#350 – The Intersection of National Educational Standards and Game Development, with Lauren Summerford

In this episode, Lauren Summerford, Director of Brand Strategy at Super League, joins us to discuss the importance of aligning national standards to the development of educational games. She specifically shares experiences from the collaborative process between her team and representatives from AVID as they work to develop a new game called, AVID Creator Planet™. In this game, students enjoy fun, creative challenges while developing durable skills aligned to national standards, including the empowered learner and global collaborator standards from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) as well as Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) related to Engineering and Design.

In the context of game-based learning, pedagogy involves integrating the principles of effective teaching and learning with the unique features of games, such as interactive storytelling, problem-solving challenges, and immersive environments, to create engaging and compelling learning experiences.

Nico King, in his article, Pedagogy in Games

Resources

The following resources are available from AVID and on AVID Open Access to explore related topics in more depth:

• AVID Creator Planet Launches on Roblox, with Adam Anderson (podcast episode)
• College and Career Connections: Women in STEM, with Lisette Terry, Structural Forensic Engineer (podcast episode)
• College and Career Connections, with Tasha Henderson, Television Writer/Producer, and Her Former AVID Teacher, Ben Solomon (podcast episode)
• College and Career Connections: Women in STEM, with Dr. Carolyn Colley, Science Instructional Facilitator (podcast episode)
• College and Career Connections: Women in STEM, with Dr. Ailene Ettinger, Quantitative Ecologist (podcast episode)
• Girls Who Game: Equity in STEM, with Dr. Kendall Latham (podcast episode)
• Game-Based Learning and Assessment, with Rebecca Kantar (podcast episode)
• Game-Based Learning as a Medium to Connect With Every Child, with Tammie Schrader (podcast episode)

Backwards Design

The practice of backwards design has been central in the alignment of national standards and the ongoing development of AVID Creator Planet. The process began with the identification of outcomes. Our guest, Lauren Summerford, explains, “You have to start with the end in mind, so we knew, ‘Okay, we need empowered learners. What does that look like? How can we implement that into a game?'”

Throughout the design and development process, the teams kept the standards front and center. With each iteration, they asked if they were remaining on target or if they had strayed from the original intent by adding elements that might be fun but unrelated. Through this process, they developed a game tightly focused on designated learning outcomes, while also keeping the game experience fun and engaging. The following are a few highlights from the episode:

• About Our Guest: Lauren Summerford is the Director of Brand Strategy at Super League. She comes from a background in the music and non-fungible token (NFT) industries and has been integral in the ongoing development of AVID Creator Planet.
• Durable Skills for New Jobs: Lauren reflects on the ever-changing world of work, saying, “30 years ago, not a single job I’ve had existed.” In that spirit, the teams at AVID and Super League have worked to build a game capable of helping students build durable skills that can help them navigate through the myriad of careers they will have available to them throughout their lives.
• Core Standards: AVID Creator Planet is driven by four core standards: Empowered Learner and Global Collaborator from ISTE and aspects of Engineering and Design from the NGSS.
• Game Development Process: Lauren reflects on the development process for AVID Creator Planet. It began by first identifying the outcomes and standards—that was the cornerstone. Then, the teams created a design document that outlined everything that would be put into the game. As the developers began building the actual gaming experience, they wondered, “We know we can do this, but how is it going to be fun?” After about 3 months, a prototype was tested with AVID students and teachers and then revised based on their feedback. Lauren recalls, “Gathering that feedback from students and teachers all throughout the course of the production process really helped us elevate what we were doing with the standards.”
• Teamwork: Lauren points out that each member of the collaborative project brought important skills and insights to the process. She says, “Taking the expertise that Super League has, but teaming up with an organization like AVID and then partnering with the students and teachers to get real-time feedback, I really think we were able to bring the standards to life in a way that is going to work for students and help teachers in the classroom.”
• Game Mechanics: Lauren takes some time to explain how the AVID Creator Planet game actually works in practice. She explains the building challenges (with towers, ramps, and bridges), the collaboration process (that includes player voting and collaborative structure building), and the goals (of building strong structures and developing durable skills).
• Remixes: The remix feature adds an additional problem-solving element to the game. During the remix phase, a team’s work gets jumbled up, forcing them to reconsider the choices they’ve made. Lauren says, “How they’re gathering the materials, how they’re building them and then adapting to the remixes, I think made for a really fun and unique way to bring those core standards to life.”
• Strengthening Educational Game Building: Lauren reiterates that the key is remaining focused on the standards and the learning outcomes. This heavy emphasis on outcomes adds an extra layer to the process that is both challenging and rewarding. She says, “There’s a lot of joy and satisfaction in doing something that people may not find to be the most simple thing to do.”
• Just a Beginning: Lauren sees great potential in the field of educational gaming and says, “I think we’re scratching the surface of what can be done.” She points out that tens of millions of players engage with Roblox daily—more than other social media platforms combined—which opens up opportunities to connect with learners in spaces where they spend their time. She reflects on a piece of advice she once received, saying, “Our greatest challenges are our greatest opportunities, so if the students are spending this much time on these platforms, what an incredible opportunity to find ways to get creative with these standards and just use it as one more tool in your arsenal.”
• Lauren’s One Thing: “The fact that we’re able to help students, help teachers, find new ways to learn and discover the power of durable skills is just so fulfilling and such a joy.”