Designing with the Basic Role-Playing Engine - Part 3: Master Educator Goals and Balance Points

[@donnaldjohnson659]

I can listen to you talk about education for hours. I watched the entire series of three (and will probably watch again soon).

[@matthewconstantine5015]

The phase idea definitely sounds right. Almost makes me think of Pendragon...or my vague understanding of how Pendragon works (I really need to read that boxed set). And hey, the 8th Grade school trip to Washington D.C. could be a whole event.

[@RPGImaginings]

Great idea. That would be a CHALLENGING scenario. Most people don't think about how hard field trips are. Education Tomb of Horrors. ;P

[@matthewconstantine5015]

@@RPGImaginings , I only know it from the angle of the local tour guides. What a difference it makes if the adults are mostly teachers who see it as work, or mostly parents who see it as a vacation, thus don't pay attention to the dozen or so kids they're supposed to be supervising. If it's parents, they're almost as bad (sometimes worse) than the kids about not paying attention or wandering off. Or the difference of having teachers that actually know the kids VS just some random teacher or school employee with no relationship to them at all. Even worse when you've got two schools who've pooled their resources, don't know each other, and want different things. Then you have allergies (and allergies the kid doesn't tell anyone about until they're having a major reaction...), illnesses, meltdowns, injuries, bad behavior, etc. Tour-booking agencies that promise what they can't deliver. Bus drivers who've never been to the city & don't know how apps work, but also don't want to listen to locals. That one dad who thinks he knows everything because he read a Chernow book that time. And I know planning the trips, getting them greenlit, and orchestrating them is a whole nightmare. So much so, that some teachers stay on as lead teacher/organizer, even after they've retired, because they can't find anyone else willing or able to do the work.

[@RPGImaginings]

@@matthewconstantine5015 You are an expert at the laundry list of potential breakdowns. ;)

[@matthewconstantine5015]

@@RPGImaginings Too much time working in shipping & receiving logistics. Never stop looking for problems and plan for the absolute worst thing you can possibly imagine, so when it's so much worse than you ever dreamed, you're half way to fixing it.

[@RPGImaginings]

@@matthewconstantine5015 Curriculum design is very similar. Really successful educators build contingency into everything they do and work to stop problems before they even start. Part of DJ and my's connection is that logistical planning in the military isn't too far afield from what I do with curricula. ;)

[@PVGS500slow]

Is it necessarily "wasting everybody's time" to give critical feedback on education or professional education? I was a teacher in higher education for over 25 years and am aware of evidence-based practice. I too taught in secondary settings and higher education. It is a lost opportunity to reject feedback about experience and on-going research in any field of endeavor. As you know new literature about any subject evolves. So too constructive feedback about it. I believe knowledge is co-constructed by all involved in its development. Above all, intellectual humility is essential to understand that nothing is wasted for those engaged in the experience of knowledge creation. The ego can and often is a negative barrier in educators' self-reflective work. Hope my response was not too much of a waste of time reading, and good luck with your education RPG.