Game didactics

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Game didactics (combination of words v. Dt. Game and Greek. Didaktikè téchne = art of teaching , art of teaching ) is the science of teaching and learning of playing. As a sub-discipline of game science, it deals with the educational effects of gaming, with corresponding objectives and sensory experiences, with the development and evaluation of the game as well as the teaching of practical playing techniques.

The game didactic issues

The educational theorist Erich Less put the concept of didactics into a simple sentence, with which students are still introduced to game didactics today. They are called "the six W of Erich Less": W he is w as w hy w ozu w ann w learn he?

  • The who question is aimed at the target group of learners. The game-didactic approach has to clarify in advance which group of people, which age group, which gaming experience, which gaming needs, which physical and mental requirements must be met.
  • The what question is aimed at the toy that one wants to deal with and that should be introduced to.
  • The why question must provide information about the meaning of the action, the effort, perhaps the risk, and provide answers.
  • The why question (which is often confused with the why question) defines the objectives. A consensus must be reached as to whether performance (fighting games, sports games), sociability (board games), relaxation (resting games) or some other focus should determine the game.
  • The when question focuses on the appropriate level of development and the age of the players as well as the most favorable mental and emotional momentary situation for the game selection.
  • The how-question finally deals with the practical implementation of the objectives, with the game methodology, with the game organization, with expected game problems.

The relationship between game didactics and game methodology

Two different didactic concepts are reflected in the play literature. They are referred to as game didactics in the broader sense and game didactics in the narrower sense :

While the game didactics, which is decisive today and is imparted in all academic training centers, in the broader sense encompasses the overall complex of teaching and learning from the meaning and target program to the practical application area, game didactics in the narrower sense separates the game methodology as a separate work area. This decoupling of the game methodology from the target questions and the strong focus on the practical area harbors the risk of disorientation or at least one-sidedness in the meaning of the game. It can, for example, lead to the fact that, unnoticed, it is primarily the performance aspect that determines the game, i.e. that the variety of play does not come into focus and thus only a part of the game needs is taken into account. In addition, there is a lack of reflection on the meaning and consequences of playful action. This reduced conception of games can often be found in simple game collections, in rule books, in game equipment descriptions and is usually practiced in non-professional and private play areas.

The science-oriented game didactics in the broader sense, on the other hand, creates a narrow reference field of teaching and learning in play, a connection between questions of meaning and game practice, a comparison of game needs and play behavior, as is reflected in the functional model by Wolfgang Klafki .

The didactic functional model

According to Klafki, the learning processes take place in a tension structure of the four components learner, learning material, teacher and socio-political environment: Learner, teacher and learning material are in a triangular relationship in the form of the so-called didactic triangle . In addition, the learning process is determined in each of the three cornerstones by the socio-cultural environment in which learning takes place (e.g. by the respective form of society and its values). The influence of the curriculum on toys and playing styles has a major impact on the society-specific game culture. It affects, for example, whether aggressive or cooperative forms of play are favored.

The learner takes the top position within the didactic triangle. There is a close correlation between him and the toy. Both have to move towards each other. The game material must assume the character of a challenge and the player must develop a need to play. It is the task of the third pole, the teacher, to achieve and convey this. Your dual task is on the one hand to prepare the toys professionally in such a way that they assume the character of a challenge and can be processed technically (= game methodology, game organization). On the other hand, the learner must be made willing to play (= motivation to play, conveying meaning). Professional training is almost inevitable for this difficult task.

The didactic sense elements

The question of meaning is fundamental for playing and processing it is the most important task of game didactics. Early play teachers like Friedrich Schiller , Guts Muths , Hans Scheuerl , Frederik Jacobus Johannes Buytendijk or Andreas Flitner thought about them. The spontaneous desire to play apparently does not need any further reflection. Above all, more demanding, dangerous, controversial forms of play and goals of the game, however, also require a reflection on the meaning and consequences of playing. Those who do not answer these questions of meaning run the risk of orienting themselves one-sidedly, for example exclusively practicing war games or gambling and not discovering meditative gaming, for example. As a game master, he will not be able to meet some of the legitimate game needs.

