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Merilainen, Mikko; Aurava, Riikka; Annakaisa, Kultima; Stenros, JaakkoGame Jams for Learning and Teaching

Published in:INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GAME-BASED LEARNING

DOI:10.4018/IJGBL.2020040104

Published: 01/01/2020

Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of record

Please cite the original version:Merilainen, M., Aurava, R., Annakaisa, K., & Stenros, J. (2020). Game Jams for Learning and Teaching: AReview. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GAME-BASED LEARNING, 10(2), 54-71.https://doi.org/10.4018/IJGBL.2020040104

DOI: 10.4018/IJGBL.2020040104

International Journal of Game-Based LearningVolume 10 • Issue 2 • April-June 2020

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Game Jams for Learning and Teaching:A ReviewMikko Meriläinen, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9621-684X

Riikka Aurava, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

Annakaisa Kultima, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

Jaakko Stenros, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

ABSTRACT

Gamejamsareintensiveeventsfocusingoncreation.Theirpopularityandvisibilityhavesoaredinrecentyears.Thephenomenonhasattractedtheattentionofscholarsinterestedineducationandlearning,andthepotentialofgamejamshasbeenstudiedinvariousways.Increasingly,gamejamshavecometobeviewedasasiteforlearning.Theyareseenasactivitiesfordevelopingtechnicalskillsneededfordigitalgamedevelopment,developingso-calledsoftskillssuchascollaborationandcommunicationskillsandasawaytoteachandlearnscience,technology,engineering,arts,mathematics(STEAM)skills.Inthisarticle,theeducationalaspectsofgamejamsareexploredfrommultidisciplinarypointsofview.Combiningeducationscience,designresearch,andgamestudies,theauthorspositiongamejammingattheintersectionofthesedisciplinestoexploreitsvariouslearningdimensions.Thispositioningprovidesastartingpointforfuturestudiesofgamejamminginthecontextoflearningandteachingandinvitesdiscussionfromdiversefieldsofstudy.

KeywoRdSCo-Creation, Collaborative Learning, Design Research, Game Creation, Game Development, Game Studies, Multidisciplinary Approach, Pedagogy, STEAM Skills

INTRodUCTIoN

Agamejamisaneventinwhichparticipantsdesignandcreateacompletegamefromscratchinalimitedtimeframe,typically48hours,andthensharetheresults(seeKultima,2015).Oftengamejamsareacceleratedwithdesignconstraints,suchasagiventhemeoratechnologicalplatform.Gamejamminghasgrowninpopularityinrecentyears.Forexample,theworld’slargeston-sitegamejamevent,GlobalGameJam2020,had48700participantsin118countries,comparedto1650participantsin23countriesattheevent’sinceptionin2009(GGJ,2020a).

Gamejamsareeventsinwhichnewgamesarecreatedandthepeopleinvolvedtendtolearnnewthingsaspartoftheprocess.Assuch,theyaresituatedattheintersectionofpedagogy,designresearch,andgamestudies.Gamejamshavebeenusedinteachingsinceatleast2006(Fullertonetal.,2006)

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andtheyhavebeensitesofinformallearningsincetheirconception.Thephenomenonhasattractedtheattentionofscholarsinterestedineducationandlearning,aswellasgamesanddesign,butthisresearchremainsscarceanddistributedinpartlydisconnectedfields.Totheauthors’knowledgenocomprehensivereviewofthisresearchexists,astateofaffairsthispaperaimstorectify.

Despitetheirrootsingamedevelopmenteducation,gamejamsareoftenviewedashobbyevents,anexpressionofmakinggamesasaleisurepursuit.Asthepracticeofeducationalgamejamminghasspreadfromtheteachingofgamedesignanddevelopmentintopubliceducation,youthwork,andothereducationalsettings,itisimportanttoconsidertheuseofjamsfromawidevarietyofviewpointstobothaddresspotentialissuesandtousethesepracticestotheirfullpotential.Forexample,issuessuchasincompatibilitywithexistingcurricula(seeAurava,2018)andpossiblenegativeattitudesorlackingcompetencesofteachers(e.g.Tanhua-Piiroinenetal.,2016;Kaarakainen&Kaarakainen,2017)needtobeaddressed.Teachereducationisimportantinbringinggamejamstoawideraudience.Forinstance,ifanewmethodisperceivedastoodifficultortime-consuming,itwillcausestress(Joo,Lim,&Kim,2016)andwillnotbeadoptedbyteachers.Inschoolsystemswhereteachershaveahighlevelofautonomywhenchoosingtheeducationalmethodsintheirclassrooms,theywilllikelyavoidmethodstheyarenotcomfortablewith.

Asgamejamshavebecomemorewidespread,theyhaveattractedbothacademicstudy(e.g.Lockeetal.,2015;Kennedy,2018)andpopulartreatments(e.g.Kaitila,2012;Grace&Gold,2018).Inthispaper,theauthorsreviewpreviousresearchthatapproachesgamejammingspecificallyfromapedagogicalperspectiveortouchesuponthethemesofteachingandlearninginthecontextofgamejams.Thisresearchisthencontextualisedinrelationtoexistingresearchineducationsciences,designresearch,andgamestudiesinordertobettersituategamejamlearning.Bydoingthis,theauthorsaimtoopennewavenuesforresearchandfurtherestablishgamejammingandgamejamlearningasrelevantandinterestingresearchsubjectsforawideselectionofacademics.Inaddition,theaimofthepaperistoimproveourunderstandingofthemethodofgamejamminginaschoolcontextsothatitcanbefittedtotheeverydayrealitiesofteachers.

Thefocusofthepaperisintentionallyonthejamprocessandnotthegamescreatedingamejams,arelevantdistinctionassomegamejamshaveanexplicitgoalofcreatinggamesforlearning(e.g.Ramzan&Reid,2016;ClimateGameJam,2017).

BACKGRoUNd

Following Annakaisa Kultima (2015), in this paper we define a game jam as an acceleratedopportunisticgamecreationeventwhereagameiscreatedinarelativelyshorttimeframeexploringgivendesignconstraints,withtheendresultssharedpublicly.Whilegamejamsusuallyfeaturedigitalgamecreation,accordingtothedefinitionthegamescreateddonothavetobedigital,butcanforinstancebetabletopgames(e.g.Pollock,Murray,&Yeager,2017;Whiteetal.,2019).

