Diane Ackerman's quote "Play is our brain's favourite way of learning" worked as a guideline for the development and implementation of our training course project Gamification for Environmental Sustainability within ERASMUS+.
In this fully-funded Training, 31 youth workers from Austria Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia came together for 8 days, from the 24 to 31 of August 2024 to dive into the world of Gamification and innovative learning and creative teaching in the context of climate education. The course centered on the creation and use of educational games, equipping participants with the concepts, tools, and techniques required to design board games that inspire environmental awareness and action. These games were not only educational but carried an intrinsic social value, encouraging youth workers to bring discussions on sustainability, biodiversity, recycling, and corporate responsibility to their communities in interactive, accessible formats.
Participants explored how games, especially board games, can tackle a variety of environmental topics in an engaging and accessible way. Through gameplay, they discovered that complex issues like sustainability, recycling, and corporate responsibility can be effectively communicated, allowing players to process new information actively and creatively. This approach empowers youth to brainstorm innovative solutions and ideas for addressing environmental challenges within their communities.
The eagerly awaited start of the training in Vienna, Austria, finally arrived on August 24th, 2024, after extensive preparation. Participants were filled with excitement to meet each other, curious about the days ahead and the learning experiences awaiting them. The training promised a rich, multicultural European atmosphere, providing not only insights into gamification for environmental sustainability but also the chance to explore the beautiful Austrian culture alongside the diverse backgrounds of fellow participants.
From Theory to Practice: Designing Environmental Games
In the days that followed, participants delved into the specifics of game-based learning. Through sessions focused on game mechanics, storytelling, and educational debriefing, they prepared to create their own board games. Working in small groups, participants chose environmental themes that were important to them and applied their new knowledge to create unique games, tackling topics such as greenwashing, circular economy, and responsible consumption.
The culmination of the training was the game development phase, where each group designed and tested their game. This hands-on experience was intense yet rewarding, as participants overcame challenges, refined their ideas, and learned from each other. By the end of the program, six board games were born, each addressing a specific environmental topic.
The games were then piloted, allowing participants to observe their peers’ reactions and gather feedback. This testing phase was invaluable for refining gameplay, ensuring clarity, and maximizing the educational impact of each game. The games addressed complex topics, from the dangers of greenwashing to the importance of recycling, in ways that made them accessible and engaging for young people.
In the days that followed, sessions focused on the core principles, mechanisms, concepts, tools, and techniques essential for designing educational board games with an environmental focus. Learning was enriched by hands-on experiences, as participants played and tested various board games, deepening their understanding of game-based learning. Though the schedule was full and the days were long, the enthusiasm remained high. A memorable barbecue night added to the camaraderie, where everyone enjoyed traditional Austrian food and got a true taste of the local culture!
During the next days, the participants were able to put their theoretical knowledge into practice: the game development process had finally started with the aim of developing a set of educational board games to be used in the youth work field. Groups of around 5 participants each were formed, based on the social phenomenon they wanted to approach and raise awareness about. This process included choosing a target group, identifying the needs and issues, and understanding the background and the context. The procedure was intense, but the participants were prepared for the challenges that can occur while developing games, as they had been made aware of these in advance, so we were pleased to see the dedication and continued motivation!
After the game developing phase, the testing phase was entered, where the participants could figure out how to refine and eventually modify parts of their games in case some improvements had to be made. The piloting was significantly effective! In the end, the newly developed games were then finally played and feedback was given. The newly created games tackled the following topics: Social Inclusion, Bullying, Intercultural Dialogue, Democratic Participation, Political Engagement, and S.T.E.M.
We all came together one last time to review the learning outcomes, recall expectations and get a chance to reflect on the week that had passed so fast but had provided so much content and joy. The participants also exchanged ideas of future cooperation with one another in their specific work fields. Last, but not least, local follow-up initiatives were discussed in the different country groups. These future action plans which are connected to the training were implemented in the following months to deepen the learning outcomes, spread the knowledge and maximize the sustainable impact.
The Austrian team organized three follow-up events that brought together 32 young fellows who were first introduced to the ERASMUS+ programme, this project, its training and the outcomes. These 32 young fellows got the chance to discover two of the games that were designed during the training, in addition to a third game that was developed after the training. The team was able to test some of the games and received feedback that has been adopted afterwards. The majority of the 32 young fellows also expressed their interest in further exploring the field of board games as an educational tool, and they are eager to participate in similar training and develop and test their games as well.
Overall, this project was very successful on several levels. Many games were designed, many friendships were built, and a greater result and sustainable impact were reached. Besides the 31 participants from the training course activity, more than 400 others were directly reached through the follow-up events organized by the participants.
"I’ve never been to such projects before. This also was my first Erasmus+ experience, and honestly, I didn’t realize the importance of games for learning about sustainability. This training was incredibly productive, and I gained so much insight. The schedule was well-balanced, and the team-building activities were unique. I would love to attend again!”.
"I liked how the training was planned. We didn’t jump into making games right away. Instead, we had an introduction and played existing games, which made it easier for those of us new to this method. The balance between energizers and learning was perfect.” - A participant review.
This international project was successfully realised thanks to the generous support of the Latvian ERASMUS+ National Agency of the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, and coordinated by the Latvian organisation "Biedrība Ecological Future Education" and hosted by EMOTIC.
More project details are on the ERASMUS+ results platform in its Project Card.
Role of EMOTiC in this project: Host and Beneficiary.
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