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I'm attending a teaching workshop in July and we're supposed to present three 5-10 minute lessons on topics of our choice (academic or otherwise). One of my lessons will be Tabletop RPGs, with a focus on D&D and Pathfinder.
Looking for suggestions on stuff to include.
Current outline is:
What is an RPG?
- Pretend plus rules
- Dice to Randomize Outcomes
- Game Master as Director/Referee
History of RPGs
- Wargaming
- Controversy / Moral Panic
Why RPGs are great (and can be used as a teaching tool)!
- Reading/Mathematics
- Imagination/Storytelling
- Problem Solving and resource management
- Empathy
- Teamwork (changemakers)
I'm not sure I would spend any time on the controversy/moral panic aspect of it unless that is a particular topic of interest in your area. (That whole episode was largely driven by the "OMG! Satanic cults are everywhere!" hoax that has long since been discredited. Unless you feel there is some lingering issue that you need to address, I wouldn't bring it up again.)
For why RPGs are great, I personally would put more emphasis on teamwork and empathy. There are tons of games that teach reading/math/problem solving, but RPGs are fairly unique in that they are completely cooperative. No single player can "win" or "lose", and there's not a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. The party wins or loses together, and if you have the right GM, there's not even any competition between the GM and the players. At their best, I think RPGs are cooperative storytelling or "shared world" creative endeavors. Those are very, very rare.
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Mostly I was including the controversy because I thought it might be one place my audience would have heard of D&D. While it's been wholly discredited it still strikes me as a meaningful part of the game's history (and an interesting parallel to how video games are seen today).
Would it be useful to touch more generally on popular depictions & misconceptions? I could probably just start by asking people what they've heard about the subject and seeing if I need to do any mythbusting.
EDIT: Though it's not clear from the outline I was definitely planning on emphasizing empathy and teamwork over basic literacies. I do think that problem solving is an important part of the game and deserves attention, even if it is less unique than the social aspects.
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Looks great!
I would take out (or minimize) the "Game Master as Director/Referee", "History of RPGs" (specially the "Controversy / Moral Panic" part) and join the emphaty and teamwork points.
I would also much recommend you to see this TED talk. At the end explains (without mentioning them) what is the real educative use of heroic RPG's.
Philip Zimbardo on the Psychology of Evil.
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Great ideas, LazarX, but I don't think I'll have time to cover all that - I have a 10 minute limit. What would you prioritize?
Mostly I was including the controversy because I thought it might be one place my audience would have heard of D&D.Not unless the teenagers you're teaching are in the 45 and up category of age.
When did I say teenagers? I'll be teaching the other attendees, some of whom are university faculty.
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Mostly I was including the controversy because I thought it might be one place my audience would have heard of D&D.Not unless the teenagers you're teaching are in the 45 and up category of age.
Yeah - the crazies have switched to blaming violent video games since Columbine in the 90's. I just heard on the news a mention of how the SC shooter plays 'violent online video games'... no kidding!? 80-90% of all 21yr old males in the country play violent online video games. Do you know what else? I bet he eats cereal. Cereal must cause violence! Grrrrr Ban all cereal!
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Speaking of which, who IS your audience?
Academics, basically. Grad students, teaching staff, and profs at the university that runs the course. Any departments - from hard science to liberal arts. Probably most are going to be grad students in their 20s looking for professional development, but we've been told to expect some faculty. Maybe 20 people?