When considering current instructional design and technology practices, there is a great need for transformative practices that encourage reviewing who has been considered the learner (historically) and building empathy for all learners, not just the most convenient ones. Through gamification and tabletop role-playing games, which increases engagement, abilities, and retention of information, instructional designers, technologists, and subject matter experts (SMEs) experience how disabled students interact with inaccessible digital content, which will transform design practices.
Most instructional design and technology theories focus on a learner-centric approach; however, a critical piece of empathizing with learners involves considering all learners…not just the most convenient learners. When pressed for time and resources, instructional designers and technologists (IDTs) will often avoid considering more complex learners, especially those with disabilities. Empathy for all learners must be gained to help IDTs and subject matter experts (SMEs) understand the importance of meeting access needs. Through gamification, which increases learner engagement, abilities, and retention of information, IDTs and SMEs must experience how disabled students engage with inaccessible digital content. Ultimately, in reflecting on current instructional design and technology practices, there is a great need for transformative practices that encourage both instructional designers and SMEs to gain empathy for all learners and not just the most convenient learners.
While tabletop role-playing games (TTRPG), such as Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder, allow players to engage in play that allows them to imagine life as powerful warriors, druids, and wizards, this same concept may be used to build empathy for disabled learners. Individuals who play through Dungeons & [Accessibility] Dragons will experience a TTRPG session where they will engage with untagged PDFs read by assistive technologies, poor contrast, inaccessible fonts, navigating documents that do not utilize document structure, and more. The game aims to allow everyone to reflect on their previous design practices and transform their internalized view of learners to something more inclusive of all abilities.
The need for empathy building becomes apparent when the history of instructional design intersects with disability studies. All of the major instructional design models ask the instructional designer to consider the needs of the intended learners. If disabled individuals are not considered during the design process, the entire audience is not evaluated. Butterworth & Kovas (2013) estimate that nearly 10% of the population has a disability that impacts learning. Congruently, Schecter (2018) reviews that many students who have mild disabilities did not receive special education services while in high school, and they are unprepared to navigate college successfully. If designers are not considering all learners, including those with disabilities, when they design courseware, they are not designing ethically nor are they considering the needs of the audience. As learners become more diverse and with a renewed focus on reviewing who the intended learning audience is, designers must consider traditionally marginalized groups, including those with disabilities.
While there are many guidelines to support students with disabilities, these guidelines are not considered in the instructional design models. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines were established in 1984 by Rose & Meyer. Many of the popular instructional design models (e.g., Bloom et al. 1956, Gagne & Briggs 1965, ADDIE 1975, and Dick & Carey 1978) were simply published before the establishment of UDL. However, current and refreshed versions of the instructional design models still do not account for accessibility needs beyond being mentioned in passing (at best). Often, instructional design models address accessibility as “not our job” (Moore, 2021, p. 3). In a review of the models and current literature (Rieber & Estes 2017, Moore & Ellsworth 2014, and Kimmons 2020), accessibility often is not a focus for instructional designers. Unfortunately, this means that accessibility simply is not being actively considered during the design process, which is exactly when accessibility should be considered, as it is easier to build and design accessibly than it is to remediate (Henry, 2022). If SMEs cannot ask instructional designers questions about accessibility and the instructional designer is not guiding the process with the needs of disabled learners in mind, the course content will have to be remediated, potentially several times, with the needs of disabled learners retroactively considered which is not a sustainable practice.
Using TTRPG and gamification is the ideal way to build empathy in the instructional designer, technologist, and SME, as it not only engages them in the content in an approachable manner but it also helps ensure mastery and long-term retention. Congruently, López-Faican & Jaen (2021) determine that gamification strategies often build empathy. If everyone involved in the design process engages in empathy-building activities, they are likelier to see their practices transform and consider all learners (and not just the most convenient ones).
When considering the lack of empirical studies and research into building empathy for instructional designers and SMEs, this project aims to address not only the lack of empirical research focused on building empathy for instructional designers but also transform the understanding of who learners are. This TTRPG experience allows instructional designers and SMEs to reflect on their experiences and historical practices to transform future practices.