Dojo

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