Sharing the stories of near novices to impact mainstream change

Mezzanine M2

This case study research is designed to examine the ways in which teachers are bringing gameful practices into their classrooms as part of a STEM learning agenda. It is hypothesised that one of the best persons to inform or improve the practice of novices is a near novice; someone who was most recently themselves a novice. In many case study programs, we hold up exemplary practitioners as models, but these experts may be too far removed in their levels of expertise to impact the practice of true novices. Experts and evangelists might be useful in creating vision for change, but the actual steps toward change in practice might lie with educators ‘more like ourselves’. This research sets out to examine the work of educators starting out in various forms of gameful practices in teaching and learning. Telling the stories of these near novices has the potential to support, influence and impact the next wave of innovators, those beyond the early adopters. This is a work in progress and will report on the case studies collected and nascent feedback on their impact early in 2017.