Consequential Intergenerational Learning through Collaborative Video Game Design

This talk shares a semester-long collaborative video game design study in which three graduate students and thirteen elementary students co-designed a game about local ecological issues. Drawing on action research, constructionism, sociocultural learning, and communities of learners, the study examines how intergenerational game design can create space for intergenerational learning. Through player-centered design, structured playtesting, and productive communication across age differences, children became expert informants while graduate students learned to design with those young players. The talk highlights how playful collaboration can challenge traditional power dynamics and support meaningful learning across age and institutional boundaries.