Gamejamscomeinvariousflavors,asthephenomenonisformingatthegrassrootslevel.Some are organized by schools or other institutions, others are events run by individualsinvitingtheirclosefriendstoparticipate.Gamejamsarealsorunatprofessionalgamestudios,techcompanies,ordesignfirmseitherinternallyoropentooutsiders.Somegamejamsareonlineevents,whilesomeareorganizedinasharedphysicallocation.Whilemanygamejamcommunitiesareinternational,localjamculturescanhavewidelydivergenttraditions,values,and practices (see Kultima, 2018a). Typically, game jams are more directed towards adultaudiences,buttherearealsojamsdesignedforadolescents,orevenyoungerchildren(Fowleretal.,2016;Gaudletal.,2018;Aryaetal.,2019).

Peoplehavevaryingmotivationsforparticipatinginororganizinggamejams(e.g.Kankainen,Kultima,&Meriläinen,2019).Somejamsareorganizedwithexpliciteducationalgoals(e.g.Petrietal.2015),sometimesalsowithadesignatedgroupofeducationadvisors(e.g.Aryaetal.,2019).It

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isparticularlycommontoutilizegamejammingingamedevelopmenteducation,butgamejamminghasalsofounditswayintodifferenteducationalsettingswithpromisingresults(e.g.Fowleretal.,2016;Pollock,Murray&Yeager,2017).

Importantly,gamejamsarealsoanarenaforinformallearning.Agamejamusuallyinvolvesworkingwithseveralotherpeopleinaco-creativeprocessandbothencouragesandrequiresnovelsolutionstodesignproblemsbecauseofimposeddesignconstraints(Kultima,Alha,&Nummenmaa,2016a).Thismakesitalmostinevitablyalearningprocessforparticipants(seeFaasetal.,2019).Designing,anddesignasanexpertiseinparticular,isitselfaconstantlearningprocess,whichexceedsthedurationofformaleducation(Lawson&Dorst,2009)andgamedevelopmentisnotanexceptiontothis;gamedevelopers’workisinherentlyaboutlearningnewthingsandgamejamscapturetheessenceofgamedevelopmentasaconstantlearningprocess(Kultima,2018b).Furthermore,learningisacommonreportedmotivation(Aryaetal.,2013;Fowleretal.,2013;Smith&Bowers,2016;Wearn&McDonald,2016)forattendingGlobalGameJam–whichisnotasiteofformallearningassuch.Thatsaid,whilelearningisanimportantmotivationforparticipatingingamejams,itishardlytheonlyone.

Game jamming as a pedagogical method in formal learning is part of a broader paradigmin education, in which games and game-related practices are brought into classrooms and othereducationalsettingstobothmotivatestudentsandfosterlearninginmultipleareas(Kangas,Vesterinen,&Krokfors,2014;Whitton,2014,2018).At the timeofwriting, there isat leastoneguidebook(Cornishetal.,2017)ontheuseofgamejamsineducation.

Whilegamejammingisafairlyrecentphenomenon,learningthroughplayandgameshasalongandestablishedtradition.Gamesandsimulationshavebeenusedwidely informal learningcontextssince1960s(e.g.Cruickshank&Telfer,1980),andpedagogicalplayhasanevenlongerhistorydatingbacktoFriedrichFröbel(Heiland,1993).Theconnectionbetweengamesandlearningstrengthenedaroundtheturnofthemillenniumwhenlearningthroughplayingdigitalgamesemergedasapromisingtopic(seeRandeletal.,1992;Gee,2003;Girard,Ecalle,&Magnant,2012;Kafai&Burke,2015).Gamemakingasalearningmethodemergedaroundthesametime(Kafai,1994;Kultima,2006;Buckingham&Burn,2007;Kafai&Burke,2015).

Today there is a significant body of research literature on learning through making games(Kafai&Burke,2015).Makinggameshasbeenarguedto,forexample,increaseunderstandingofcomputationalcontextsandbroadenperspectivesoncomputingandSTEM(Kafai&Burke,2015),developgameliteracyandculturalcompetence(Buckingham&Burn,2007),aswellasimprovelearningmotivation,problemsolvingability,andcreativity(Cheng,2009).Althoughgamejamsareadistinctformofgamecreation,inthecontextoflearningtheyareverymuchapartofthistradition,itselfanexpressionoftheparadigmofconstructionistlearning(Papert&Harel,1991;Kafai&Burke,2015).Somegamejams(e.g.Petrietal.,2015)areexplicitlybuiltonaconstructionistfoundation,furthersupportingthisinterpretation.

Inabroadercontextofeducationresearch,theconceptofgamejamlearningtiesinandiscompatiblewithseveralprominentparadigmsandstrategiesoflearning.Fowleretal.(2016;seealsoWhite,etal.2019)underlinetheimportanceofgamejamsasarenasofinformallearningandsuggestthattheseeventsoffermanyopportunitiesforbothchallenge-basedandproblem-basedlearning.Astrongaspectofcollaborativelearningisalsopresentatgamejams.Thebenefitsoffree-formcreativecollaborationhavebeendiscussedinpreviousliterature(Lonkaetal.,2006;Sawyer, 2006) in diverse contexts such as jazz music, improvisational theatre, and researchwriting.Lonkaetal.(2006)explicitlyusetheword“jam”torefertothismethodofworking.Collaborative learning harkens back to Vygotsky’s (1978) concept of the zone of proximaldevelopment:workingtogetherwithothers,thelearnercancompleteandlearntocompletetasksbeyondtheirinitialskills.

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THe THRee THeMeS oF LeARNING IN GAMe JAMS

In thisstudy, theauthors reviewedexisting literatureon learning ingame jams.Thereviewwasconductedbysearchingfourdigitallibraries,GoogleScholar,ACMdigitallibrary,ScienceDirect,andResearchGatewiththeterm“gamejam”anditsvariationsandexploringeitherthefullarticlesorabstracts for relevantcontent.The reference listsof thearticlesdiscoveredwere reviewed foradditionalpapers.Intotal,37Englishlanguagearticlesdiscussinglearningorteachingthroughgamejamswereidentified.Thepaperswerepublishedbetween2010and2019.Inadditiontothis,therewasoneguidebook(Cornishetal.,2017)onthesubject.

