Educational Game Lab: Project-Based, Game-Based Pedagogy
EDST 210
Fall 2026
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
IDEA 209 |
In the past two decades, crowdfunding and a renewed interest in gaming (board games, role-playing games, digital media, and instructional tools) have driven a surge in diverse production. Consequently, play has become the subject of numerous studies, articles, and projects across all educational disciplines, from the hard sciences to language learning and the arts. To explore how game-informed pedagogy operates across various courses, this syllabus highlights tabletop (non-digital) approaches that succeed both inside and outside the classroom. Educational Game Lab operates as a project-based workshop focusing on why and how analog formats can be effective pedagogical tools; examples include board games, tabletop RPGs, and escape games. Participants will discuss applying these principles to different subjects before designing a final project: an original or adapted learning game tailored to a specific educational outcome. Ultimately, the course offers students the opportunity to reflect on playful pedagogy and develop critical knowledge within the innovative field of game-based learning. The course and its final projects will be conducted in English (or the relevant target language for language-learning designs). |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS EDST |
| Course Format: Discussion | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (Education Studies Minor)(Education Studies)(Integrated Design, Engineering, Arts & Society Minor) |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
All readings will be provided by the instructor on Moodle. Excerpts from the following texts will be included: ¿The Tabletop Revolution¿ by Marco Arnaudo; ¿Play to Learn: by Sharon Boller and Karl Kapp; ¿Board Games as Media¿ by Paul Booth; ¿Man, Play, and Games¿ by Roger Caillois; ¿Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience¿ by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi; ¿The Gameful World¿ by Sebastian Deterding and Steffen Walz; ¿Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design¿ by Geoffrey Engelstein and Isaac Shalev; ¿Good Video Games and Good Learning¿ by James Paul Gee; ¿Free to Learn¿ by Peter Gray; ¿Homo Ludens¿ by Johan Huizinga; ¿Half-real¿ by Jesper; ¿The Gamification of Learning and Instruction¿ by Karl Kapp; ¿Unlocking the Potential of Puzzle-Based Learning¿ by Scott Nicholson and Liz Cable; ¿Gameful Second and Foreign Language Teaching and Learning¿ by Jonathon Reinhardt; ¿The Queer Games Avant-garde¿ by Bonnie Ruberg; ¿Rules at Play¿ by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmermann; ¿Gaming at the Edge¿ by Adrienne Shaw; ¿The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses¿ by Jesse Shell; ¿Role-playing Game Studies: A Transmedial Approach¿ by Josè Zagal and Sebastian Deterding; ¿The Rules We Break¿ and ¿Manifesto for a Ludic Century¿ by Eric Zimmerman.
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Examinations and Assignments:
During class: weekly critical readings on different aspects of Game-Based Learning and game design; weekly class presentations and discussions to respond to readings or visiting speakers; weekly Discord channel entries to either prepare for in-class discussions or reflect on the assigned materials after class; weekly Critical Play sessions in class to play different analog games and reflect on their learning potential. Final project + presentation: creating an educational game for a specific goal and posting it on class website with all related materials. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
During Pre-Reg, students should submit their interest in the class via email: they should send a paragraph detailing why they want to take this class. This course satisfies the Pedagogy requirement for the EDST major and minor, and it counts for the IDEAS minor concentration in Interactive Media and Game Design. |
| Instructor(s): Zamboni,Camilla Times: ...W... 07:10PM-10:00PM; Location: FISK208; |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 18 | Permission of instructor approval will be granted by the instructor during pre-registration through the Electronic Portfolio. Click "Add to My Courses" and "To request a POI electronically, click here" to submit your request. |
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