Gaming Pedagogy and Connected Learning: Perspectives from the Global Minecraft Mentoring Program

Virtual Paper ID: 56603
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    Mia Kim Williams
    University of Wyoming
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    Matthew Farber
    University of Northern Colorado

Abstract: Passionate teachers have adopted and adapted Minecraft into a variety of classroom disciplines and contexts (Dikkers, 2015; Farber, 2017; Kafai & Burke, 2016). An open environment sandbox of interactive virtual building blocks, “like typing paper, [Minecraft] can be used to represent ideas effectively and in a 3D space” (Dikkers, 2015, p. 101). This research explores and describes Microsoft Education’s Global Minecraft Mentor Program from the perspective of its participants. It seeks to understand the experiences related to teaching and learning among educators within this space, entry points to onboard teachers who have little or no background in adapting Minecraft: Education Edition to their classrooms, and the extent to which connected learning principles manifest in the mentoring space. Research followed an explanatory sequential mixed method design. Two phases of data collection began with quantitative data collection and analysis through a researcher-created survey. The quantitative findings informed the development of qualitative interviews and analysis (Creswell, 2015). Results share perspectives from participants about the mentor space and connected learning principles.

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