Paperswherethelearningdimensionofgamejamsonlyreceivedacursorymentionwithoutfurtherdiscussionwereleftout.Mostofthegamejamstudiesinthereviewwerepositionedintheinterestareasofcomputerscienceandgamedesignanddevelopment,withsomepapersrepresentingartsandhumanities.Furthermore,itshouldbenotedthatmostofthearticlesreviewedwereconference,discussion,andworkshoppapers,withonlysevenofthe37papershavingbeenpublishedinjournals.Thus,whileabodyofresearchliteratureexists,itlargelyconsistsofshortpapersandstudieswithrelativelysmalldatasetsornoempiricalgrounding.Bothgamejamsingeneralandtheirpedagogicaldimensionsarestillvastlyunder-researched.

Game jams share many similarities with hackathons, and it is apparent from research intohackathonlearning(e.g.Mtsweni&Abdullah,2015;Fowler,2016;Nandi&Mandernach,2016;Kienzler&Fontanesi,2017)thatgamejamsandhackathonshavemanythingsincommonfromapedagogicalperspective.Whileaspectssuchastheassumptionofaplayfulmindsetingamejamshavebeencited(Grace2016;onplayfulmindset,seeGoddard,Byrne,&Mueller2014;Stenros,2015)asseparatingthetwoactivities,itisimportanttonotethatthetermshackathonandgamejamarenotrigidinpractice.Instead,thetwoformatsarefluidandcomeinvariousformsintheglobalscalewithnoclearborderbetweenthem.AtellingexampleisthatontheGlobalGameJamwebsitetheeventisdescribedas“ahackathonfocusedongamedevelopment”(GGJ2020b).Thefocusofthisreviewisoneventsexplicitlynamedgamejams,andasaresult,hackathonresearchisnotdiscussedindetail.

Afteridentifyingtheresearchpapersinwhichlearningwasdiscussed,notesweremadeofkeyarguments, results and issues raisedby the respective authors.Basedon the review, the authorsidentifiedthreethemesintheexistingbodyofresearchongamejamlearning:

1. Gamedevelopmentskills;2. STEM/STEAMskills;3. Personalandinterpersonalskills.

Thereisoverlapbetweenthethemes,asskillsetssuchascollaborationandorganizationarenotexclusivetoanygivendomainbutare,forexample,usefulasbothpersonalandprofessionalskills.STEM(Science,Technology,Engineering,Mathematics)orSTEAM(STEMandArts)skillsontheonehandandgamedevelopmentskillsontheotherareseparatedintotwodifferentthemes,eventhoughgamedevelopmentisoftenviewedasaSTEMorSTEAMactivity.ThisisbecausesomepapersexplicitlydiscussgamejamlearningfromawiderSTEM/STEAMpointofview.

Game development SkillsAccordingtoMacklin,Martin,andDikkers(2012),thegamejamisaneventduringwhichparticipantslearn thegamedesignprocess fromstart to finish,andGuevara-Villalobos (2011)says that inagamejampeoplearelearningandexercisingtheprocessofgamedevelopmentitself.Whilegamedevelopmentisamultifacetedprocess,learningtechnicalskillsusedingamedevelopmentwasthemostcommonareaoflearningdiscussedinexistinggamejamresearch.

InasurveyconductedbyPrestonetal.(2012)over90%oftheirpredominantlystudentrespondentsthatwereplanningtoattendtheirfirstjamreportedthattheywerelookingtoadvancetheirskills,

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andnearly90%wantedtogainabetterunderstandingofthegamedevelopmentprocess.EchoingMacklin,Martin,andDikkers(2012),Prestonetal.arguethatthereisastrongeducationalcomponenttogamejamsinbothadvancinglow-levelskillsandunderstandingsoftwaredevelopmentasawhole.

A wide variety of professional skill development is listed in the papers. These includefamiliarizationwithdifferentdevelopmentanddesignpracticesandstrategiessuchasrapidprototypingandparticipatorydesign(Musiletal.,2010),becomingawareofkeyissuessuchasaccessibility(Scott&Ghinea,2013),andlearningaboutthesocial,collaborativeaspectsofgamedevelopment(Shinetal.,2012;Pirker,Economou,&Gütl,2016).AconsiderablenumberoftheGGJparticipantssurveyedbyFowleretal.(2013)in2011and2012reportedhavinglearnedtouseatleastonenewgamedevelopmenttoolthroughGGJparticipation.

Attendinggamejamshasalsobeenreportedtomotivatefuturelearninginparticipants(Reng,Schoenau-Fog&Kofoed,2013;Meriläinen,2019),suggestingthatthelearningexperiencedoesnotendwiththejameventitself.Prestonetal.(2012)foundgamejamparticipationtobeassociatedwithbetteracademicperformanceinuniversitystudentsstudyingcomputergamedesignanddevelopment,withtheresultsupportedbyalaterstudybyFowler,Ni,andPreston(2018),althoughneitherstudyconfirmsacausalrelation.Pirker,Economou,andGütl(2016)organizedaninternationalcollaborativegamedevelopmentproject,whichculminated inagame jamevent.Studentsparticipating in theprogramreportedimprovedskillsinworkingasateam,inremotecollaboration,gamedevelopment,aswellasnewtechnicalskills.GledhillandNovak(2019)havereportedincreasedhighereducationstudentengagementandenthusiasmongamedevelopmentcoursesasaresultofemployinggamejammingasamethodofteambasedlearning.

