Learning about serious game design and development at the K-12 level

Abstract

PurposeVery little effort has been dedicated to the teaching of serious game design and development. At the post-secondary level, very few courses dedicated to serious game design and development exist. At the K-12 level, although (entertainment) game design and programming instruction are becoming more widespread, serious game design and development is ignored. This study aims to present a series of lesson plans that allow K-12 teachers to introduce students to serious game design and development.Design/methodology/approachThe lesson plans include both a didactic and applied component and are intended to provide students with an introduction to serious games and their design and development while making students aware of the many career paths within this exciting growing domain. They can also be completed entirely remotely lending themselves nicely to online instruction to facilitate the COVID-19 shutdowns and the resulting move to e-learning.FindingsAlthough several high-school teachers and several elementary school children were consulted during the development of the lesson plans, the lesson plans have only recently been made available, and therefore, there is a lack of any teacher or student feedback available regarding their use. Informally, several elementary school children found the lessons to be fun, interesting and informative.Originality/valueThere are currently no existing courses or lesson plans focusing on serious game design and development at the K-12 level, thus making this set of lesson plan novel and unique.