Game Planning: Youth Transitioning from Foster Care Take Charge of their Wellness

Ysette Guevara, Ph.D. Minds On Fire

April 6-8, 2014 San Francisco, CA

Annual Conference on Youth + Tech + Health

Current life skills training model for youth in foster care (14 and up): • Bribe youth to attend standalone workshops • Workshops are run by program staff that aren’t necessarily trained

as content experts or educators • Topic is “checked off” in the young person’s file • Framed as “support” rather than empowerment

Status Quo

• Not a priority for youth • Lack of alignment between goals and self identity • Lack of intrinsic motivation • No bridge to real world • Lack of engagement and follow up

Result: Limited Effectiveness

How Did We Get Here?

Scarce Resources

Tough Tradeoffs

Limited Effectiveness

• Busy, unpredictable schedules • Lack of space and time to devote to self-discovery • Budgetary constraints (youth) • Budgetary constraints (agency)

Scarce Resources

• Multiple demands: work, school, family, friends • Defining adulthood: What I “should” vs. “want” to do • Competing priorities: money vs. self-actualization

Tough Tradeoffs

To help young people achieve a sense of self-efficacy given multiple resource constraints (Let’s get back to basics!)

Goal

To structure youth-serving programs so they go beyond standalone life skills workshops in order to: • be more relevant and engaging to youth • bridge the gap between instruction and practice • provide continuous support to help them achieve their goals • empower them with useful tools for life

Objectives

Structuring Principles of Game Plan

Self-Efficacy

Positive Youth

Development

Blended Continuous

Learning

Meaningful Gamification

"Empowering teens" refers to a PROCESS through which adults begin to share responsibility and power with young people. It is the same idea as teaching young people the rules of the game. Youth development professionals are helping young people develop non-academic competencies that will help them to participate in the game of life. Because it is a process, empowerment is something that is achieved over time, not overnight. —Huebner, “Examining ‘Empowerment’: A How-To Guide for the Youth Development Professional”

Positive Youth Development

Blended Continuous Learning

Office hours, check-ins, conversations

Preview Workshop Challenge Assessment

Online Online and out in the world Online

Face to face w/ staff

Face to face w/ staff, online, and out in the world

“…the use of game elements and game structures in non-game contexts.” —Kevin Werbach, Gamification

Gamification is…

• Balance of structure and play / Goal and rules • Learning or problem-solving / Feedback system • Voluntary participation(*)

—Kevin Werbach’s Gamification MOOC (2014) + McGonigal, Reality is Broken

The Gamefulness of Game Plan

• (Nicholson) Instead of external rewards, give players the opportunity to create achievements of things they are proud of, milestones that are meaningful to them, or a record of how far they have gotten.

Meaningful Gamification

Information Exposition Play Choice Reflection Engagement

Meaningful Gamification and Game Plan

Frame life as a game (RPG) Quest / hero’s arc narrative Self-determined goals Differentiated instruction (multimedia) Journaling and self-assessment Participation in a learning community

• Character with specific set of strengths and tools • Leveling up: experience points, self-improvement • Combination of linear and non-linear elements • Individual and group challenges • Failure does not mean “game over” • Dialogue between PCs and GM • Encounters with NPCs (allies, bystanders, foes)

Game Plan as an RPG

• Foster care alumni aspiring to be social entrepreneurs • Typical profile: 21 year-old college student working part-

time; low income; precarious housing situation • Current topic: self care • Duration: four weeks

Case Study: Emerging Leaders

• Familiarized themselves with the concept of self care • Came up with four different categories of self care • Shared self care tips with one another • Active pursuit of self care exploration and goals • Noticed the mind/body connection in their practice

Case Study: Learning Outcomes

• Streamline the onboarding process; write FAQs • Integrate gamification into the user interface • Structure assessments so they are more suitable for

quantitative analysis • Engage more clients!

Next Steps

• Let’s employ meaningful gamification principles not merely as tactics for engagement but youth empowerment.

• Let’s leverage technology to provide young people with a continuous learning environment that is convenient, supportive, and engaging.

• Let’s use that same technology to track outcomes (qualitative and quantitative) and build capacity in a cost-efficient way.

Takeaways

Huebner, Angela J. “Examining ‘Empowerment’: A How-To Guide for the Youth Development Professional.” Journal of Extension 36.6 (Dec. 1998). Web. Krebs, Betsy and Paul Pitcoff. Beyond the Foster Care System: The Future for Teens. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2006. Print. McGonigal, Jane. Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. New York: Penguin, 2011. Print. Newman, Ann E., et al. “Youth Development: The Vital Link.” National Resource Center for Youth Services. Community Leader Journal. Blandin Foundation. 2010. PDF. Feb. 26, 2014. Nicholson, Scott. “Meaningful Gamification: Motivating through Play instead of Manipulating through Rewards.” MIT Game Lab. Dec. 12, 2013. Video. Werbach, Kevin. Gamification. Coursera. Jan. – Apr. 2014. Web.

References

Ysette Guevara, Ph.D. @YsetteGuevara

ysette@minds-on-fire.org http://minds-on-fire.org/