WorldBuilders

Why videogames?

Children are engaged by videogames and playing games can support their learning. Previous projects demonstrate that incorporating videogames in the curriculum helps children to draw on their existing knowledge and expertise and reconnect with education. However, children need to develop their understanding and to be makers as well as consumers of videogames. Although videogames are used to support some learning in schools, they are rarely focused on as contemporary art forms with rich visual and sound designs. 

Teachers may lack familiarity with interesting new videogames or those that are popular with children. Making videogames in schools is also rare, and, although confidence in using software to create simple games is increasing, there is now a need to connect teaching coding, with coding as an arts practice. Through a process of engagement with artist practitioners and colleagues from The NVM, Maker{Futures} and the University of Sheffield, teachers and school leaders developed expertise in incorporating videogames to create arts-based teaching and learning opportunities for primary school children. Working as part of a community of practice and focusing on the written, visual, audio and coded art of videogames, teachers explored new ways for children to develop digital literacies and access opportunities within this growing industry. 

This programme of collective CPDL supports the integration of the English, arts and computing curriculum. We will take a 'maker' approach to CPD and classroom practice; an effective approach that supports the learning of disadvantaged children. 

How will arts-based content/processes relate to the curriculum?

The focus of this project was on the development of digital literacies through the arts. In relation to the UK National Curriculum, the focus was on the primary English and Computing curriculum. Within the English curriculum we will focus particularly on developing the reading and making of digital stories. Playing and making videogames was central to this aim. Our CPDL enabled teachers to support children to play (read, analyse, interpret, deconstruct) videogames and make (design, create, reflect and redesign) videogames. 

Teachers and artist practitioners were able to develop their repertoires of pedagogic approaches, in response to the possibilities opened up by digital media arts. Teachers were encouraged to adopt new approaches to designing engaging learning experiences for children, informed by an understanding of the role of sound, music, moving image and design of videogames. We believe that it is valuable for children to understand the different processes associated with distinct art forms, but also to recognise the way these intersect in videogames. 

The WorldBuilders project is run in partnership with the National Videogame Museum and Northfield Junior School and funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation