (2014)
Since the early 2000s, educators, administrators, politicians, and researchers have given increased attention to the potential affordances of video games for educating K-12 and university learners. This has led to the instantiation of numerous game-based learning and instruction journals, investigations of efficacy, achievement, and motivation using multimillion-dollar tools, and a federally-funded competition for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics game development. Yet, little is known about the way particular game mechanics, narrative structures, and community-driven tools (e.g., forums, cheat guides, mods) influence the skills needed to be a successful 21st-century learner. In response, this dissertation discusses how an increased emphasis on intentionality, game design, and narrative may expand on not just what is known about games and gameplay but also how educators can leverage game mechanics, embedded social collaboration, and stories toward the fulfillment of complex objectives like transfer and curricular goal adoption.
Our Princess is in Another Castle: A Review of Trends in Serious Gaming for Education (2012)
Do video games show demonstrable relationships to academic achievement gains when used to support the K-12 curriculum? In a review of literature, we identified 300+ articles whose descriptions related to video games and academic achievement. We found some evidence for the effects of video games on language learning, history, and physical education (specifically exergames), but little support for the academic value of video games in science and math. We summarize the trends for each subject area and supply recommendations for the nascent field of video games research. Many educationally interesting games exist, yet evidence for their impact on student achievement is slim. We recommend separating simulations from games and refocusing the question onto the situated nature of game-player-context interactions, including meta-game social collaborative elements.
Additional Materials Available Upon Request
To access additional publications and presentations, please feel free to contact Stephen directly. They are happy to share any and all scholarship that may assist with your own teaching, learning, and design.