Integrating HCI and SoTL Through Video Game Research Methods
This dissertation integrated two research traditions that rarely talk to each other: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). The bridge between them turned out to be video games, and the methods developed for formally analyzing how they work.
A course has players, environments, rules, sequences, and ways of measuring performance. So does a game. Analyzing a course with the tools developed for game analysis opens up conversations about course design that don’t get stuck on content and assessment.
Figure 1.2: One of the conversations that shaped the direction of this dissertation. AI-generated character portrayal provided by Stable Diffusion
One of the pivotal conversations that led to the design of this dissertation involved a throw-away comment that compared these software-mediated teaching and learning experiences to those more commonly seen in video games (figure 1.2). If teaching and learning were experienced in similar ways to video games, perhaps the ways in which we design and analyze video games could be applied to informing our understand of teaching and learning as well.
It’s a long, long document. Who has time to read that?
There’s a NotebookLM podcast summary available, and Claude 4 Opus generated this brief(er) overview with a focus on implications for course design in higher education. It’s not great, but it’s better than nothing. And if you want to go deeper, there’s the whole document for that…
🤖 AI-Generated Content via Claude 4 Opus
Summary: The Teaching Game - Integrating HCI and SoTL Through Video Game Research Methods
Core Thesis
This dissertation by D’Arcy Norman (University of Calgary, 2023) proposes a novel approach to understanding teaching and learning by integrating Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) through the adaptation of video game research methods. The work demonstrates that course designs and classroom activities can be meaningfully analyzed using concepts from video game design and analysis.
Key Research Findings
1. The HCI-SoTL Framework
The research produced a framework with five interconnected dimensions:
Player (participants’ identity, roles, agency, goals)
System (institutional rules, interfaces, constraints)
These dimensions interact through two tensions: agency vs. structure, and active vs. passive participation.
2. Major Study Outcomes
Design Study with Award-Winning Instructors: Revealed that effective online instructors explicitly design learning environments, create narrative structures for content, establish recurring activity patterns, and conceptualize courses using game-like concepts (NPCs, points systems).
COVID-19 Impact Analysis: Documented how the pandemic pivot revealed the importance of environment design, role flexibility, and temporal adaptability in course delivery.
Technology Prototypes: Demonstrated potential for computer vision feedback, immersive recording, and humanoid robots in supporting teaching and reflection.
3. Practical Insights
Instructors function as “game designers” creating structured experiences
Students experience courses similar to role-playing games with quests and progression
Visualization techniques from video games can reveal hidden patterns in course design
The framework helps identify “dark patterns” - unintended negative consequences of course design decisions
Connection to Supporting Instructors
Immediate Applications:
Course Design Tool: The framework provides a holistic lens for designing courses that considers environment, narrative, and performance alongside traditional content and assessment.
Visualization Methods: The study’s timeline visualizations and activity mapping techniques offer concrete ways to help instructors see and analyze their course structures.
Reflection Support: The multi-modal approaches to recording and reviewing teaching (including robot performance and processed media) suggest new pathways for professional development.
Strategic Implications:
Reframe Technology Integration: Move beyond tool selection to consider how technologies shape the entire learning environment and participant interactions
Explicit Design Recognition: Help instructors recognize and leverage their role as designers of learning experiences, not just content deliverers
Pattern Recognition: Use game design patterns to identify successful teaching strategies that can be adapted across disciplines
Future Opportunities:
Develop software tools that visualize course designs using game-inspired interfaces
Create professional development programs that teach course design through game design principles
Build repositories of successful “game mechanics” adapted for educational contexts
Key Takeaway
This research demonstrates that modern technology-mediated teaching and learning can be better understood, designed, and evaluated by adopting conceptual frameworks and analytical methods from video game research. This approach offers instructors a richer vocabulary and toolkit for creating engaging, effective learning experiences that acknowledge the complex interplay between technology, pedagogy, and human interaction.
Adams, A., Lunt, P., & Cairns, P. (2008). A qualitative approach to HCI research. (Publisher: Cambridge University Press)
Adams, E. (2014). Fundamentals of game design. Pearson Education.
Alexander, B. (2017). The New Digital Storytelling: Creating Narratives with New Media - Revised and Updated Edition, 2nd Edition. ABC-CLIO.
Al-Naabi, I., Kelder, J.-A., & Carr, A. (2021, August). Preparing teachers for emergency remote teaching: A professional development framework for teachers in higher education. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 18(5). Retrieved from https://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol18/iss5/4 doi: 10.53761/1.18.5.4
Obsidian Related Notes - a plugin for Obsidian to display a list of related notes, using a locally-run LLM
Standalone Bookmarks - a standalone, self-hosted bookmarks management application. Imports/Exports in Delicious and Pinboard formats.
Standalone RSS Mastodon Bridge - a standalone, self-hosted application that will post items from RSS feeds to authorized Mastodon accounts.
Custom Comments - a standalone, self-hosted comment manager tool for self-hosted static websites
Hugo Lightweight Search - a standalone, self-hosted search utility that integrates with Hugo.
Co-chair of 2026 University of Calgary Conference on Post-Secondary Learning & Teaching. Conference theme: Digital Transformation in Post-secondary Education
TIDraw - browser-based whiteboard tool for use in active learning classrooms (the tidraw.net domain is no longer in use, but I am hosting a copy on this server for posterity)
