Aesthetic Experiences and Emergent Designs for Learning in Minecraft
Date
2019-11
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Abstract
It is often argued that learners engage deeply as they set their own learning goals by playing games such as Minecraft. This phenomenon has been widely accepted and there has been a growing body of literature examining the potential of sandbox games like Minecraft for learning opportunities. Yet, few studies have illustrated how engagement occurs through learner-generated designs in Minecraft and what that entails for design-based learning and teaching practices. The purpose of this study was to explore aesthetic engagement in Minecraft using a constructionist epistemology that would help determine the design process of playable games and constructions based on curricular topics. This dissertation presents the two designs as two cases forming a multiple case-study on design-based learning in Minecraft. The design process, was then, examined as a comparative study to understand aesthetic experiences in Minecraft. The study revealed that learners, who designed games in Minecraft underwent continuous, fulfilling, and transformative experiences. They perceived the design exercise through connections that emerged through game-play, and engaged in various trajectories of participation that drew upon computational thinking and practices, as well as gaming culture. Comparatively, learners who designed artifacts based on Social Studies curricular goals could not consistently undergo fulfilling, continuous and transformative experiences. They faced difficulty in drawing connections across domains and subjects as they could not endogenously situate the design experience based on their syntonic understanding in Minecraft. Their individual approach to design further affected their understanding and critical evaluation from multiple perspectives. These cases suggested the need for playful and participatory learning involving authentic audiences for the realization of aesthetic experiences in Minecraft. The study also implicated the need to understand the design of games like Minecraft, and the principles of learning through such mediums through a consideration of their affordances and limitations.
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Keywords
Design-based learning, Minecraft, Game Design, Digital art making, Aesthetic experiences
Citation
Gupta, A. N. (2019). Aesthetic Experiences and Emergent Designs for Learning in Minecraft (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.