In preparation for my meeting this afternoon with the brilliant
Lucien Vattel and
Michelle Riconscente of
GameDesk, I’ve prepared the following brainstorm:
Suggestions for boosting Dojo’s potential
I. Creating complementary curricula
A. offering more emotional regulation activities as separate modules or associated with leveling up
-kinesthetic, like yoga or tai chi chuh
-community-based fieldwork, like volunteering
-expressive, like visualizations of emotional states and/or mechanisms for management
B. using Dojo to explore other SEL competencies (e.g., self-awareness, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making)
C. developing materials to train facilitators (adults and youths)
D. pursuing transmedia storytelling to expand creativity and community
E. exploring identity through construction of narratives related to Dojo
F. utilizing biofeedback hardware in other contexts
II. Expanding the Dojo game
A. integrating assessments of other SEL skills for leveling up
B. offering opportunities for group work
-partner-based activity for monitoring the other and faciltiating in his/her regulation through supportive talk and coaching to breathe, etc (honing social awareness, relationship skills, and self-regulation)
C. creating versions of Dojo for younger audiences
D. heightening Dojo’s sense of gender neutrality and/or appropriateness for females
-re-examine color scheme
-include more female characters (beyond guru of positive self-talk)
-offer avatar selection process (even though Dojo is first-person, this process might normalize females in the environment)
E. developing Dojo for smartphones
F. reimagining Dojo as an analog experience
-ARG
-board game
-card game
-theater game
III. Researching Dojo
1. INTERNAL VALIDITY: Does playing Dojo lead to increases in youths’ emotional regulation within the context of gameplay?
2. EXTERNAL VALIDITY: Does playing Dojo lead to increases in youths’ emotional regulation outside the context of gameplay? In other words, do game-related gains transfer to the “real world”?
3. SELF-EFFICACY: Does playing Dojo lead to more confidence in capacity to emotionally regulate?
4. GAME APPEAL: Do youths rate the Dojo game positively? (relevance, pacing, user-friendliness, etc)
5. ENGAGEMENT: Relative to other types of curricula, how engaging do youths find Dojo?
6. CORRELATIONS: Which indicators, if any, vary with Dojo-related increases in youths’ emotional regulation? (grades, test scores, truancy, conduct issues, reports of school connectedness, emotional wellness (e.g., depression, anxiety), health decisions (e.g., safe sex, delayed sexual initiation, calorie management, hygiene)
7. CONTEXT: How, if at all, are Dojo-related gains impacted by playing:
a. Environment — in the classroom, in the computer lab, at home?
b. Platform — on desktop computers, on iPads?
c. Socially — totally alone, simultaneously with others but everyone on separate consoles, in pairs together, in groups together?
d. Presence — unaware of other players’ performance, asynchronously aware of other players’ performance, synchronously aware of other players’ performance?
8. DOSAGE: How does varying amount of time per session, and frequency of sessions, impact gains? How does enabling users to control their dosage (“geek out” if they so desire) impact gains and/or game appeal?
9. DISCURSIVE COMMUNITY: How, it at all, do formal opportunities to discuss gameplay (e.g., game reporting statistics, newsletters, blogs, in-school recognition, in-school breakout sessions, mentor/peer supervision) impact gains and/or game appeal? How, if at all, do informal opportunities to discuss gameplay (e.g., off-the-cuff conversations, emergent blogs, self-organized gamer groups) impact gains and/or game appeal?
10. OWNERSHIP: How, if at all, does turning over the game to players for diverse purposes (e.g., community education, publicity, beta-testing, development of complementary curricula, organization of game-related events) impact gains, game appeal, and/or self-efficacy across multiple domains (e.g., communication, emotional regulation, education, game design, social competence)?
IV. Beyond Dojo
A. integration of SELs across the curriculum
-hone SELs via classroom instruction, games, configuration of physical space, all-school events, school-family connections, etc
B. fortify the participatory learning community
-honor colearning, motivation and engagement, creativity, relevance, and the learning ecosystem (PLAY!)
C. emphasize competencies of participatory culture
-circulation, connection, creation, collaboration (PLAY!)
D. promote participation
-permission, process, passion, productivity, participation, pleasure) (Henry Jenkins)
V. Mechanisms for realizing these grander visions
A. professional development
-instructors’ participation in and co-creation of training
-students’ participation in and co-creation of training alongside instructors
-school’s creation of training for families, community partners
B. consciousness-raising
-articulation of skills and values + why they matter
-team-building
C. co-learning opportunities
-participatory action research
-social justice initiatives
-interschool competitions
-governing councils
-regular “teach-ins” organized by rotating teams
-in-house communications (e.g., newspaper, radio station, television station, zines, YouTube channels, blogs, websitse, bulletin boards, loudspeaker announcements, newsletters)
D. multi-leveled aspirations
-move beyond individual/classroom to link across discipline, grade, school, household, community
VI. Literature
“Developing social-emotional competence is a key to success in school and life. We know that emotions affect how and what we learn, that caring relationships provide the foundation for lasting learning, and that important SEL skills and knowledge can be taught. Research shows shows that SEL has positive effects on academic performance, benefits physical health, improves citizenship, is demanded by employers, is essential for lifelong success, and reduces the risk of maladjustment, failed relationships, interpersonal violence, substance abuse, and unhappiness (Elias, Zins, Weissberg, Frey, Greenberg, Haynes, Kessler, Schwab-Stone, & Shriver, 1997; Weissberg et al, 2004)” (Zins & Elias, 2006, p. 3).