Hrehovcsik,Warmelink,andValente(2016)suggestthatintegratinggamejamsintoaformalgameeducationcurriculumhelpsbridgethegapbetweenformalstudiesandworkingintheindustry.AsimilarideaispresentedbyPirker,Kultima,andGütl(2016),whopositthatinadditiontohelpingbuildindustry-relevantskillsandportfolios,gamejamsconnectyoungdevelopersandstudentswiththeindustryandeachother,thussupplementingformaleducation.Mikamietal.(2016)lendfurthersupport to this,as theycomparegame jams inwhichprofessionaldevelopersandstudentsworktogethertointernshipsandon-the-jobtraining,andconcludethatasetuplikethisenhancesstudents’learning.Furthermore,Farhan,andKocher(2016)notethatgamejamswithbigteamscanbeusedtoemulatelarge-scalegameproductionincountrieswithoutanAAA-levelgamedevelopmentindustry.Withgame jamspromoting learningofnewskillsand tools,helpingparticipantsunderstand thegamedevelopmentanddesignprocessbetter,andteachingcollaborationandcommunicationskills,itisunsurprisingthatgamejamshavenotonlybecomeawidelyutilizedmethodofgameeducation,butalsoagloballysharedentrypointforaspiringgamedevelopers(Kultima,2015).However,ithasalsobeensuggestedbyKultima(2018)thatgamejamsandcommercialgamedevelopmentprocesseshavedifferencesthathavetobetakeninconsiderationwhentreatingjamsasarepresentationofdevelopmentpractices.Somegamedevelopmenthobbyistsexplicitlyattendgamejamsbecausetheyviewgamejammingasaroutetowardsbecomingaprofessional(Faasetal.,2019).

Itisinterestingtonotethatgamejamsareusedassitesofbothformalandinformallearning.Theyareusedingamedesignanddevelopmenteducation,butmanyalsoreportparticipatinginthemintheirleisuretimeinordertolearnnewskillsandtools.Thissuggeststhatgamejamsmayhelpbridgethegapbetweenformalandinformallearning,similartohowtheybridgethegapbetweenstudyinggamedevelopmentandprofessionallycreatinggames.Researchinthefieldofmusiceducation(e.g.Jaffurs,2004;Karlsen,2010),anotherareawheretheconceptofajamisrelevant,informsusthatexperiencesofinformalandformallearningoftenclash,wheninfacttheycouldpotentiallysupporteachother.AsperKarlsen(2010),mixingfeaturesfromformalandinformallearningarenasappearsfruitfulforlearningifthesefeaturescanbeusedtoenricheachother.Thebringingtogetherofformalandinformallearninginthecontextofdigitaltechnologieshasbeenviewedasanimportantchallengeforcurrenteducationtoaddress(Halonenetal.,2016).

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STeM and STeAM LearningSeveral papers explicitly discuss the potential of game jams in promoting STEM or STEAMlearning,warranting theirownsection.Fowleretal. (2016)conclude thatgame jamshave thepotentialtoeffectivelyengageyounglearnersinSTEMactivitiesandtoincreaseparticipationinbothSTEMsubjectsandcareers.Theybasetheirconclusiononavarietyoffieldobservationsaswellasexistingliterature.Furthermore,itisnotedbybothFowler(2016)andAryaetal.(2013)that the interdisciplinarynatureofgame jamshas thepotential tobring together students andpractitionersfrombothcomputerscienceandtheartsorhumanities.AsimilarideaisexpressedbyPirker,Economou,andGütl(2016).

IntheirdiscussionofBrainJam,anafter-schoolprojectdesignedtobringthecontentareasofartandsciencetogetherandincreasestudentengagement,Pollock,Murray,andYeager(2017)observethat“foldingtogether”gamedesignandneurosciencesupportedstudentinterestandpromoteddeeperunderstandinginbothdisciplines.TheabovesuggeststhatgamejamsmayhelpthetransitionfromSTEMtoSTEAM.ItisalsoworthnotingthatthepotentialforgamejamstomotivategroupsthatareunderrepresentedinSTEM,suchaswomenandethnicminorities,topursuesaideducationandcareersissuggestedinseveralpapers(Fowleretal.,2016;Fowler&Schreiber,2017;Pollock,Murray,&Yeager,2017;Gaudletal.,2018),albeitwithtentativeresults.

Thediscussionongamejamlearningreflectsdifferentapproachestogamesincurricula.GamesandtheircreationisseenasaninjectionoffuntoSTEMactivities,whereastheSTEAMapproachseesgamemakingasacreativeandartisticpractice,andnotjustalayeroranalibi.Thesekindsofdifferentrhetoricsaboutgamesandlearningapproachesarefoundincurriculaaswell,notjustindiscussionsaboutgamejams.Informaleducation,itiscustomarytoseegamesmostlyasusefultoolsforlearning,notassomethingthathasavalueinitself.Playingagameisalsoseenasaninnateskillthatdoesnotneedtobetaught.Furthermore,inthecurriculatherecanbeseenmisconceptionsabouttheeffectivenessofeducationalgamesandunrealisticexpectationsregardingthemotivationalfactorofusinggamesinclassrooms(e.g.Aurava,2018).

Personal and Interpersonal SkillsWhilegamedevelopmentandSTEAMskillscaneasilybemeasuredtosomeextent,otherelementsofgamejamlearningaremoreelusive.Theseareoftenso-calledsoftskills(e.g.Fowleretal.,2016)such as social skills, reflection, and personal development. The learning listed below is mostlyhypotheticalintheliterature:authorswriteoflearningpotentialandperceivedorexperiencedlearning,suggestingthedifficultiesinmeasuringthethingslistedbelow,theneedformoreresearch,andtheintangiblenatureoftheskills.

Aryaetal.(2013)notethatasjamsareintentionallyrapidandshort-lived,therearefewnegativeconsequencestofailureordoingsomethingwrong.Thisinturnpotentiallymakesgamejamssafeenvironmentsforrisktaking,exploration,andinnovation(seealsoGuevara-Villalobos,2011),withdesignconstraints furtherencouraging lettinggoofself-criticisminsomeparticipants (Kultima,Alha, & Nummenmaa, 2016a; Meriläinen, 2019). The results of White et al. (2019) tentativelysuggestasimilarphenomenoninregardtousingaforeignlanguageduringagamejam,withthesafeenvironmentlendingconfidencetoparticipantsunsureoftheirlanguageskills.

Combiningexistingresearchwithawiderangeoffieldobservations,Fowleretal.(2016)proposedevelopmentstosocialandcommunicationskills,learningskillsandorganizationalskillsaspotentialoutcomesof jamparticipation foryoung learners.However, theymention thatmoreevidence isneededtogeneralizetheirfindings.

Gamejammingisasocialexperience,andKultima,Alha,andNummenmaa(2016b)notetheimportance of social facilitation in building a positive jam experience. Referencing Vygotsky’spedagogicalthinking,Fowleretal.(2016)pointoutthatwhilegamejamsareoftenseenasindividuallearning events, attention should also be devoted to the connections between jammers and thepotentialthatthoseconnectionscreate.Socialandcommunalaspectshavealsobeenseenasvery

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importantinonlinejams,inwhichmanyparticipantschoosetoworkalone.Despiteworkingalone,theseparticipantsrelyontheotherjammersforasenseofcommunity,feedback,andmotivation,withfeedbackbeingakeysupportforlearning(Faasetal.,2019).

