Graduation Date
Summer 2019
Document Type
Project
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in English, Composition Studies & Pedagogy
Committee Chair Name
Dr. Lisa Tremain
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Dr. Nikola Hobbel
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Subject Categories
English
Abstract
This thesis outlines and examines core concepts of game-based learning as identified by James Paul Gee, and Kurt Squire, among other scholars. These findings are then connected to the contemporary, transformative threshold concepts of composition—as explored in Naming What We Know. This connection seeks to argue game-based pedagogy may be an invaluable tool for introducing critical perspectives to composition students in order to better equip them with critical thinking strategies and cultural critiques, while improving their writing skills. A theoretical framework is presented in the form of four “Pillars” of a Critical Game-Based Pedagogy: Literacy, Identity, Social Learning, and Multimodality—all key components of critical game-based curricula, which centers expanded definitions of literacy, resists social constructions, encourages cooperation, and practices a wide variety of multimedia composition strategies. The concluding discussion attempts to illustrate these concepts through anecdotal reflections on teaching, particular games, and their relationship to digital humanities—including a supplementary digital platform hosting this research.
Citation Style
MLA
Recommended Citation
Egan, Justin K., "Towards a critical game based pedagogy" (2019). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 326.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/326
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Digital Humanities Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Reading and Language Commons, Rhetoric and Composition Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons, Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons