There are many benefits from gameschooling for kids. Reading, writing, critical thinking and math are but a few. Games can build confidence along with social and communication skills. Dustin Staats combined his teacher background with his love of gaming to create engaging worlds where students learn reading, writing, math and critical thinking as well as how to work as a team. We reached out to ask how to implement RPG games such as his WorldsXP into a homeschool curriculum.

How can you use RPG as a learning tool?

RPGs can be fantastic learning tools for many different reasons. There are several benefits for social-emotional learning, creativity, problem-solving, etc. With WorldsXP, beyond these benefits that kids and adults get from playing RPGs, it also gamifies content learning. WorldsXP employs “Integrated Learning Adventures,” which allows the teacher to implement different puzzles in each RPG story through different moments in the story. There are suggestions in the “Kit Master’s Manual” that walk teachers through the step-by-step process for doing this. There are RPG stories included in the kit and times that the puzzles can be implemented. As the teacher, you will need to decide what activities you do in class or can instead be used as a puzzle in the kit. We offer suggestions for this in the “Kit Master’s Manual.”

There are many benefits that come from playing games or using game mechanics in class including camaraderie, problem-solving, ability to assess and apply your current classroom management structure.

What inspired you to come up with your way to run RPG?

I originally gamified my Academic Writing Course for international students at my university in Taiwan. I had always used game-based learning in a lot of my English language lessons, but I had never fully developed a gamified course. There are so many fantastic resources out there for considering how to apply a gamification framework, but what was missing were the actual components and a step by step walkthrough of how to apply those components. This is when I decided I wanted to make a gamification kit that includes the physical components (there are digital-based resources out there) that can be adapted to fit each unique learning environment. As I set out to develop this kit, I kept a perspective from Yu-Kai Chou in mind: “gamification is human-focused design.” I took this idea and applied an educator’s mindset to it: gamification is student-focused design. I wanted to be sure the philosophy and the decision I made in developing WorldsXP were focused on the student.

What are the benefits from gameschooling for homeschool?

Although I am not an expert in homeschooling, I do have a lot of experience using game-based learning and gamification in schools. There are many benefits from gameschooling that come from playing games or using game mechanics in class including camaraderie, problem-solving, ability to assess and apply your current classroom management structure.

Tell us more about yourself, why this has been a passion.

I have always loved games ever since I first played “Kings in the Corner” with my grandma growing up. Since then, my gaming has evolved tremendously. I really thrive on social gaming. I love to play video games, but will rarely play solo campaign games. This is why I am so attracted to board games. I think the social aspect is something that cannot be imitated. The ability to sit down with friends, new friends, or family and play a game, in my eyes, can’t be beat!