AccordingtoSmithandBowers(2016),gamejamsareespeciallygoodatteachingsocialskillsthatmightbedifficulttoteachthroughothermeans.Suchskillsincludeaskingforhelp,recognizingotherpeople’sskills,carryingonconversationsandexpressingopinionswhenothersdisagree.SmithandBowersalsosuggestthatgamejamshelpparticipantsarticulatetheirskillsandallowthemtocommunicatewithothersinahealthyenvironment.Theyposittheideathatthegamejammodelcouldpossiblybeappliedtootherdisciplinestofostersocialskilldevelopment.Overall,thesocialcomponentofgamejammingisbroughtupinmostofthepapersdiscussedinthisreview.

ThejamparticipantsinterviewedbyMeriläinen(2019)reportedfeelingsofincreasedself-efficacyregardingtheirvariousskills.Inotherwords,inadditiontolearningnewskills,gamejamparticipationhelpedjammersdiscovertheirexistingskillsandrealigntheirperceptionsoftheirowncompetence.Gamejamattendeeshavealsoreportedtheirconfidenceandsenseofpreparednessincreasingasagamejamprogresses(Miller,DeLuca,&Khosmood,2019).Thesefindingsareparticularlyinterestingasself-perceivedlackofcompetenceandexpertisecanhindergamejamattendance(Meriläinen&Aurava,2018;Faasetal.,2019).

KultimaandLaiti’s(2019)casestudyoftheSamiGameJam,whichexploredthecultureoftheindigenousSámipeople,suggeststhatacarefullycuratedgamejamcanfosterself-discoveryandreflectionsonidentity,andsupporttheculturalidentityofminoritygroups.Thisisnotagiven,however,asaddressingasensitivetopicrequiresadeepunderstandingofthesubjectmatteranditsvariousfacetsinordertomaintainasafeandhealthyenvironmentforbothparticipantsandorganizers.

Thediscussedpersonalandinterpersonalskillsunderlinetheinherentcomplexityofagamejamevent.Whiletheeventmightonlyappeartobeatechnicalexercisefocusedongamedevelopment,acloserscrutinyrevealsotherdimensions:agamejamis,orcanbe,aneventforcreativity,socialinteraction,andpersonaldiscovery.Thesedimensionsaremoredifficulttomeasurethantechnicalcompetence,butitisapparentthattheyareanintegralpartofwhypeopleparticipateingamejamsandholdpotentialfarbeyondtechnicalskilllearning.

CHALLeNGeS ANd ISSUeS

Allthreethemeshavechallengesassociatedwiththem.Teachingrelatedtogamedevelopmentskillsseemstotargetadults,notchildrenorevenadolescentsveryoften.GamejamswithafocusonSTEM,STEAM,orovercoming theboundarybetween them, canbe averydifferent experience for theparticipantsthatdocreativeworkandtheoneswhodotechnicalimplementation.Finally,personalandinterpersonalskillsarenotoriouslydifficulttoassess.Inadditiontotheissuesbroughtupinexistingresearch,theauthorsnotetwootherrelevantchallengestogamejamlearningnotcurrentlyaddressedintheliterature:transferofskillsandteacherattitudes.

Gamejammingasamethodisrarelyappliedwithchildrenandadolescentsinschools.Therearegamemakingcoursesandclubs(Buckingham&Burn,2007;Kafai&Burke,2015)butjameventsseemtobehardertoarrangeinformaleducation.Oneexplanationforthisliesinthepracticalities:Agamejamof24or48hours,adurationcommoninhobbyjams,runscountertoseveralelementsinatraditionalschoolsetting.TouseFinlandasanexample,inaschoolsystembuiltaroundacademicsubjectswithlessonsof45or75minutesandtheschoolyearsplitintoperiodsofsixtosevenweekseach,agamejamcanbedifficulttoimplementbecauseofscheduleandcurriculumrequirements.Agamejamwouldalsobemultidisciplinarybydefault,posingchallengestoassessmentandgrading.

Becausethe24or48hoursofagamejammightbeanissueforsomeonenotinherentlyinterestedingamemaking,Gaudletal.(2018)designed90minuteslongsessionsspecificallytolowerthethresholdtoattendagame-makingevent.Bycompressingthejamexperienceintoaveryshorttimeperiodandusingmobiledevicesasthemaintool,theysoughttoenabledesignbyparticipantsnot

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highlyinvestedingamedevelopment.Whilenovelinalearningcontext,itshouldbenotedthattheconceptofultra-compressedjamsisnotanewideainthegamejamscene.Forexample,the0hourgamejam,inwhichgamesarecreatedduringthehourattheendofdaylightsavingtime,wasfirstrunin2011(0hgamejam,n.d.).

Despitetherolethatcreativityplaysingamejamming,Gaudletal.(2018)arguethatwhattakesplaceatjamsismainlysoftwaredevelopmentwithtimespentonproducingaworkingprototyperatherthanmorefree-formdesignexperimentation.Intheirview,thisshiftsthefocusofthejamfromplayingwithdesignspacetotechnicalimplementation.Thismeansboththatthejamexperiencewilllikelybeverydifferentfortwoindividualsdependingontheirexistingskills(e.g.Meriläinen&Aurava,2018;Meriläinen,2019;Faasetal.,2019),andthateducationaljamsshouldbedesignedwiththisinmind,especiallyiftheorganizerswishtoencouragecreativeexpressionandexperimentation.Gaudletal.circumventedtheissueintheirstudybyofferingthejammersaprototypeofamobilegameplatformthatallowedtheparticipantstocreategameswithoutpreviousknowledgeofsoftwaredevelopment.Incaseswherethegamescreatedarenotdigital(seePollock,Murray,&Yeager,2017;Whiteetal.,2019)thisisobviouslynotanissue.However,whatshouldalsobeconsideredisthatgamedevelopmentassoftwaredevelopmentisnotmerelytheexecutionofideas,butacontinuouscreativeprocessinvolvingdifferentaspectsofcreativity(Kultima2018b).Whilecoding,forexample,isoftenseenfromafunctionalistperspective,itcanalsobeanavenueofcreativityandself-expression(Dufva&Dufva,2016).

