Article Summary Of:

Schank, R., A. Fano, B. Bell, and M. Jona. 1993. The Design of Goal-Based Scenarios. Journal for the Learning Sciences 3:4. 305-345. http://micro189.lib3.hawaii.edu:4058/ehost/pdf?vid=7&hid=1&sid=a2f52ac8-5f7d-46e1-b8cb-0506b0a3b857%40sessionmgr4

 

Primary Topic(s) Addressed:  Simulations; Goal-Based Scenarios (GBS)

Secondary Topic(s) Addressed:  learning; problem solving

 

How this might be used on my dissertation:

Good to reference- how technology affordances affect learning (type of learning going on, type of interactivity, etc)

This paper discusses design criteria for simulations- could be a good starting point if my dissertation goes towards finding an educational game-design framework

Questions Raised (potential topic for me):

Same as Schank (1996)

What are simulations?  Are simulations = games?  Are games = simulations, or is one a subset of another?  (see my thoughts here)

How would an educational game design framework differ from Schank's simulation design framework?

 

Summary of Paper:

"Outside school, people typically learn during their experiences while addressing desired goals." (p. 305)

GBS:  "learn by doing"

I found much of the same conclusions here as in Schank (1996)

GBS:  Learning, Goal-Pursuit, and Memory:  similar to  Schank (1996) - transformed into motivation, context, and specific challenges - all involve having a goal, learning something along the way, and putting what you've learned into practice by solving the problems presented.  Main difference in '96 is the added keyword 'motivation', which gets discussed futher here - previously 'Interest' and 'goal-pursuit'

 p. 322-337:  Framework for simulation design

 

Terms / Definitions defined:

  1. GBS:  Goal-Based Scenario
  2. MOP:  Memory Organization Packet - what we learn we organize into 'packets' of retrievable information, relevant to some goal / task

Good Quotes:

see paper (circled)

"Outside school, people typically learn during their experiences while addressing desired goals." (p. 305)

"Interest is a terrible thing to waste." (p. 305)

p. 322-337:  Framework for simulation design