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Reconvening the Senate: Learning Outcomes after Using the Reacting to the Past Pedagogy in the Intermediate Latin Class

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Abstract

Building on the previous implementation of Reacting to the Past (RTTP) and research on students’ learning experiences therein, the author of this chapter examines continued incorporation and innovation around the RTTP game Beware the Ides of March: Rome in 44 BCE in her Latin 2001 class. Within the study, students’ survey answers in the author’s class were compared with those of students in two other sections of Latin 2001 in which students read the same Latin texts but did not play the RTTP game. The chapter reports on how students who played the RTTP game in Latin 2001 felt that they had a better understanding of the history surrounding the Latin texts they read than students in the other two classes, that they had learned more history in class during the semester than students in the other two classes, and that their Latin skills had improved more during the semester than students’ skills in the other classes.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For more information about Operation LAPIS, see Slota et al. (2013) as well as Travis (2011). For general discussions about the use of games in education, see, for example, Slota and Young (2014); Wouters et al. (2013); and Young et al. (2012). Bogost (2014) offers a discussion of problematic aspects of gamification.

  2. 2.

    Mulligan’s chapter-length game is designed to be played over just a few class sessions rather than for an extended period. He describes using it at the end of the term in his elementary Latin course.

  3. 3.

    For discussions about using Reacting to the Past games in language classes other than Latin, see Dolmays (2015); McKinley (2013); Schaller (2012); and Davison and Goldhaber (2007).

  4. 4.

    Mark Carnes discusses how “getting it wrong” in Reacting to the Past games can help students better understand historical events (2014, pp.246–270).

  5. 5.

    For discussions about the positive effect of learning communities on students’ motivation , learning outcomes , and general success in college , see Kuh et al. (2005); Laufgraben and Shapiro (2004); Smith et al. (2004); Zhao and Kuh (2004); Shapiro and Levine (1999); and Gabelnick et al. (1990).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Christine L. Albright

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  1. Christine L. Albright
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Association of American Colleges and Universities, Washington, DC, USA

    C. Edward Watson

  2. University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

    Thomas Chase Hagood

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Albright, C.L. (2018). Reconvening the Senate: Learning Outcomes after Using the Reacting to the Past Pedagogy in the Intermediate Latin Class. In: Watson, C., Hagood, T. (eds) Playing to Learn with Reacting to the Past. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61747-3_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61747-3_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-61747-3

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