Experiences of learning may not always mean that learning is actually taking place. WhileAryaetal.(2013)discoveredthattheirrespondentshadastrongexperienceofhavinglearnednewthingsduringtheGGJ,theirdatashowedverylittledifferenceinskilllevelspreandpostjam.Theysuggesttwoexplanationsforthis:oneisthatthelearningdidnotoccuringeneraltechnicalskillsbutmoreinprocessunderstandingandteamworkskills.Anotherexplanationisthattherespondentshadunrealisticallyhighperceptionsoftheirskillsbeforethejam,andthejamservedtoaligntheirperceptionsandtheiractualskills(cf.Hrehovcsik,Warmelink,&Valente,2016).Itisalsopossiblethatlearningbecomesmoreapparentthroughparticipatinginmultiplegamejams,wheresuchastreamofeventsoffersacumulativerepositoryofexperiencestodrawandreflectupon(seeFaasetal.,2019).

Inanotherissuerelatedtoassessment,Hrehovcsik,Warmelink,andValente(2016)notethattheydidnotmanagetogetstatisticallyvalidconstructionsformeasuringcollaborationingamejams.Whilethismaybeanissuewiththesmallsampleortherespondents,theyalsosuggestthatthemorereflection-basedelementsofthecollaborationprocessinjamcontextsaremoredifficulttoassessthanthosethatfeatureconcretebehavioursuchasassistingothers.

Whilegamejammingdoesnotnecessarilymeanmakingdigitalgames,thegamejamscenemostlyfocusesondigitalgamejams,andanalogjamsitesforexampleinGlobalGameJamareanexception(seeGrace&Gold,2018).Thus,thechallengesofthedigitalizationprocessofschoolsneedtobeaddressedwhenconsideringtheuseofgamejamsinschools.Inacomprehensivestudyonthedigitalizationofeducationandteachers’well-beingatwork,Mäkiniemietal.(2017)foundthatteachersmostlyseetheuseofICTineducationasapositivething.However,theuseofdigitaltoolsinclassroomsispotentiallyathreattothewell-beingofteachersthroughtechnostressifthedigitalizationprocessisnotsupportedenough,andthismightleadtonegativeattitudesagainsttheadoptionofnewmethodsortools(Mäkiniemietal.,2017).InadditiontousingtheworkengagementtooldevelopedbySchaufelietal.(2002)whichmeasuresthereportedfeelingsofvigor,dedication,andabsorption,Mäkiniemi’sgroupalsodevelopedamodelof technical(ICT-related)engagement,basedonthemoregeneralworkengagementtool.Bothtoolsshowedthatteacherswhofeltcompetentintheirowntechnicalskills,andwhofelttheywereinchargeofchoosingtheirownpedagogicalmethods,werealsomostlikelytoexperiencework(orICT)engagement.Thissuggeststhatteachercompetencesandinterestscanbeasignificantfactorinwhethergamejammingisaviableclassroompractice.

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Lastly,therewaslittlediscussionofthetransferoflearning(seeHaskell,2001)inthebodyofresearchreviewed.Thereiscurrentlyverylittleknowledgeonhowwelltheskillsandcompetencesdevelopedingamejamscanbeappliedoutsidethejamsituation.Thisiscrucialespeciallywhenpositioningeducationalgamejamminginformalnon-gamedevelopmenteducation.Thekeyquestioniswhethergamejamsareanefficientwaytolearnnewthingsanddevelopskillsotherthanthosedirectlyrelatedtomakinggames.Whiletheexistingresearchsuggeststhis,thereisnotyetenoughevidencetostateanythingconclusive.

dISCUSSIoN

Gamejamsaresituatedataninterestingintersectionofseveralresearchtraditionsandtheirdifferentknowledgeinterests.Dependingontheangleofapproach,gamejamsareseeninaverydifferentlight.Duetothemultidisciplinarynatureofgamejams,anuancedunderstandingofgamejamswouldbebestrootedinmultidisciplinarywork,eventhoughitmightprovideachallengeintheintersectionofvariousparadigmsandtheoreticalframesbornfromalreadymultilayeredmultidisciplinarywork.

Contemporarygamestudiesasaseparatefieldwasbornaroundtheturnof themillennium.Thisfieldisunitedinitsinterestingamesontheirownterms.Thefieldwasbornoutofinterestinrecreationaldigitalgamesbuthassincewideneditsscopetowardsnon-digitalgames,play,andsomeallotelicusesofgamesinlearningandgamification(Stenros&Kultima,2018).Inthiscontext,gamejamsareofinterestbecausetheyaresitesformaking,specifically,games.Gamestudieshasbeentraditionallyinterestedinvariousaspectsofgameandplayerculturesaswellasgametechnology(Mäyrä,2008).Inrecentyears,therehasalsobeenabuddinginterestinstudyinggamecreatorsandthedesignprocesseswithingamedevelopment.Gamejamshavebeenatooloranarenatoimprovetheaccessibilityofstudyinggamedevelopmentpractices(cf.O’Donnell,2014)butstillperipheraltogamestudies:whileacademicinterestwithingamestudycommunitiesisskewedtowardscommerciallypublishedgames,gamejamgameswithfewplayershavenotbeenpopularlyexamined.Instead,theemphasisisontheircreation,notplayercultures.

Thereisinterestinlearningthroughgames(i.e.seriousgames)ingamestudies,buttheemphasishasbeendecidedlyonleisuregaming,whichhadbeenoverlookedbeforetheemergenceofgamestudiesasafield.Indeed,thecredoofludologyisstudyinggamesasgames(Frasca,1999).Furthermore,gamestudieshasatendencytosometimestreatthemakingofgamesasmerely“context”forthegamesandevenwhengamemakingisseenasinteresting,thefocusisontheproductionofcommercialgames(seeKultima,2018b;cf.Mäyrä2008).Whilesomegamescholarshavemadeconnectionsbetweendesign literatureandgamestudies, therelationshipbetweengamestudiesanddesignresearch iscomplicated(seeStenros&Kultima,2018).Evenso,whatinteresttherehasbeenongamejamsinthefieldofdesignresearchhascomethroughgamestudies(seeKultima,2018b).

