[ROLE PLAYING GAMES]

LARPING RESEARCH

EDULARP

live action roleplaying used to teach predetermined content. Larping is the third most popular organized activity in Denmark after Handball and Football. Larping can be used with topics about history, economics, literature, ect. Learning through games.


How different is Larping than educational simulation games, (lemon stand games, time management games, math games etc), going to a museum (visual learning), etc

  • Kids are more aware that they are playing a game with gamification learning vs larping where they are more likely to get lost in a fantasy lesson planned world
  • Use gamification together with Larping to get a reward based educational system


Role Playing vs Plays (educational such as D.A.R.E plays, theater or drama class, or role playing presentations)

  • Teachers play roles of directors while Students are the actors and do the problem solving and collaboration
  • Students more willing to give their all to Plays rather than school (think about the subjects of movies, who is going to be prom queen, who is going to be lead roll in play, main character is working on play, student really into acting out books or poems, ect. Not many movies feature a student really into a math competition.


Playing vs Group thinking, tricking education or providing education through fun means better retention

  • Fantasy life, children enjoy the escape from reality, learn morality and emotional. Allows for Spontaneity, problem solving, and engagement
  • Physical representations of content vs intangible content
  • Pretending means a safe experimental zone, less rules, less dryness
  • Learning by doing rather than Learning by listening, ect.
  • What kind of learner are you?

Examples of LARPING in media:

  • Magic School Bus (kids experiencing learning first hand by being part of the action)

BENEFITS

  • Danish Larping School: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/yvx4zb/at-this-danish-school-larping-is-the-future-of-education-482
  • "About 10 of Østerskov's 90 students have what Lunau calls "serious challenges," among them autism and major ADHD. These students are aided by three on-staff special needs teachers. About 30 other students cope with lighter disabilities, such as dyslexia, and dyscalculia"
  • "However, in the case of the both the American and Danish programs, there's a bonus outcome for kids with autism and Aspergers, and it's an ironic one, considering LARPing's geeky reputation: an improved ability to interact with other people in a healthy way. Robinson's program works by putting kids and adults with social difficulties in a setting where they're working together for a common goal, and he says it works. "They're getting core social skills that really don't get developed in a classroom setting or video game setting."'

QUESTIONS

What are some typical rules and structures?

    • Typically educational larping is a group class room production. All students participate together. It is very collaborative with assistance from the teacher who plays the role of director, balancer of power, ect.

Does there have to be costumes?

    • Costumes are not required but encouraged as they bring the students into the act and the fantasy of the production, utilizing the physical sense to deepen the reality that they are creating

Does somebody always have to lose or can there be a goal that can be reached by everyone?

    • There doesn't necessarily need to be a loser or a winner in the scenario. The goal is to learn or solve the problem presented while using the prompts and criteria. If everyone participates then they all win.
  • Dungeons and Dragons (group thinking, learning, spontaneity)
  • Bridge to Terabithia (group thinking, collaboration, imagination)
  • Lazer Tag (sensors, wearables, ect)

Life Skill Larping used in Special Education classrooms frequently, business set ups, cooking classes, sexual education (robot babies, staged weddings, etc), job skill games.