Here is my representation of a “Mash-up” of two learning theories, Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction and Garner’s Seven Levers of Change.

Good instruction and good games contain elements of both of these theories. Gagne’s events typically show up as elements of one larger “event”. These events include: gaining attention, informing learners of the objective, stimulating recall of prior learning, providing learning guidance, eliciting performance, providing feedback and enhancing retention and transfer. Gardner’s seven levers of change that fit in with instructional technology include: reasoning, resonance, representational rediscription and resistances.

The game I am looking to design will include elements from both of these theories. There is a specific learning objective, players will be provided feedback and hopefully enhance their retention of the learning and transfer that learning to the next task. They will have to use reasoning in deciding which side to take the point of view of. They will encounter resistances in the form of enemies and classmates who may disagree with their opinion. They will experience resonance and make a connection between the learning content in the context of a game that looks like one they may have played in the past. They will also represent their thinking and learning in the next segment of this lesson.

Becker, Katrin. (2005). How Are Games Educational? Learning Theories Embodied in Games..

What are your thoughts about these learning theories and how well they mesh together? What elements of these theories do you recognize and are part of the game you are designing? #GameLab

The Tech Integrator