Thesituationisfurthercomplicatedbythefactthatgamesarestudiedoutsideofgamestudies,andindeedresearchintogamesisatleastacenturyolderthangamestudiesasafield(Stenros&Kultima,2018).Forexample,thesimulation/gamingtraditionsgobacktothe1960s,withthejournalSimulation and Gamingbeingestablishedin1970.Thistraditionhasbeeninterestedinharnessinggamesforseriouspurposes,learningincluded(seeWolfe&Crookall,1998;Wilkinson,2016),butlessemphasishasbeenplacedongamemakingasatoolforlearning.

Fromthepointofviewofpedagogyandeducationresearch,gamejamsareclosertothecoreoftheirinterests,buttheydonotseemparticularlynovelbutratheranewexpressionofanexistingphenomenon.Thereisalongtraditionofpractice-basedlearningandaplethoraoflearningsituationswherecollaboration,creativity,andpracticearefocusedwithatimelimit,withhackathons(e.g.Nandi&Mandernach,2016)andschoolgroupworkandstudyprojectsasobviousexamples.Researchonthesephenomenaexists,anditisrelevantforgamejams,butsometranslationisneeded–andthatworkremainstobedone.

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Game jam learning ties into a wide variety of established and well-researched pedagogicaltraditions,suchasinformallearning,collaborativelearning,andlearningbydoingaswellasmorespecialized forms such as game-making pedagogy. This lends it pedagogical credibility: whileeducationalgamejammingmaybeanewformofdoing, it isnotaradicaldeparturefrommoreestablishedformsoflearningandteaching.Thismeansthatmanyofitspotentialissueshavealreadybeendiscussed,ifnotsolved,inthecontextofformaleducationsettings.Withtherisinginterestinbothlearningthroughplayfulmeansandtechnology-assistedlearning,gamejamlearningcanbeseenasacontemporarycontinuationofalongtrendinpedagogy.FurtherreinforcingthisinterpretationisthefactthatgamejamlearningscholarshaveintegratedideasandprinciplesfromestablishededucationaltheoristssuchasVygotsky(seeFowleretal.2016)andFreire(seeMyers,Piccolo,&Collins,2019).

Theexistingresearchontheeducationaldimensionofgamejammingisstillinitsinfancybutsuggestspotentialinthemethod.Whilespecifictechnicalskills,suchasfindingtheoptimalwayofcompletingataskusingagivensoftwareplatform,areobviouslyimportanttostudentsandotheraspiringgamedevelopers,theymaynotbeasapparentlyrelevanttothosewhoarenotlookingtomakegamedevelopmentacareerorahobby.Whengamejammingistakenintonon-gameeducationclassroomsandothereducationalsettings,thisgroupwillusuallybethemajority,soitisimportanttodiscoverhowtheycanbestbenefitfromgamejamming.Inadditiontotheskillsneededtodesignandmakeagame,thecollaborationaspectappearstooffermanyopportunitiesfordevelopingskillsneeded inworkingasa teamwithotherpeople,deliveringandacceptingconstructivecriticism,andworkingtogethertowardsacommongoal.Skillsliketheseareextremelyusefulandiftheycanindeedbeeffectivelycultivatedthroughgamejamming,thengamejamsareavaluabletoolfortheeducatorregardlessofsetting.

Thissaid,caremustbe takennot toreduce theskills framedas technicalskills intosimple,mechanicaltaskperformance(seeDufva&Dufva,2016).Skillsdevelopedthroughgamemaking,suchascomputationalthinkingandgameliteracy,canbeconsideredbothusefulandmundaneinourglobaldigitalfuturesandweshouldbeopentotreatingthemsimilarlytomathematicalthinkingskillsortheabilitytocommunicatethroughwritingordrawing.Whilethiskindofapproachiscommoningame-makingpedagogyliterature(e.g.Buckingham&Burn,2007;Kafai&Burke,2015;Costaetal.,2018),itwaslessprevalentinthebodyofgamejamresearchreviewedinthispaper.Itisalsoworthnotingthatasaparticularkindofactivity,gamejamsarenotsimplysynonymouswithgamedevelopment.Instead,jammingisaskillinitself.

Caremustalsobetakentoavoidlumpingallformsofgamejamtogetherandassumingtheyaresimilarexperiences.Eachgamejamisanindividualeventwithcountlessvariablesfromsitesandconstraintstoorganizationalissues,participantmoodsandpersonalities.Gamejamsarebynatureorganicandfreeflowing,andwhileamultitudeofpromisingresultsandsuggestionsarelistedinthispaper,theycomefromawidevarietyofsettings,cultures,andparticipantgroups(seeKultima,2018b).Duetothat,comparisonandsynthesisisdifficult.Whatworksforadultgamedevelopmentstudentsmightresultinentirelydifferentoutcomeswithadolescentparticipants.

Therearealsopracticalissuestobeconsidered,especiallyinformaleducation:forexample,thestructureofaschooldayisusuallydividedintolessonsfordifferentsubjects,andagamejamcanbeseenasadifficultfit.Twoobvioussolutionsareeithertodevelopgamejamformatscompatiblewithtraditionalschoolstructures(e.g.Petrietal.,2015;Fowleretal.,2016)ortore-workthestructuresthemselves.Thelatteroftheseisobviouslyafarmorefundamentalandchallengingtask,buttheideashouldnotbeabandonedoutright.Insteadofsimplybeingtakenasagiven,traditionalstructuresshouldbesubjectedtocriticalexaminationtodevelopnewwaysofworkingandlearninginschoolsandothereducationalsettings.

Akeyelementofthejamasalearningexperienceappearstobetheexistenceofahealthy,safespaceforcreativity,exploration,collaboration,andcommunication(Aryaetal.,2013;Kultima,Alha,&Nummenmaa,2016b;Kultima,2018a;Meriläinen,2019;Whiteetal.,2019).Theformatinitselfdoesnotguaranteethis,asitisaquestionofdifferencesinfacilitationpracticesandjamleadership.In

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thisregard,gamejamsarenotmagicbulletsbutbearpracticalsimilaritytoothersitesofplayfulnessandcreativity(seeWhitton2018).

