Using Interdisciplinary Game-based Learning to Develop Problem Solving and Writing Skills

Students majoring in computing and engineering fields generally perceive that courses in their major are not related to the general education (liberal arts and sciences) courses required for their degree. This separation prevents the transfer of skills between courses in the major and general education courses that could result in mutually beneficial synergies. To challenge their preconceptions and to help students develop connections between major and general education courses, we developed a learning community that links two courses in Computer Systems (one course is an introductory course to problem solving and computer programming, CS1, and the second course is an introduction to the field of computer systems, CS0) and English Composition (EG1). In this paper we describe an innovative approach to the teaching of computing and writing to first-year students majoring in a Computer Systems degree at a college of technology. The theme of the learning community is the development of narratives (a plot or schematic structuring of temporal actions) and their implementation as a video game prototype. Common student learning objectives and general education student learning outcomes for our courses include: use creativity to solve problems; understand and navigate systems; work productively within and across disciplines; use the tools needed for communication, inquiry, creativity, and analysis; gather, interpret, evaluate, and apply information discerningly from a variety of sources; and communication in diverse settings and groups, using writing (both reading and writing), oral (both speaking and listening), and visual means. In the English composition class, students write original video game narratives in groups; in their CS1 computer programming class students implement these stories using Alice, a computer programming environment that supports the creation of three-dimensional animations; and, in the CS0 survey course, students explore architectural and hardware issues to describe a possible game delivery platform. The concepts and skills introduced in the computer courses are contextualized by a problem (game design) that is relevant to students and connected to concepts and skills developed in the writing course. Moreover, traditional English composition is taught to connect to the computing courses that first-year students take. The common student assignment across the three courses in this learning community is a game design document which includes analysis (background and problem description, target audience, review of existing projects and media selection), design (user characteristics, goals and objectives, and description of the delivery platform), and project description (narrative of project design, review of relevant literature, flowchart of the entire project, and storyboards). When given the chance to work on a meaningful project of their own choosing, students collaboratively created video game prototypes by leveraging their problem-solving, programming, and writing abilities gained in these three courses.