Narrative-Centered Learning Environments: A Story-Centric Approach to Educational Games

Narrative-centered learning environments hold significant promise for K-12 STEM education. Much of the appeal of narrative-centered learning arises from the capability of narrative to provide a meaningful structure for integrating pedagogical objectives into a unifying, coherent form that serves as a powerful motivating force for students. This chapter explores the relationship between narrative-centered learning and student motivation. Connections are drawn between motivational factors and narrative context through an examination of the CRYSTAL ISLAND narrative-centered learning environment. Drawing on the results from studies of middle school students interacting with CRYSTAL ISLAND, we consider the hypothesis that narrative can simultaneously promote learning and increase students' motivation. The past decade has witnessed a growing recognition of the potential of digital games to deliver effective and engaging learning experiences. One particularly promising class of educational games is narrative-centered learning environments. Narrative-centered learning environments contextualize educational content and problem solving with interactive story scenarios. By embedding learning within narrative settings, they tap into students' innate Polkinghorne, 1988). Narrative-centered learning environments provide meaningful contexts for 2 problem-solving activities, which illustrate connections between theories and applications (Jonassen & Hernandez-Serrano, 2002). They also exhibit a natural capacity to foster engagement by tightly integrating pedagogy and narrative elements. Several narrative elements such as believable characters, dramatic plots, and fantasy settings are instrumental for yielding high quality stories (Egri, 1960; McKee, 1997). Incorporating these narrative elements into educational stories shows promise for enhancing student motivation and engagement during learning. However, effective authoring of narrative elements is difficult. The authoring challenges are heightened when working in a new medium, such as interactive digital games. In order to enhance the likelihood that a narrative-centered learning environment will positively impact student motivation for learning, it is valuable to consider how motivational factors bear on design decisions involved in authoring characters, plots, and settings, as well as gameplay mechanics. Moreover, explicit consideration of motivational factors can guide analyses of the extent and nature of these elements in narrative