Reflections and Facilitator Best Practices from a Collaborative Educational Live Action Roleplay Camp

This paper examines the importance of facilitation in youth constructionist learning environments, presenting best practices developed through an educational live-action roleplay (edu-larp) curriculum for middle school-aged youth. Drawing on four pilot deployments, we identify strategies for training facilitators in improvisation, role-play, and technical troubleshooting to ensure alignment with constructionist values. We detail how these practices were scaled and supported through the development of training materials and resources for a camp-in-a-box adaptation. Key findings highlight the need for active engagement in role-play during training, the value of adaptable resources, and the effectiveness of narrative framing in motivating STEM engagement. This work contributes to understanding how facilitation practices can enhance informal learning experiences and provides insights into scaling such practices effectively.

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Publication Details

Journal
Constructionism Conference Proceedings
Published
2025-06-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21240/constr/2025/46.x
Primary Topic
Educational Games and Gamification
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Reflections and Facilitator Best Practices from a Collaborative Educational Live Action Roleplay Camp

Raquel Robinson, James Fey, Katherine Isbister, Shannon Campe
Constructionism Conference Proceedings
Educational Games and Gamification
article

Reflections and Facilitator Best Practices from a Collaborative Educational Live Action Roleplay Camp

Raquel Robinson, James Fey, Katherine Isbister, Shannon Campe
article en

Abstract

This paper examines the importance of facilitation in youth constructionist learning environments, presenting best practices developed through an educational live-action roleplay (edu-larp) curriculum for middle school-aged youth. Drawing on four pilot deployments, we identify strategies for training facilitators in improvisation, role-play, and technical troubleshooting to ensure alignment with constructionist values. We detail how these practices were scaled and supported through the development of training materials and resources for a camp-in-a-box adaptation. Key findings highlight the need for active engagement in role-play during training, the value of adaptable resources, and the effectiveness of narrative framing in motivating STEM engagement. This work contributes to understanding how facilitation practices can enhance informal learning experiences and provides insights into scaling such practices effectively.

Constructionism Conference ProceedingsVol. 8
University of California, Santa Cruz (US), Applied Research Associates (United States) (US), IT University of Copenhagen (DK)
National Science Foundation
Openalex Percentile: Top 85%
Educational Games and Gamification
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Reflections and Facilitator Best Practices from a Collaborative Educational Live Action Roleplay Camp — Raquel Robinson, James Fey, et al. · Constructionism Conference Proceedings (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS