Capturing the protective value of culture: The ‘Deadly Gaming’ pilot

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper details the ‘Deadly Gaming’ pilot (DG). DG centred research has been designed to exploit the protective value of Indigenous culture, to nurture translational literacies (e.g., cultural capital, academic confidence, teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking, and 21st century skills) necessary for academic success in an urban Australian school. Underpinning this pilot was the research question, ‘how does the use of curriculum aligned digital gaming impact on Indigenous engagement and performance in a non-conventional school-based learning space’? DG operated across three phases:(1) development of a culturally responsive digital gaming curriculum, (2) implementation of this curriculum across a mixed age (e.g., P-Year 6) Indigenous only cohort, and (3) evaluation of the efficacy of digital gaming as a culturally responsive learning tool. In phase three, the research team aligned case study methodology with aspects of action research and in-class portfolio assessment to appraise student and teacher attitudes across the implementation phase. The evaluation revealed the significance of culturally responsive digital gaming as a motivation and engagement tool for learners across our cohort. Our findings highlight the broader role 21st century technologies (i.e., digital gaming), and culturally responsive pedagogy can play in addressing the embedded sociocultural challenges that Indigenous learners continue to face in school. Future educational design might explore methods to integrate digital gaming as a tool to build translational literacies for learners who struggle in mainstream learning contexts.