In this NECE Campus webinar, Michelle Blanchet, founder of the Educator’s Lab, and Brian Field, teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, helped us explore the exciting intersection of games and civic education. The primary focus of the webinar was the potential of games to create a critical space for civic conversations, fostering skills in communication, consensus building, and self-awareness. It underscored the importance of incorporating social emotional learning (SEL) into civic education to prepare students as active and engaged members of society.

Recording of the webinar

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The session offered participants a better understanding of the connection between civic engagement and social emotional learning as well as a glimpse into the various pathways for educators to gamify their teaching, showcasing the versatility of games in fostering civic engagement. Our facilitators encouraged a spirit of experimentation and interactivity in teaching, emphasising the value of adopting innovative approaches to engage students effectively.

The webinar further addressed the anxiety that can be associated with teaching civics and social emotional learning, offering strategies to make the process less daunting. We also explored the benefits of creative partnerships in the educational space, highlighting the potential for collaboration to enhance the learning experience.

Various examples of gamified civics education were shared to illustrate how games can be applied to teach complex civic concepts.

Our facilitators also highlighted the accessibility of creating games for the classroom. It was emphasised that games need not be fancy or polished, as well as that student involvement in game creation can be a powerful learning experience in itself. In this respect, the webinar also touched on fundamental aspects of game design, such as participants were encouraged to think about the decisions players need to make and the actions they need to take within the game to navigate it effectively. In addition, effective debriefing was discussed as a way to help students reflect on their gameplay, recognising the skills they’ve exercised and knowledge they’ve gained during the process.

• If you’ve missed the live session, you can access the recording of the presentation here. 
• Read Michelle’s piece on Game-Based Learning in Civics here. 
• Learn more about the effective ways in which social emotional learning meets civic engagement at https://civicsthroughplay.com