#6698185 missrithenay wrote:At first I thought epistemic gaming didn't have much to do with my grade 6 classroom. It seemed a lot more relevant to an older audience and a more specific course. For instance, it makes perfect sense for a nursing student to play an epistemic game where they act as a nurse. But would it make sense for a twelve year old?
With a bit more thought, though, I realized that epistemic games can be used in a much wider context. I mean, Half Life isn't an epistemic game, but what you're doing is putting yourself in the position of a physicist and being asked to identify with that character.
So why shouldn't a sixth grade student learn about space by pretending to be an astronaut or a scientist? One of the areas in grade 6 science in our curriculum is forensics and crime analysis, and I'm considering if some of the CSI games (there was one for the DS that, while not particularly fantastic, did use an awful lot of criminal investigation techniques -- I just have to review it to make sure it's appropriate for the age group) would be useful in helping them learn the objectives.
TL;DNR: Epistemic games have a lot more use than I originally thought, and I think the element of fantasy they encourage could be extremely useful in engaging students at any level.
I do think epistemic frames can be adjusted for grade levels. What you wrote reminded me of what Lisa Dawley and Chris Haskell are doing with NOAA with Planet Stewards.
http://planetstewards.wordpress.com/ While their assessment is badges (and yes I think we can figure out how to mix epistemic network analysis with badging) it is placing the students in the role. I especially love this because it could end being combined with the citizen science movement.
And by the way that you so much for the leads on the open badging sites!