Future teachers hone their skills via video games


A recent feature story and video in The Arizona Republic whisked the audience into a Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College classroom where education majors played video games to hone their professional skills. The Arizona State University students are reaching into their virtual future with the click of a mouse to test their teaching skills in typical school scenarios.

“Teacher Leader: Pursuit of Professionalism” is the first in a series of interactive, three-dimensional video games being designed by ASU’s Center for Games and Impact and the Sanford Inspire Program. Reporter Cathryn Creno talked with education students Noelle Silvestre and Raymen Zhen who said they liked being able to experience “being a teacher” before ever setting foot in a classroom.

Teachers College Dean Mari Koerner suggested there is no better place than a virtual world for her students to make mistakes and learn from them. Koerner launched the Center for Games and Impact after recognizing the need for education students to build their own technology know-how and transport it into their classrooms.

Creno also talked with Anna Arici, director of Quest2Teach, 3D Games, Curricula & Research for ASU’s Center for Games and Impact, which is part of Teachers College. The Teacher Leader video game is part of the broader Quest2Teach program, providing immersive game-infused experiences for ASU’s undergraduate students.

Arici said she was surprised that many education majors who play Teacher Leader have little previous experience playing video games. Nonetheless, she described how their ability to interact with the video game is changing their perspective.

“Students find that the avatar becomes an extension of themselves. They are the protagonist in their own story,” Arici said. “It helps them start to see themselves as teachers and not students.”

Also interviewed for the story was Ryen Borden, executive director of the Sanford Inspire Program, who noted that the curriculum for the video games is taken from Teach For America. Funded by $18.85 million from philanthropist T. Denny Sanford, the Teachers College-Teach For America partnership works to refine best practices in teacher education.

According to the story, Sasha Barab, director of the Center for Games and Impact, said the center also expects to develop similar games for ASU students majoring in journalism, public programs and sustainability.

Article source: The Arizona Republic

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