University of Sussex
Browse
Howland,_Katherine.pdf (19.52 MB)

Narrative Threads: supporting young people in developing writing skills through narrative-based game creation

Download (19.52 MB)
thesis
posted on 2023-06-08, 13:45 authored by Kate HowlandKate Howland
This thesis examines how narrative-based game creation can be used as an activity to improve writing skills for young people aged 11-15, and how additional representational support in a game creation tool can increase the benefits of the activity. Creating narrative-based games can involve traditional writing skills as well as requiring the 21st century skills of multimodal and interactive writing. Toolsets make it possible for young people to create 3D role-playing games with a commercial look and feel, but they do not provide support for the complex task of interactive and multimodal narrative creation. To investigate the desirable features of a tool that would support this task and the associated learning, an extensive learner-centred design process was conducted. This involved teachers and young people, and also incorporated relevant theory synthesised into a design model. A suite of tools, Narrative Threads, was designed and developed through an iterative process to provide the support highlighted as important. Two evaluative studies were conducted in different learning contexts; a secondary school and a vacation workshop. A mixed-methods approach was used to examine the overall potential for the activity to support writing skills development and the impact made by additional representational support. Comparative studies between groups showed some evidence that writing skills were improved for those taking part in game creation, and there were further benefits for groups using Narrative Threads in the workshop setting, but not in the school setting. Additionally, a multimodal analysis of the games created showed that many participants demonstrated a developing proficiency in using 3D graphical elements, text and sound to convey an interactive narrative. The findings indicate promise for the approach, although additional curricular and pedagogical support would be crucial if the potential is to be actualised in a classroom context.

History

File Version

  • Published version

Pages

284.0

Department affiliated with

  • Informatics Theses

Qualification level

  • doctoral

Qualification name

  • phd

Language

  • eng

Institution

University of Sussex

Full text available

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2013-01-22

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Theses)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC