1st Edition
Education and Analog Role-Playing Games Theory and Pedagogy, Volume 1
Education and Analog Role-Playing Games: Theory and Pedagogy brings together scholars and educators who explore the educational potential of analog role-playing games (tabletop role-playing games and live action role-play) through the lens of pedagogical theory. These games trace their roots to educational war games and teaching aids. This volume goes further and takes a deeper dive into why they are such effective tools for learning, imagination, and identity development. This volume offers a multidisciplinary analysis that draws on philosophy, history, psychology, and critical pedagogy. Contributors examine how analog role-playing games intersect with educational theories such as constructivism, pragmatism, and experiential learning and explore classroom and nontraditional learning contexts. The rich insights position analog role-playing games as rich sites for identity exploration, deliberation, and transformative practice. Rather than simply advocating for gamification or offering how-to guides, this book critically interrogates how these games work, what they offer learners, and what pedagogical challenges they help us address. It is a valuable resource for educators, game scholars, and instructional designers interested in leveraging narrative, collaboration, and play for powerful learning experiences.
Introduction - Susan Haarman
Part I - Wisdom Check: Pedagogy and Theory
Chapter 1 - Teaching Rolls: The Practice of Teaching and Game Mastering Through the Lens of John Dewey - Susan Haarman
Chapter 2 - We Are Playing in a Material World: Thinking and Learning Through the Physical Objects of Tabletop Role-playing Games - Jessica Hautsch
Chapter 3 - From Diverse Roots to Dual Classing: Crystallizing The Role of Tabletop Role-playing Games in Education, With Examples from Corporate Learning & Development - Mátyás Hartyándi
Chapter 4 - Edu-larp: The Promises and Pitfalls of the Method - Josefin Westborg
Part II - A Place at the Table: Inclusive and Transformative Learning through Tabletop Role-playing Game
Chapter 5 - Storyworlding Together: Tabletop Role-playing Games as Inclusive Becoming - Kari Gustafson
Chapter 6 - Transforming Crisis into Growth: Neurodivergence, Bleed, and Care Ethics in Tabletop Role-playing Games - Albert R. Spencer
Chapter 7 - Collaboration and Empowerment for an Inclusive Environment: Social Constructivism in the Composition Classroom and Tabletop Roleplaying Games - David Brockway
Part III - Proficiency Bonus: Disciplinary Challenges and Opportunities
Chapter 8 - Historiography and History Role-Playing Games: The Past Is What We Play It - Stephen Mallory
Chapter 9 - Edu-larp and Positive Psychology: Theory, Practice, and Case Study - Leland Masek
Chapter 10 - Playing a Role in Democracy: Political Live Action Role-playing Games, Activism, and Deliberation - Karin Johansson, Johanna Koljonen, Jaakko Stenros, PerOla Öberg, and Sarah Lynne Bowman
Chapter 11 - Mapping the Design Terrain between Live Action Role-playing Games and Deliberative Events for Democratic Skill Development - Sarah Lynne Bowman,
PerOla Öberg, Karin Johansson, and Annika Waern
Biography
Susan Haarman, Ph.D., is Associate Director at Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching, and Scholarship. She facilitates the university’s service-learning program and publishes on community-based learning. Her real love is her research on the capacity of tabletop role-playing games as formative tools for civic identity and imagination. She serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Role-Playing and is also a professional improviser and a licensed therapist.
