50. Traditional Gameplay with Self-learning Support for K-12 Curriculum

The application of gaming in teaching disciplines that are primarily concerned with facts has proven to be an effective method in the K-12 curriculum. Various interactions that result in players engaging in computational thinking, teamwork, and creative and mathematical skills are aspects of it. However, most educational games are designed straightforwardly, limiting the player’s ability to explore. It is more often that the gameplay design is limited to puzzle genres like word search, crossword, jigsaw or quizzes. Hence, we put forward the concept of incorporating learnability and a collaborative approach in context with popular game genres like action-adventure and empire-building. Basic concepts like space exploration and planetary systems are explored in the gamified version which is compatible with the elementary-grade curriculum. In addition to it, the objective is also to incorporate real-life space scenarios with facts and figures which will be part of the gameplay so that the players can relate to it. In order to increase the engagement level, we have incorporated the concepts of achievements and collectables in the form of leaderboard systems and deckbuilding, respectively. This helps them to perform the task repeatedly without getting bored. Also, this provides them with autonomy where their actions are self-driven and where they are not been pushed to adopt desired behaviours but instead, guided by certain elements that they can find on their own and therefore give direction to their ex-experience and learning. This toolkit has been designed as an interactive strategy-based game in which the player learns the concepts in collaboration among students with relatable, strategic, semiotic, semantic and as well as aesthetic elements.