Games as Real-World Career Skills Builders: Leveling Up

I, I, I'm just, I'm picturing the teacher walking by and, and seeing that you're playing, that they're playing games and just not, and thinking like, "Why? Why is this, why is this a thing right now?" So I'm gonna, I'm gonna tee this one up to both of you actually.

So for teachers or really anybody who's skeptical that playing games counts as rigorous instruction or rigorous workforce development, uh, whether it's an anecdotal piece of evidence or like a, a, a series of anecdotal evidence, evidences that you have, I'd love to know like what's something that changed your mind about this, or really like proved the power of this to you? And I'm gonna, I'm gonna leave that up to either of you.

Sorry, Laura.

[laughs]

Okay.

I think I'll start.

Um, so one thing I want to, uh, really stress is that games can be a lot of fun.

And the game when I work with a team is merely a vehicle.

It is not the be all, end all.

So what we're really trying to do is use the game as a vehicle for, uh, practicing risk-taking, learning about ourselves, but then the debrief that comes after the game is where the real work happens.

And so that's where you actually...

If we had just played the game and we walked out and said, "Hey everyone, you know, so much fun.

See you later," that's not going to have the kind of result.

That may offer some team building benefits, it may offer some bonding benefits to the group, but it is missing the, um, personal self-discovery and exploration that is needed to realize what you're doing and understand yourself and make changes as you walk through the next work week.

And so that's where we really begin to see movement, is in that debrief.

The game for us is just a vehicle to facilitate that.

And how about you, Ed? Because I think, uh, think a, uh, I think that you have those debrief opportunities as well, but there is a lot of like actual learning happening in the moment.

Tell me a little bit about, uh, like a moment that, that really became clear for you or the evidence that you've seen that this is something that is rigorous instruction.

Yeah.

When, when I start using games is they are, were, were all, uh, language related games, like in guessing the words, uh, what does this word mean? And after, when I start to play what we call heavier games like, uh, RPGs and these kinds of games that, uh, you have to describe the character or you have to a situation that you have to survive sometimes like a, the Dungeons and Dragons or on the side.

Uh, I realized that, uh, unless you're a very good actor, I don't know if Laura agree with me, uh, that actor is you.

That, that character is you in s- at some point.

Like you cannot go so far away from what you are in the game.

So, and something I, I realized sometimes not even playing with the students, but, uh, or the teache- teachers, sometimes it's like people trying to sabotage the mission and say, "But it's a cooperative game." "No, but that makes...

Le- let's make that funnier." Like that way say, "Yeah, but we're gonna die." And uh, and then after I...