Last year, a group of boys started coming to the library every lunch break. Equipped with a blank board divided into squares, a set of colourful dice and vivid imaginations, they’d find themselves a table and set about playing Dungeons and Dragons. So intense and complicated were their games that they’d lose track of time and at the end of the break we would literally have to kick them out of the library. When they weren’t playing, the boys would often stop by the circulation desk and update my library assistant (who has a much better understanding of D&D than I do) on the latest calamities to have befallen their characters or the most recent devious scenario the Dungeon Master had devised. For those of you who don’t know, Dungeons and Dragon (otherwise known as D&D) is a role-playing simulation tabletop game. Players create their own characters based on certain parameters while the Dungeon Master designs the scenarios, guides the game play and referees. Throughout the game, players are faced with various situations or decisions and must decide how to respond. The roll of a dice determines the outcomes of the players’ actions. If you want to find out more, visit this website or watch a short tutorial here. At the beginning of this year, the boys approached us about setting up a Dungeons and Dragons Club. They wanted to invite other students to join them and would teach them how to play and develop their characters. I loved their initiative and immediately agreed. Since then, D&D Club has been a great success. We have gone from 1 group of 4 players to 3 groups with approximately 20 students involved. The students will spend hours building their characters and the games always involve much hilarity and discussion.
Online/computer games are banned at school but I am more than happy to encourage the use of tabletop games like D&D. I believe that these types of games have much to offer our students. According to Price (2005), D&D offers young people the chance to develop their skills in problem-solving, teamwork, cooperation, strategy and creative thinking. For the English and Maths teachers among us, it also requires students to use statistics, probability and develop narratives and story-telling techniques (Zalaznick, 2018). D&D also allows for creativity and individuality. Players are able to use their imaginations, taking the game in whatever direction they choose and drawing their inspiration from books, movies and TV shows. Betz (2011) argues that D&D, like other role-playing games, can teach young people important social “messages” like the value of sharing common goals and values; having a diverse range of skills and experiences and accepting failure as part of a growth mindset. Best of all, in my opinion, D&D provides opportunities for face-to-face interaction in ways that online games do not. At the moment, D&D is used at our school purely as a recreational game, played during break times. But with some adjustment, it could become part of your pedagogy. For those of you that are interested, check out this website on how to use D&D as part of your everyday classroom practices. For those interested in starting D&D clubs at your school, Price (2005) has some great ideas to get you going. Teachers, librarians and students, go forth and play! References: Betz, U. A. K. (2011). What fantasy role-playing games can teach your children (or even you). Retrieved from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01209.x Price, N. (2005). Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Library. Voice of Youth Advocates, 27(6), 454–456. Retrieved from https://gateway.library.qut.edu.au/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=eue&AN=502948301&site=ehost-live&scope=site Zalaznick, M. (2018). Dungeons and Dragons storms K12 Education. Retreived from: https://districtadministration.com/dungeons-dragons-storms-k12-education/
2 Comments
21/10/2019 10:43:30 pm
I love the idea of a whole game played by the structure of a narrative. It moves several cognitive areas in kids'brains and they don't even notice. It works as a multimodal text and is well fit in school. Good job!
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This is so cool! I have always been fascinated by Dungeons and Dragons and wanted to play it but I don’t know anyone who does…. I wish I was friends with these kids in school because this sounds like an awesome way to spend a lunch break. Thank you for explaining the game the way you did and the useful links you provided I am going to set out to find a crew to play D&D with. Maybe I could even embed it into my teaching practice once I learn enough..
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AuthorHi, I'm Kelly. I'm a teacher-librarian at a Queensland high school with an interest in the lives of the young people I work with and the issues affecting them. ArchivesCategories
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