Children's learning about instincts from Johann Bernhard Basedow (1724–1790). Engraving by Daniel Chodowiecki

The game didacticians Siegbert Warwitz and Anita Rudolf describe a number of elements of meaning that arise on the one hand from the instinctual life of people and on the other hand from the demands of the environment. They can all make games meaningful and lead to different goals and game designs:

  • The curiosity is irritating to playfully deal with the still unknown. Their product is the various forms of discovery games .
  • The instinct for knowledge looks for a field of activity in brain games such as guessing games, quizzes or puzzles.
  • The urge to research is expressed in experimentation and perception games .
  • The instinct to play is most purely realized in simple functional games .
  • The urge to move becomes visible in movement games such as catching games, jumping games, running games, ball games.
  • The will to perform activates its energies in sports , piano or chess .
  • The need for design tends to play creativity such as painting. Craft, word, sound, construction or rhyme games.
  • The need for tension looks for tests of courage or adventure games .
  • The desire to Geselligsein leads to the board games to card or board games, for bowling or house music.
  • The demand for representation is shown in the desire to play theater , to play in disguise, role, clown or puppet games.
  • The instinct for recognition lives out in forms of play that are expected to be applauded, such as theater , instruments or sports .
  • The competition engines want to compare the skill in betting games such as sports, painting, poet or singing competitions.
  • The sex drive can be seen in love games such as courtship games (flirting), cuddling games or sex games.
  • The need for help creates puppet shows or partner games .
  • The need for regeneration finds its meaning in relaxation and meditation games .

These meaningful elements of play overlap in many ways in the game reality. They can complement one another, but they can also compete or even conflict with one another, such as in the quiet games and the fighting games or in the war games and the peace games .

See also

literature

  • J. Bilstein, M. Winzen, CH. Wulf (ed.): Anthropology and pedagogy of the game . Weinheim 2005.
  • Frederik Jacobus Johannes Buytendijk : The essence and meaning of the game . Berlin 1933.
  • Wolfgang Einsiedler: The children's game. On the pedagogy and psychology of children's play . 3rd edition, Bad Heilbrunn 1999.
  • Andreas Flitner : Play - Learn. Practice and interpretation of the children's game . 12th edition, Munich 2002.
  • Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths : Games for exercise and relaxation of the body and mind . Schnepfental 1796 (Berlin 1959).
  • Hans Hoppe: Games Finding and Inventing. A guide to game practice. 2nd edition, Berlin 2011. ISBN 3-8258-9651-X .
  • Terry Orlick: New Cooperative Games. More than 200 competitive free games for kids and adults . 4th edition, Weinheim and Basel 1996.
  • Anita Rudolf, Siegbert A. Warwitz: Playing - rediscovered. Basics-suggestions-help. Freiburg 1982, ISBN 3-451-07952-6 .
  • Hans Scheuerl : The game. Investigations into its nature, its pedagogical possibilities and limits . 11th edition, Weinheim and Basel 1990.
  • Friedrich Schiller : About the aesthetic education of man . 15th letter. Complete Works Vol. 4. Stuttgart 1874. pp. 591–595.
  • Siegbert A. Warwitz , Anita Rudolf: From the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . 4th, updated edition, Baltmannsweiler 2016, ISBN 978-3-8340-1664-5 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Game didactics  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ E. Less: The Basics of History Lessons - Studies on Humanities Didactics . Leipzig 1926.
  2. ^ SA Warwitz, A. Rudolf: From the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . 4th updated edition, Baltmannsweiler 2016, pages 18–36.
  3. ^ W. Klafki: The pedagogical problem of the elementary and the theory of categorical education. 2nd Edition. Weinheim 1964.
  4. ^ SA Warwitz, A. Rudolf: From the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas. 4th updated edition. Baltmannsweiler 2016, page 17.
  5. ↑ Friedrich Schiller : About the aesthetic education of man . 15th letter. Complete works, Vol. 4. Stuttgart 1874, pp. 591–595.
  6. ↑ JCF Guts Muths : Games for the exercise and relaxation of the body and mind . Schnepfental 1796 (Berlin 1959)
  7. ↑ Hans Scheuerl : The game. Investigations into its nature, its pedagogical possibilities and limits . Weinheim and Basel 11th edition 1990
  8. ↑ Frederik Jacobus Johannes Buytendijk : The essence and meaning of the game . Berlin 1933
  9. ↑ Andreas Flitner : Playing - Learning. Practice and interpretation of the children's game . 12th edition Munich 2002
  10. ^ SA Warwitz, A. Rudolf: From the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . 4th updated edition, Baltmannsweiler 2016.