A Scholarly Character Sheet to Frame Learning Activities and Improve Engagement

Abstract

Character sheets are an essential element of game design for tabletop role-playing games. They can be adapted to frame a series of learning activities and to improve participants' engagement. In this study, they are used at the beginning of a five-session graduate seminar on library instruction to assess the participants' knowledge and present the curriculum. They are also used as wrap-up at the end of the final session to measure the participants' progress. Besides providing a better assessment of the group by the instructor, the character sheet activity improves comprehension of the content and offers an engaging opportunity to start the seminar and create a personal connection with the students. Through objectivation, a theoretical framework, I argue that character sheets can support metacognitive abilities like self-authorship, self-determination, and a growth mindset. By framing and matching the content with the participants' personal journey, character sheets provide gamified syllabi to improve motivation, engagement, and learning outcomes in a series of workshop activities.