Aesthetic Experiences and Emergent Designs for Learning in Minecraft

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dc.contributor.advisorKim, Beaumie
dc.contributor.authorGupta, Anindya Nandini
dc.contributor.committeememberClark, Douglas B.
dc.contributor.committeememberLock, Jennifer V.
dc.contributor.committeememberLund, Darren E.
dc.date2020-02
dc.date.accessioned2019-11-25T22:44:58Z
dc.date.available2019-11-25T22:44:58Z
dc.date.issued2019-11
dc.description.abstractIt is often argued that learners engage deeply as they set their own learning goals by playing games such as Minecraft. This phenomenon has been widely accepted and there has been a growing body of literature examining the potential of sandbox games like Minecraft for learning opportunities. Yet, few studies have illustrated how engagement occurs through learner-generated designs in Minecraft and what that entails for design-based learning and teaching practices. The purpose of this study was to explore aesthetic engagement in Minecraft using a constructionist epistemology that would help determine the design process of playable games and constructions based on curricular topics. This dissertation presents the two designs as two cases forming a multiple case-study on design-based learning in Minecraft. The design process, was then, examined as a comparative study to understand aesthetic experiences in Minecraft. The study revealed that learners, who designed games in Minecraft underwent continuous, fulfilling, and transformative experiences. They perceived the design exercise through connections that emerged through game-play, and engaged in various trajectories of participation that drew upon computational thinking and practices, as well as gaming culture. Comparatively, learners who designed artifacts based on Social Studies curricular goals could not consistently undergo fulfilling, continuous and transformative experiences. They faced difficulty in drawing connections across domains and subjects as they could not endogenously situate the design experience based on their syntonic understanding in Minecraft. Their individual approach to design further affected their understanding and critical evaluation from multiple perspectives. These cases suggested the need for playful and participatory learning involving authentic audiences for the realization of aesthetic experiences in Minecraft. The study also implicated the need to understand the design of games like Minecraft, and the principles of learning through such mediums through a consideration of their affordances and limitations.en_US
dc.identifier.citationGupta, A. N. (2019). Aesthetic Experiences and Emergent Designs for Learning in Minecraft (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/37266
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/111246
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisher.facultyWerklund School of Educationen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en_US
dc.subjectDesign-based learningen_US
dc.subjectMinecraften_US
dc.subjectGame Designen_US
dc.subjectDigital art makingen_US
dc.subjectAesthetic experiencesen_US
dc.subject.classificationFine Artsen_US
dc.subject.classificationEducationen_US
dc.subject.classificationEducation--Technologyen_US
dc.subject.classificationEconomics--Historyen_US
dc.subject.classificationGeographyen_US
dc.subject.classificationHistory--Canadianen_US
dc.titleAesthetic Experiences and Emergent Designs for Learning in Minecraften_US
dc.typedoctoral thesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineEducation Graduate Program – Educational Researchen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopyfalseen_US
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