Students are highly skilled at finding the most efficient way to attain school-imposed goals, suc... more Students are highly skilled at finding the most efficient way to attain school-imposed goals, such as passing a test, completing an assignment, or getting the correct answer to a question. The problem is, the most efficient way often allows the student to circumvent thought and activity that could lead to learning. We want students not just to strive toward task completion goals, but to approach tasks in ways that may be less efficient, but more conducive to learning. Furthermore, we want students not to simply tolerate these inefficiencies, but to embrace them. Games require what Bernard Suits has called a "lusory attitude" -game players intentionally and willingly accept rules that compel them to use less efficient means to achieving an end. We suggest that without a lusory attitude toward school, students may become efficient students, but not good learners. We do not propose turning all schoolwork into games; rather, we argue that school activities can be designed in ways that promote a lusory attitude among students. This paper discusses this idea in the context of the Place Out Of Time project, a web-mediated character-playing simulation that engages students with social, historical, and cultural issues over a period of two months. Through examples, narratives, and reflections by participating teachers and students, we explore the experiences of middle school students and teachers who participated in the project. We pay particular attention to instances where students seem to have taken a lusory attitude toward their work, and we discuss those instances particularly in terms of engagement with content and the thoughtful employment of creative imagination.
... The protected world of the game allows players to take risks that would not be feasible if th... more ... The protected world of the game allows players to take risks that would not be feasible if they had to be taken as the player's own self, with all the attendant social baggage and real-world consequences. ... I began writing when I fell in love at the age of sixteen. ...
Students are highly skilled at finding the most efficient way to attain school-imposed goals, suc... more Students are highly skilled at finding the most efficient way to attain school-imposed goals, such as passing a test, completing an assignment, or getting the correct answer to a question. The problem is, the most efficient way often allows the student to circumvent thought and activity that could lead to learning. We want students not just to strive toward task completion goals, but to approach tasks in ways that may be less efficient, but more conducive to learning. Furthermore, we want students not to simply tolerate these inefficiencies, but to embrace them. Games require what Bernard Suits has called a "lusory attitude" -game players intentionally and willingly accept rules that compel them to use less efficient means to achieving an end. We suggest that without a lusory attitude toward school, students may become efficient students, but not good learners. We do not propose turning all schoolwork into games; rather, we argue that school activities can be designed in ways that promote a lusory attitude among students. This paper discusses this idea in the context of the Place Out Of Time project, a web-mediated character-playing simulation that engages students with social, historical, and cultural issues over a period of two months. Through examples, narratives, and reflections by participating teachers and students, we explore the experiences of middle school students and teachers who participated in the project. We pay particular attention to instances where students seem to have taken a lusory attitude toward their work, and we discuss those instances particularly in terms of engagement with content and the thoughtful employment of creative imagination.
... The protected world of the game allows players to take risks that would not be feasible if th... more ... The protected world of the game allows players to take risks that would not be feasible if they had to be taken as the player's own self, with all the attendant social baggage and real-world consequences. ... I began writing when I fell in love at the age of sixteen. ...
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Papers by Jeff Stanzler