Measurement,especiallyofso-calledsoftskills,isadefiniteissue.Aryaetal.(2013)notethatgamejamparticipantexperiencesareuniqueandcanbedifficulttoquantify.Thisisimportanttopointout,asitalsomeansthatpossiblelearningoccurringthroughgamejammingisdifficulttomeasure,especiallywhendealingwithbroadconceptssuchascommunication,collaboration,orcreativity.Participantexperiencesandself-assessmentresultssuggest that learningis takingplace(Aryaetal.,2013;Meriläinen,2019),butlongitudinalandinterventionstudieswouldgreatlyincreaseourknowledge.TheproblemsencounteredbyHrehovcsik,Warmelink,andValente(2016)underscoretheissue:itismucheasiertoassessconcretebehaviourthaninternalprocesses.Thispresentsachallenge,aswhileaneffortmustbemadetomeasurethedevelopmentofso-calledsoftskills,researchersandeducatorsruntheriskofreducingcomplexwholessuchascollaborationorcreativityintosomethingthatcanbeconvenientlymeasuredbytaskperformancetestsorsurveys.Inresearch,aqualitativeapproachappearsfruitfulinaddressingtheproblem(e.g.Kultima&Laiti,2019).Again,thisissueisnotanewone,asassessmentisacommontopicineducationresearchandespeciallyprominentwhendiscussingspecificpedagogies(e.g.Major&Palmer,2001).

Withmostoftheresearchfocusingonlearninginagamedevelopmentcontext,moreresearchisneededinordertoexplorethepotentialofgamejamsinnurturingbroad,widelybeneficialskillsets.Itisdebatablehowaccuratelysuchlearningcanbemeasuredorassessed,anddirectionsofcausalitycanremainunclear.Thisshouldnotbeviewedastheonlymeasurementofthemethod.Thatparticipants(e.g.Aryaetal.,2013;Meriläinen,2019)reportfeelingthattheyarelearningisimportant.Whenweconsidergamejammingasapedagogicaltool,itisrelevantthatgamejamselicitfeelingsofincreasedcompetenceandenhancelearnermotivation.Thiscanbeespeciallyimportantnotonlywhenworkingwithadolescents,butalsowhenworkingwithvulnerablegroups,re-educatingadults,ortransferringskillsfromotherfields.

When discussing the intentional application of game jams as a pedagogical tool, learningpotential,whetherrealorassumed,shouldnotbeequatedwithactuallearning.Simplyorganizinganeducationalgame jamdoesnotautomatically lead tocertain learningoutcomes.Aswithanymethodofteaching,successdependsonmanydifferentvariables:thelevelofpedagogicalplanningandscaffolding,thesocialandphysicallearningenvironment,participantmotivations,existingskills,andpreviousexperience,justtonameafew.Whilegamejamexperiencescanbemagical,gamejamlearningdoesnothappenbymagic.

Underlyingthepracticalitiesofgamejamsandlearning,therearebroaderquestionstoconsider.Thepotentialofgamejamstoaddresssensitiveissuesandcomplextopics(e.g.Kultima&Laiti,2019;Myers,Piccolo&Collins2019),providetransformativeandempoweringpersonalexperiences(e.g.Kultima&Laiti,2019;Meriläinen,2019)andfostercross-culturalcollaboration(e.g.Pirker,Economou & Gütl, 2016; White et al., 2019) has been pointedout in existing research. As ourknowledgeof thesubject increases, itallowsus toreachbeyondimmediatelyobserved learning,andconsiderthewidereducationalandtransformativepotentialofcombiningclosecollaboration,democratisationofknowledge,andaplayfulmindset.

CoNCLUSIoN

Game jamsareplural.Theyareorganized for adults, teenagers, andchildren, forbeginners andprofessionals,asasiteforhobbypursuitsandaspartofbusinessesorofformallearning.Thecurrentliteratureoneducationalgamejamssuggeststhatthereisconsiderablepotentialingamejammingasamethodandtoolfordevelopingawidevarietyofskillsandcompetences,especiallyrelatedtogamecreation,design,anddevelopment.Whilemostoftheresearchfocusesongamedevelopmentskills,themethodshowspotentialforwiderSTEAMlearningaswellaspersonalandinterpersonalskillandreflectiondevelopment.Gamejammingappearstolenditselftobothformalandinformal

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learning,butexistingresearchisinsufficientformakingreliablegeneralizations.However,alargepartofthegamejamprocessappearstobeverydifficulttoassess,andmoreresearch,especiallylongitudinal,isneededtoestablisheffectsonlearning.Asitstands,gamejamlearningpresentsanintriguingtopicforeducation,design,andgamescholarsalike.

ACKNowLedGMeNT

ThisresearchisfundedinpartbytheAcademyofFinlandStrategicResearchCouncilproject“GrowingMind: Educational transformations for facilitating sustainable personal, social, and institutionalrenewalinthedigitalage”(grant#322603).

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Mikko Meriläinen is a researcher at the University of Tampere in Finland, and holds an M. A. degree in Education from the University of Helsinki. He is currently focusing on developing and studying game jamming as an educational method. Mikko has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of Helsinki on young gamers and parenting related to digital games, and is set to receive his PhD in March 2020.

Riikka Aurava is a researcher at Tampere University in Finland. She is currently working on her PhD on game jams and their use in formal education. She has a strong background in general formal education having been a teacher of media, literature and Finnish language in general upper secondary school since 2004. Aurava’s other research interests besides game-based pedagogy are players and materiality in tabletop role playing games.

Annakaisa Kultima (PhD) is a postdoctoral researcher at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture. She has been publishing over 70 academic papers on game design, industry trends and development cultures since 2006. Kultima is an active member of the game ecosystem in Finland and internationally: she is working as a judge in several game competitions, running game jams as well as curating exhibitions on games. She is also a member of the founding team of The Finnish Museum of Games and the head of non-profit organization Finnish Game Jam advocating the game making hobby and indie cultures in Finland.

Jaakko Stenros (PhD) is a University Lecturer in Game Studies working at the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies (at the Game Research Lab, Tampere University). He has published nine books and over 50 articles and reports and has taught game studies for a decade. His work has received many awards, such as the prize for the best dissertation of the year at the University of Tampere. Stenros has also collaborated with artists and designers to create ludic experiences and has curated many exhibitions at the Finnish Museum of Games.