For this project, we partnered with three middle school science teachers in San Diego, California and three librarians in Phoenix, Arizona who primarily serve low-income and Latino children and families. Together, over a two-year period we designed, tested, and revised design challenges that framed game design as a making activity as a means to address personally and socially significant real-world problems. We engaged students in a design thinking process developed by d.school at Stanford University where students went through a cycle of empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test to make their games using low-tech tools (e.g. cardboards) and high-tech tools (e.g. coding software, 3D-printer, and EV3 Lego Mindstorms). The research team met with teachers and librarians biweekly. Initially, the researchers were there to guide the teachers and librarians who were unfamiliar with the design thinking process and game design. However, teachers and librarians took more ownership over the creation, assessment, and implementation of the design challenges as they developed more confidence in their understanding of design thinking and game design. Throughout the project, we worked with 540 students in science classrooms and 165 students in the library. In addition to working directly with children, we held family making events where we invited families to create a game using the design thinking process. Across the two sites, we served 39 families with diverse backgrounds as part of the project.  

Our findings suggest that design thinking process frames game design activity in productive ways. Many students drew from their own commercial gaming experiences that focus on entertainment when designing a game and therefore had a tendency to design a game that they wanted to play. However, design thinking process nudged students to think about the needs and values of users (other players) and what they need to know about a real world problem as the first step in the design process. The real world problems students chose to address included issues like ocean pollution, poaching, mistreatment of animals, gang violence, bullying, and game addiction. One area of tension that emerged is the need to unpack what makes a game before students start prototyping. Both in the classroom and library, without the additional step of unpacking the components of a game (i.e. goals, rules, and game mechanics), students struggled to create a playable game at the end of the design thinking process. From a theoretical perspective, it seems there is a gap between simiplified models of design thinking used in K-12 education, and the more complex processes of designerly thinking specific to a professional practice like game design.  

From a practical stance, we found that even the simplified model of the design thinking process that we utilized was difficult for teachers and librarians to implement in their respective settings. Some of the activities associated with this model were confusing for students and educators alike. In the library setting in particular, the more limited time frame of typical educational programs, as well as the more flexible educational approach of the librarians, led to challenges in leading students through the entire design cycle. Unfamiliarity with technology tools like coding and 3D printing introduced an additional challenge to educators. With each iteration, both teachers and librarians became increasing aware of the additional time and support students needed in the design thinking process when using these tools. Similarly, parents who were unfamiliar with the tools struggled to support their children in the design thinking process. However, at the same time, parents and children both expressed valuing the time spent together designing a game. The appeal of designing a game over other making activities was that games were interactive and invited the participation of all family members beyond the event.    

Our findings can inform the development of strategies to introduce design thinking through game design that are more responsive to the school and library context. The design challenges that we developed and tested during the project can serve as examples for other educators. Collectively, the results of this project points to the three important aspects of broadening participation in Making and STEM: (1) tool knowledge (i.e. knowing how to use the tool to make something), (2) domain knowledge (i.e. knowing the domain within which one makes something), and (3) pedagogy (i.e. the process through which one engages with making or teaches making). These aspects need to work together to create meaningful maker-based STEM experiences for learners of all ages. 

Last Modified: 01/24/2020
Modified by: Sinem Siyahhan