Gaming the Past

Simulation & Game Design

Adams , D.M. (1973). Simulation games: an approach to learning . Worthington , Ohio : Charles A. Jones Publishing.

Arnold, T. (1998). “How to Make Your History Class Hop with Excitement (At Least Once a Semester): Designing and Using Classroom Simulations. The History Teacher,31, (2) , 193-203.

Cruickshank, D.R. (1980). Classroom games and simulations. Theory Into Practice , 19 (1), 75-80.

Fransecky, R.B. and J. Trojanski (1973). Academic gaming. Cincinnati : University of Cincinnati Teaching and Learning Monograph Series.

Gilbert, N. and K.G. Troitzsch (2005). Simulation for the social scientist. Second Edition. New York: Open University Press.

Gillipsie, P.H. (1973). Learning through simulation games. New York: Paulist Press.

Gredler, M. (1994). Designing and evaluating games and simulations. Houston: Gulf Publishing.

Greenblat, C.S. (1988) Designing games and simulations: an illustrated handbook. Newbury Park: SAGE Publications.

Heyman, M. (1975). Simulation games for the classroom. Bloomington: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.

Heitzmann, W.R. (1983). Educational games and simulations. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association.

Iuppa N, and Borst, T. (2007). Story and Simulations for Serious Games: Tales from the Trenches. Focal Press.

Marsh, C.J. (1981). Simulation games and the social studies teacher. Theory Into Practice , 20 (3), 187-93.

Polos, N.C. (1968). Games social scientists play. The History Teacher , 1(4) , 16-18+20- 21.

Raser, J.R.R. (1969). Simulation and society . Boston : Allyn and Bacon, Inc.

Rasmussen J.L. and R.B. Oakley (1992). Conflict resolution in the Middle East: simulating a diplomatic negotiation between Israel and Syria. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press.

Salen, K. and Zimmerman, E. (2003). Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Simulation Journals and Associations

Society for the Advancement of Simulations in Education and Training (SAGSET)

North American Simulation and Gaming Association

Simulation and Gaming Journal

Computer Games and Simulations in Education

Aldrich, C. (2004). Simulations and the future of learning. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Aldrich, C. (2005). Learning by doing: a comprehensive guide to simulations, computer games, and pedagogy in e-learning and other educational experiences. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Brown, Harry J.(2008). Videogames and Education. Armon, NY: M.E. Sharpe.

Bogost, I. (2005). Videogames and the future of education.On the Horizon, 13(2), 119-125.

Clark, R. (2007). Learning from serious games? Arguments, evidence, and research suggestions.Educational Technology , 47(3), 56-59.

Colella, V. (2003). Participatory simulations: Building collaborative understanding through immersive dynamic modeling. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 9, 471-500.

Ferdig, R. and J. Boyer (2007). Can Game Development Impact Academic Achievement? T.H.E Journal, October. Available online

Ferdig, R. and J. Boyer (2007). Getting Started with Videogame Development? T.H.E Journal, November. Available online

Foreman, J. (2004). Game-based learning: How to delight and instruct in the 21st century. Educause , 39 (5), 50-66. Available online at Educause

Garris, R., Ahlers, R. and J. Driskell (2003). Games, motivation, and learning: A research and practice model. Simulation & Gaming, 33, 441-67.

Gee, J.P. (2003) What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy . New York : Palgrave Macmillan.

Gee, J.P. (2007) Good Video Games and Good Learning. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

Halverson, R. (2005). What can K-12 school leaders learn from video games and gaming? Innovate 1(6); http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=81.

Kordaki, M. (2003) “The effect of tools of a computer microworld on students’ strategies regarding the concept of conservation of area,” Educational Studies in Mathematics, 52, 177-209.

Mayer, R., Mautone P., and Prothero, W. (2002). Pictorial aids for learning by doing in a multimedia geology simulation game. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94 (1), 171-185.

McCall J. (2005) Case Study of Civilization III Education Arcade 2005: Civilization III Panel Video

McCall J. (2006) Games as historical interpretations: The case of Rome: Total War. Games, Learning, and Society Conference 2006: Historical Thinking and Games Panel. Video

McCall J. (2011) Gaming the Past: Using Video Games to Teach Secondary History. New York: Routledge.

McLester, S. (2005). Game plan. Technology and Learning, 26 (3),18-26.

O’Neil, H.F., Wainess, R. and E.L. Baker (2005). Classification of learning outcomes: Evidence from the computer games literature. The Curriculum Journal, 2005, 16, 455 – 474.

Prensky, M. (2007). Simulation Nation. Edutopia, ** (*),34-39. Available online at Edutopia

Prensky, M. (2007). Sims vs. Games. Edutopia, ** (*) ** Available online at Edutopia

Squire K., Jenkins, H., Holland , W., Miller, H., O’Driscoll, A., Tan, K.P. & K. Todd (2003). Design principles of next-generation digital gaming for education. Educational Technology , **, 17-23.

