In this section, Professor Eric Klopfer shares that 11.127J Computer Games and Simulations for Education and Exploration aligns with his research interests. He also discusses how his research informs his teaching and vice versa.
This is the class I would teach, even if I didn’t have to teach.
— Eric Klopfer
This is the class I would teach, even if I didn’t have to teach. It’s the course most directly relevant to my own research and expertise—the things I do day in and day out. I enjoy interacting with students as they design games for learning and I feel I’m able to offer them a current perspective on developments in the field. In our lab at the Education Arcade, we always have several projects that focus on developing games and simulations. Sometimes students in the course end up participating in research in our lab, which is great. Other times, we’re able to test ideas that we’re working on in the lab with our students in class. Often researchers from the lab share their work in the class.
The Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx) is our first big international project. Within this project, we’re training partners in India to develop and design games and simulations for learning. These are things we’ve done with students in 11.127J Computer Games and Simulations for Education and Exploration, so there are many strategies and tools we’ve used in class that have shaped the workshops we offer our colleagues involved in the project. We also learn things from the workshops that we bring to our class, such as insights about the complex ways domain experts think about the relationship between content and dynamic games and simulations.
It’s helpful that my research and teaching align so well. Even though the activities in 11.127J Computer Games and Simulations for Education and Exploration remain fairly consistent over the years, the way I implement them changes significantly based on the kinds of things we’re discovering through our research and partnerships.