The Methodology for developing educational games, developed as the first output of the project Games for Tolerance is a handbook that deals with several main topics: children bullying issues (described briefly), gamification and its use in education and creating own games for teachers as a part of bullying prevention activities. The topic of gamification and games in education is interestingly accompanied by a chapter about Rituals and Its Significance for Children in connection with bullying prevention. Gamified activities and games may actually become a part of regular rituals that contribute to the balance of children’s relations in a class and open communication in a children’s group. Following using a game in a group, we add a chapter called Game and Game Activities Facilitation as we consider it to be a significant part of bullying prevention methodology.
The first chapter is devoted to bullying, its definition, stages, but also to the role of bullying within the evolution of society. We naturally continue with an environment diagnosis, steps taken during solving the bullying, so-called first aid and finally the topic crucial for us – prevention and actual possibilities of its use in practice.
In the second chapter, we treat gamification and games as tools that can be used for bullying prevention. We explain bullying’s principles and we describe important game elements. In addition, we concentrate on gamification and games in education, how to involve children in such activities and how to work with them.
The third chapter follows with, for example, the integration of gamification into the daily schedule of kindergartens and elementary schools and how it affects rituals and their importance for children. We consider the role of rituals during work with difficult topics, such as bullying and their contribution while using them during teaching in kindergartens or elementary schools.
The fourth chapter engages in the possibilities of reflection after game activities, so that the potential of game activities is used well for educational and developmental objectives. We examine the principles of facilitation, the recommended structure of reflection with the use of Method FFFF and also the techniques of reflection.
The fifth chapter focuses on the creation of own games. We will guide you through the process of creating games – from objectives through game characteristics to testing and getting the feedback – with the use of manuals and model examples.
In addition to methodical and theoretical parts contained in this handbook, you can expect specific Tips for practice, for example links and inspirational videos. Moreover, you will learn about various interesting facts and additional information in category Do you know that… and also in section Contemplation. This section contains questions that you should ask yourself before an implementation of practical activities or for formulating your approach to some difficult topics. Alternatively, this chapter serves for a reflection of a specific chapter.
The full version of the Methodology for developing educational games can be found here.
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