Squire, K. (2005). Game based learning: Present and future state of the field. Masie Center e-Learning Consortium; http://www.masie.com/xlearn/Game-Based_Learning.pdf

Squire, K. (2005). Resuscitating research in educational technology: using game-based learning research as a lens for looking at design-based research. Educational Technology, 45 (1), 9-14.

Squire, K. (2007). Games, learning, and society: Building a field. Educational Technology, 47(4), 51-55.

Steffe, L.P. and H.G. Wiegel (1994). Cognitive play and mathematical learning in computer microworlds. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 26, pp. 111- 134.

Thomas, D. (2005). Messages and mediums: learning to teach with videogames. On the Horizon , 13, 89-94.

Tobias, S and Fletcher, J. (2007). What research has to say about designing computer games for learning. Educational Technology , **, 20-29.

Formal Analysis of Video Games (Including Literary Analysis)

Bogost, Ian (2007), Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. Cambridge, MA. : MIT Press.

Bogost, Ian (2008), Unit Operations: An Approach to Videogame Criticism. Cambridge, MA. : MIT Press.

Michael, D. and Chen, S., Serious Games: Games That Educate, Train, and Inform, Boston: Thomson Course Technology, 2006.

Elverdam, C., and Aarseth, E. (2007). “Game classification and game design: Construction through critical analysis,” Games and Culture, 2,  3-22.

Harrigan, Pat and Noah Wardrip-Fruin(2007), Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media. Cambridge, MA. : MIT Press.

Harrigan, Pat and Noah Wardrip-Fruin (2009), Third Person: Authoring and Exploring Vast Narratives. Cambridge, MA. : MIT Press.

Howard, Jeff (2008), Quests: Design, Theory, and History in Games and Narratives. AK Peters Ltd.

Juul, J. (2005). Half Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press.

Montfort, Nick (2005), Twisty Little Passages: An Approach to Interactive Fiction. Cambridge, MA. : MIT Press.

Wardrip-Fruin, Noah and Pat Harrigan (2004), First Person: New Media as Story, Peformance, and Game. Cambridge, MA. : MIT Press.

Whalen, Z. and L.N. Taylor, eds. (2008). Playing the Past: History and Nostalgia in Video Games. Nashville: Vanderbilt.

Issues of Pedagogy Relevant for Using Gaming in Education

Guiller, J., Durndell, A. and A. Ross (2008). Peer interaction and critical thinking: face-to-face or online discussion?. Learning and Instruction, 18, 187-200.

Mayer, R. (2004). Should there be a three-strikes rule against pure discovery learning? American Psychologist, 59, 14-19.

Moreno, R., Mayer, R.E., Spires, H.A. and J.C. Lester (2001). “The case for social agency in computer-based teaching: Do students learn more deeply when they interact with animated pedagogical agents? Cognition and Instruction,  19, 177-213.

Moreno, R. & Mayer, R.E. (1999). “Cognitive principles of multimedia learning: The role of modality and contiguity,” Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 358-368.

Semb, G.B. and Ellis, J.A. (1994). “Knowledge taught in school: What is remembered?. Review of Educational Research, 64, 253-86.

The Discipline of History and History Education

Any effective use of historical simulations in the classroom must be grounded in solid principles of history education. The following works explore the nature of the discipline of history and how that discipline can best be translated into classroom experiences.

Bransford, J., Brown, A., and Cocking, R. (Eds.) (1999). How people learn . Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.

Carr, E.H. (1961). What is history . New York : Vintage Books.

Rouet, J-F., Britt, A.B., Mason, R.A., and Perfetti , C.A. (1996). Using multiple sources of evidence to reason about history. Journal of Educational Psychology . 88 (3), 478-493.

Spoehr, K.T. and Spoehr, L.W. (1994). Learning to think historically. Educational Psychologist. 29 (2), 71-77.

Sternberg, R.J. (2003). What is an “expert student?” Educational Researcher, 32 (8), 5-9

VanSledright, B.A. (2002). “Fifth Graders Investigating History in the Classroom: Results from a Researcher-Practitioner Design Experiment.” The Elementary School Journal, 103, 131-160.

VanSledright, B.A. (2002).  “Confronting History’s Interpretive Paradox while Teaching Fifth Graders to Investigate the Past.” American Educational Research Journal, 39, 1089-1115.

Wineburg, S.S. (1991a). Historical problem solving: a study of the cognitive processes used in the evaluation of documentary and pictorial evidence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83 (1), 73-87.

Wineburg S.S. (1991b). On the reading of historical texts: notes on the breach between school and academy. American Educational Research Journal. 28 , 495-519.

21st Century Media Literacy

Beach, R., Anson, C., Kastman-Breuch, L. and T. Swiss (2008). Teaching Writing Using Blogs, Wikis, and Other Digital Tools. Norwood, MA: Christopher Gordon.

Eagleton, M.B. and Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet Inquiry, New York: Guilford Press.

Game Theory

The field of game theory offers a great number of interesting insights into the nature of simulating and analyzing competitions and the best strategies for winning competitions.

Barash, D.P. (2003). The survival game: how game theory explains the biology of cooperation and competition. New York: Times Books.

Straffin, P.D. (1993) Game theory and strategy. Washington D.C.: The Mathematical Association of America.