A model for using activity theory in educational design: a gamification example

This paper argues that the emergence of design thinking and design-research provide a renewed opportunity for expansive learning, and proposes a model for educational design using concepts drawn from Activity Theory, Ecological Cognition, and other systems-based understandings of learning. The model is argued in the context of a design project involving the ‘gamification’ of workplace learning. The use of games and game mechanics has become a popular approach to workplace learning due to the apparent capacity of the approach to increase collaborative problem solving and ‘user’ buy-in. This paper, however, discusses a workplace learning game that, in prototype, has lead to significant transformation or workplace practice, particularly in relation to information and knowledge sharing within the company. Through a design-research process, we use the proposed model to examine the game and identify its successful features. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the model can inform understandings of the value created through learning in workplaces and other settings.