NOTE: All of these pdf’s can be shared by querying laurelfelt@gmail.com
CASEL.2008.Executive Summary of Meta-analysis of Three Reviews.pdf
CASEL.2008.Meta-analysis of Three Reviews.pdf
Clark et al. 2005. Adult Identity Mentoring- Reducing sexual risk in African American seventh grade students.pdf
Cohen et al.2010. Estimating the Costs of Bad Outcomes for At-Risk Youth and the Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions to Reduce Them.pdf
Cohen.2006. Social, Emotional, Ethical, and Academic Education- Creating a Climate for Learning, Participation in Democracy, and Well-Being.pdf
Cherniss,Extein,Goleman&Weissberg.2006.Emotional Intelligence- What Does the Research Really Indicate?.pdf
Durlak & Weissberg. 2007. Impact of after-school programs..pdf
Durlak et al.2011.The Impact of Enhancing Students’ Social and Emotional Learning- A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions
Eisenberg.2000.Emotion, regulation, and moral development.pdf
Elias et al.2003.Implementation, Sustainability, and Scaling Up of SocialEmotional and Academic Innovations in Public Schools.pdf
Elias & Zins.2006.Social and Emotional Learning.pdf
Graziano et al.2007.The Role of Emotion Regulation and Children’s Early Academic Success.pdf
Hamre&Pianta.2005.Can Instructional and Emotional Support in the First-Grade Classroom Make a Difference for Children at Risk of School Failure?.pdf
Hawkins et al.2005.Promoting Positive Adult Functioning Through Social Development Intervention in Childhood.pdf
Hoffman.2000.Empathy and Moral Development.pdf
Lightfoot et al.2011.Protective Factors Associated with Fewer Problem Behaviors Among Homeless/Runaway Youth.pdf
McKown et al.2008.Effects of Social Development Intervention in Childhood 15 Years Later.pdf
McKown et al.2009.Social-emotional learning skill, self-regulation, and social competence in typically developing and clinic-referred children.pdf
Riconscente.2011. Mobile Learning Game Improves 5th Graders’ Fractions Knowledge and Attitudes.pdf
Wang&Singhal.2009.Entertainment-education through digital games.pdf
“A dominant group, controlling the production of knowledge, shapes the construction and distribution of numbers, in order to convey authority and legitimize certain perspectives” (Wilkins, 2008, p. 17).
Our country may be terrible at math and lousy when it comes to balancing its checkbook — but boy does it love numbers! Numbers are messianic; numbers are truth. And, in certain circumstances, numbers can be bought and sold to the highest bidder! Step right up, step right up, shape em, bend em, bring em home to your kids. Insignificant details or calls to action — pick your flavor! They can even julienne fries!
The problem, of course, is there might be no “there” there. Not only do I distrust the methods that produced most numbers, but I distrust the interpretation of their significance. An unpublished manuscript by Dr. Karin Wilkins (2008) urges numerical literacy: “This literacy needs to advance us toward asking the fundamental questions that resist obedient acceptance of numbers as objective truth” (p. 21). A recent (and heavily trafficked) Op-Ed by Paul Krugman declares plainly, “nobody understands debt.”
In other words, the emperor has no clothes on; and who made him emperor anyway?
My colleagues and I have been on a literacies quest. We’ve been crusading for the new media literacies, which is related to media literacy and social and emotional literacy; now I think we have to add numerical literacy into the salad bowl (don’t you call it a melting pot!).
I also might have to launch my own Torpedo of Truth Tour when it comes to dating. Through literature reviews and participant-observation, I can affirm that dating is not merely a “numbers game.” Its sampling frame, communicative modes, discursive material, and experimental activities differ widely according to participants’ narratives or “dating scripts.” Thus, driving up your numbers will never produce the desired outcome if you’re fishing in the wrong pond, or dangling the wrong bait, or misunderstanding the nibble on the line. Considering contextual variables is more demanding to do, and more tongue-twisting to mention, than parroting a pithy formula, but them’s the breaks. Reliable facts rarely make good soundbytes.
We need to stop valuing mnemonics above reality. The world is gray; accept it. And somebody get that emperor a robe, for crying out loud. It’s getting embarrassing…
A few ex-pats of the theater have (re)entered my life of late. So have some notoriously hard to shake habits. The former hasn’t provoked the latter, but it has inspired a theatrical metaphor (and a public timestep or four).
I’m struggling with boundaries, striving (and lately, failing) to discern the limits between transparency and oversharing, relating and overidentifying, performing my front region role vs. overexposing my backstage sweating (Goffman, 1959). To cast it in terms of the theater, I don’t know how to light my scrim.
