Dan Pink (2006) points out the power of play when he quotes author Pat Kane, “play will be to the 21st century what work was to the last 300 years of industrial society - our dominant way of knowing, doing and creating value” (p. 193). Although play in education is typically associated with children and primary education, play is a significant learning factor for adults (Harris, 2008). Playful learning involves constructing meaning through self-reflection, action, and dialogue with others (Harris, 2008). In this context, play learning is a form of transformative learning. This further authenticates the act of play as a progressive issue in the area of higher education. An additional, vital issue in higher education concerns intercultural competency and the need for higher education faculty and administrators to think differently about the design of intercultural curriculum and student outcome expectations. As global citizens leap into the second decade of the 21st century, advances in American higher education can benefit from the value of transformative play as a tool for teaching and learning global relationships, manifested by whole-minded thinking and applied through digital game interaction.
Pink (2006) infers that American society has entered a new age that values new forms of whole-minded thinking that include an emphasis on right-directed ways of thinking. The author argues that American society is evolving from an information-dominated age to a conceptual-centric age. The conventional information age thinker can be characterized as a proficient knowledge worker primarily relying on linear, reductive, and analytical or left-directed (brained) approaches to thinking (Pink, 2006). The progressive conceptual age thinker can be characterized as a creator or empathizer, primarily relying on holistic, intuitive and nonlinear reasoning or right-directed (brained) approaches to thinking (Pink, 2006). These thinkers are able to recognize patterns, craft stories, simultaneously combine ideas and ultimately comprehend the intricacies of human interaction (Pink, 2006). Pink (2006) identifies the act of play as a critical method of stimulating right-directed thinking. Harris (2008) explores the contribution of play to social capital in adult learning settings and summarizes five distinctive qualities of play: relational, experiential, metaphoric, integrative, and empowerment. The author goes on to support the concept that, through play, adult learners can cultivate and enhance social values such as: relational engagement, inclusivity, shared cooperation, imagination, connectedness, trust, and flexibility (Harris, 2008).
Playful learning qualities echo those found in intercultural competence including: integrative attitudes, curiosity, flexibility, open-mindedness, and transformation of shared realities. Lane (2007) lets us know that a common error in teaching cultural understanding includes left-directed thinking by linear route learning. He confirms that there are better ways to learn about other cultures rather than memorizing generalized lists of do’s and don’ts. The author also argues that intercultural competence requires metacognitive aptitude, involving enhanced perceptive abilities, self-assessment, self-awareness and reflection. Metacognitive and right-directed thinking aptitudes, particularly through playful learning, mirror those of intercultural competent learners.
Furthermore, the digital landscape plays an important role in the contribution of playful learning. Parks (2009) confirms the role of cyberspace in regard to intercultural competency, “[cyberspace] facilitates opportunities for teaching and learning intercultural competencies through cross cultural exchange, intercultural understanding, and bridging cultural differences” (p. 194). Intercultural awareness is significantly shaped by digital interactions through the internet, especially through video games (Parks, 2009). Pink (2006) confirms that, especially for digital natives, games are used as a tool to solve problems, and as an outlet for self-expression and self-exploration. These substantiate the inherent qualities of intercultural competency. Pink (2006) also concludes that video games contribute to whole-minded thinking. A study by the Entertainment Software Association (2010) indicates that 67% of American households play computer games, the average age of game players is 34 years, 40% of game players are women, 42% of games played are on wireless mobile devices and 20% of games played involve role-playing methods. Digital games and other immersive, cyberspace learning environments have great potential to guide intercultural competency knowledge.
Fowler and Pusch (2010) define intercultural simulation games as, “instructional activities that engage and challenge participants with certain experiences integral to encounters between people of more than one cultural group” (p. 94). Intercultural simulation games are designed to prepare users for future encounters in different or unknown cultural environments and offer learners opportunities to detect changes in environments. Glee (2003) argues that video games are effective learning machines. As engaged players move through digital games, they learn by doing, they construct knowledge by making choices as opposed to consuming facts, and they gain expertise by confronting challenges that progress in complexity (Glee, 2003). Lane (2007) views the use of virtual role-playing as a means to establish a controllable learning environment. Games allow players to investigate new identities or roles as they experience learning by role-playing through character (Glee, 2003). Role-playing leads to empathy, a foundation for intercultural competency. This can be a powerful motivator for deeper understanding of other cultures and relates to right-directed thinking. Fowler and Pusch (2010) make an interesting point, “[games] typically includes the concept of winning versus losing, but in the intercultural realm, it is not whether you win or lose but how you play the game” (p.94). There are multiple ways in which intercultural competency can be learned through play in digital game learning environments. For example, cultural orientations can be individualistic and competitive or collective and collaborative. Digital games and simulations can offer the learner an opportunity to explore the implications of when people move from one orientation to another. Other examples involve exposure to intercultural communication which can include: actual verbal and language learning, non-verbal communication including appropriate gestures, and how people use space and proxemics. Ultimately, digital games and simulations can provide learners with three-dimensional photorealistic and high fidelity simulation that illustrate objective cultural differences such as, human physical characteristics, environmental surroundings, dress, and sound. Johnson (2009) corroborates the relevance of the convenience and benefits intercultural learning through virtual environments when he points out that not everyone has the time or means to fully immerse in another culture.
Playful learning can expand aptitudes of right-directed thinking and transform whole-minded educational experiences. Digital games and simulations can be used to promote effective intercultural competency learning activities for those accessible to the digital domain. The inherent nature of the interface between cyberspace and education facilitates an infinite amount of opportunities for intercultural exchange.
References
Entertainment Software Association (2010). [Graph information]. 2010 Sales, Demographic and Usage Data: Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry. Retrieved October2, 2010 from http://www.theESA.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_Essential_Facts_2010.PDF
Fowler, S. & Pusch, M., (2010). Intercultural Simulation Games: A Review (of the United States and Beyond). Simulation & Gaming, 41, 94-115.
Glee, J. P., (2003). What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Computers in Entertainment, 1, 1-4.
Harris, P., (2008). Exploring the Contribution of Play to Social Capital in Institutional Adult Learning Settings. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 48, 50-69.
Johnson, W. L., (2009). Proceeding from International Workshop on Intercultural Collaboration ‘09: Developing Intercultural Competence Through Video Games. Palo Alto, CA: ACM.
Lane, H. C., (2007). Metacognition and Development of Intercultural Competence. Retrieved September 27, 2010 from: http://oai.dtic.mil
Parks, N., (2009). Facilitating Intercultural Competencies in Cyberspace. In E. Delacruz, A. Arnold, A. Kuo, & M. Parsons (Eds.), Globalization, Art & Education (pp. 193-197). Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.
Pink, D., (2006). A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. New York, NY: The Berkley Publishing Group.
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