ELK : an online, role-playing game to better elicit learner knowledge

Abstract

Teachers that elicit learner knowledge at the beginning of new units are more aware of student preconceptions and reasoning. Teachers who understand student preconceptions are able better to anticipate misconceptions and help students assimilate new knowledge. However, many pre-service and in-service teachers neither collect student ideas nor know how to do so. For my thesis, I have designed and implemented Eliciting Learner Knowledge (ELK), an online, role-playing game for pre-service teachers. While playing ELK, users experiment and learn skills and strategies for gathering students ideas. The game has been iteratively user tested during Teaching System Lab's Dine and Play sessions and implemented in MIT's 11.125 Introduction to Education class.