A scrim is a piece of material that boasts the following phenomenal qualities:
A scrim will appear entirely opaque if everything behind it is unlit and the scrim itself is grazed by light from the sides or from above.
A scrim will appear transparent if a scene behind it is lit, but there is no light on the scrim.
–http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrim_(material)
How much do I show? When? To whom? And for whose benefit? Is it selfish to let it all hang out, an irresponsible liberation of self from the burden of exercising judgment? Is it courageous to tell the whole truth, a risk to place faith in both parties involved? Is it generous to surrender the keys to the castle, a magnanimous invitation for the other to feel at ease?
And what are the consequences of this permeability? How, if at all, does this fickle wall leave me ill protected? Sometimes, you can see right through a scrim, even when a spotlight’s shone on its face. Sometimes, pulling a solid curtain at just the right time is better for all parties involved — respects both privacy and surprise.
We talked about Les Miserables (Les Mis) last night. I saw the show in 5th grade at the Chicago Auditorium Theater and it changed my life. Truly. We also performed a concert version at Glenbrook South High School and I was cast as one of the narrators… I was so proud. If memory serves, that 1989 production of Les Mis had a scrim. I think that all of the villagers were frozen behind it at the top of the show, during the initial scene where Jean Valjean is graciously abetted by the priest from whom he stole…
Like me, Jean Valjean also grappled with a moral conundrum. While his problem was more cut-and-dry (steal bread vs. let his family starve), he still paid for his “crime.” Right and wrong isn’t always black and white (is it ever even mostly black and white?); it’s shades of gray. How does his wrong stack up relative to his right? How does mine? And how, like Valjean, will I learn from my transgression and try, in the future, to do right as much as possible? Valjean became a mayor, philanthropist, and adoptive parent, finally dragging Marius through the sewers of Paris to please the lovely Cosette (sorry, Eponine, you’re on your own).
What will be my penance? My legacy? And how will I maximize the potential of porousness? Theoretically, one of its greatest assets is its capacity to let go. Yet I’m remarkably bad at that, at least as far as personal exculpation is concerned. Let myself off the hook? Not if I can get in two solid days of intestine-knotting first!
So how do I stop singing the same old song, tapping the same old step? How do I jumpstart my rhythm, become the triple-threat I’ve always dreamed of? And to what extent do I need to consciously critique vs. peacefully accept vs. obliviously overlook?
I need better walls and better releases. I need to emulate the character of Jean Valjean, avoid the role of Jean Dujardin, and maybe, like Ginger Rogers, do it backwards and in heels…
P.S. This photo is thematically rather than chronologically appropriate. It was taken by my dear friend Mark in South Africa, 2007.
How can any contemporary woman (especially one with brains and a lamentably slow metabolism) not be struck by the following passage from Susan Bordo’s Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body (courtesy of COMM 395: Gender, Media & Communication)?
“…women, feminists included, are starving themselves to death in our culture.
This is not to deny the benefits of diet, exercise, and other forms of body management. Rather, I view our bodies as a site of struggle, resistance to gender domination, not in the service of docility and gender normalization. This work requires, I believe, a determinedly skeptical attitude toward the routes of seeming liberation and pleasure offered by our culture. It also demands an awareness of the often contradictory relations between image and practice, between rhetoric and reality. Popular representations, as we have seen, may forcefully employ the rhetoric and symbolism of empowerment, personal freedom, “having it all.” Yet female bodies, pursuing these ideals, may find themselves as distracted, depressed, and physically ill as female bodies in the nineteenth century were made when pursuing a feminine ideal of dependency, domesticity, and delicacy. The recognition and analysis of such contradictions, and of all the other collusions, subversions, and enticements through which culture enjoins the aid of our bodies in the reproduction of gender, require that we restore a concern for female praxis to its formerly central place in feminist politics” (Bordo, 1993, pp. 183-184).
Bartky (1998) enumerates these practices: “…those that aim to produce a body of a certain size and general configuration; those that bring forth from this body a specific repertoire of gestures, postures, and movements; and those that are directed toward the display of this body as an ornamented surface” (p. 27).
Indeed, and it’s as I’ve known for quite a while: The culture might be serving up toxicity, but we’re also feeding it ourselves… and cooking up new creations at home.
“We.” I just implicated a “we,” Bordo admonished a proactive “we”… which is who? All women? Some shadowy phalanx of feminist scholars and advocates? How do I play a role in that inchoate “we”? Does it begin with the “I”? Or is that too linear and individualistic? Perhaps I can retrain the “I” by participating in the “we” — community, then self…?
Regardless of the player, what’s the game? What is anyone to do? Are we to recognize these contradictions? Rationalize these contradictions? Strive to eliminate these contradictions by modifying practice? modifying ideals?
The simple answer is “Yes.”
I recently came across this Chinese Proverb: “Those who say it cannot be done should get out of the way of those doing it.”
Who’s doing it, and how? Or is this when Gandhi’s words should be applied? “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
The simple answer: Yes.
