Mapping RealLives to the OECD Model: Fostering Creativity and Social-Emotional Growth in Students and Ideas for School Implementation!

Introduction

The rapidly changing landscape of the 21st century demands that education systems evolve to better prepare students for the future. In this context, the development of creative thinking and social-emotional skills has become paramount. The OECD has identified specific attitudes and social-emotional characteristics that are linked to stronger creative thinking performance. These include creative self-efficacy, imagination and adventurousness, openness to art and experience, openness to intellect, curiosity, perspective-taking, and persistence.

RealLives, an innovative simulation game, offers a unique platform to nurture these attributes in students. By immersing players in the lives of individuals from diverse backgrounds across the globe, RealLives fosters empathy, global awareness, and critical thinking. This article explores how RealLives aligns with the OECD model, why it is ideally suited for integration into classrooms to develop these essential skills, and how it can address OECD's suggestions for schools.

The OECD Model: Attitudes and Social-Emotional Characteristics

Attitudes

1. Creative Self-Efficacy

- Definition: Belief in one’s ability to produce creative outcomes.

- RealLives Connection: RealLives empowers students to make decisions and solve problems within the simulated lives they experience. This interactive decision-making process builds their confidence in their creative abilities as they navigate complex scenarios and observe the impact of their choices.

2. Imagination and Adventurousness

- Definition: The ability to envision new possibilities and the willingness to take risks.

- RealLives Connection: RealLives encourages students to step into the shoes of individuals from different cultures and backgrounds, challenging them to imagine life from diverse perspectives. The game’s open-ended nature promotes adventurous thinking as students explore various life paths and outcomes.

3. Openness to Art and Experience

- Definition: Appreciation for artistic expressions and diverse experiences.

- RealLives Connection: The rich narratives and cultural diversity presented in RealLives expose students to a wide range of experiences and artistic traditions. This exposure enhances their appreciation for the arts and encourages them to embrace new experiences.

4. Openness to Intellect

- Definition: A proactive attitude toward intellectual challenges and new ideas.

- RealLives Connection: RealLives presents students with intellectually stimulating scenarios that require critical thinking and problem-solving. The game’s complexity fosters an environment where students are motivated to engage with challenging content and explore new ideas.

Social-Emotional Characteristics

1. Curiosity

- Definition: A strong desire to learn or know more.

- RealLives Connection: The immersive nature of RealLives sparks students’ curiosity by presenting them with intriguing scenarios and diverse cultural contexts. The game encourages exploration and continuous learning, as students seek to understand the intricacies of different lives.

2. Perspective Taking

- Definition: The ability to understand and consider others’ viewpoints.

- RealLives Connection: RealLives excels at fostering empathy and perspective-taking by allowing students to experience life from multiple angles. This exposure helps them appreciate different viewpoints and develop a deeper understanding of global diversity.

3. Persistence

- Definition: The capacity to maintain effort and interest over time despite challenges.

- RealLives Connection: RealLives requires students to navigate complex life situations that often involve setbacks and challenges. By persevering through these scenarios, students develop resilience and persistence, learning to cope with and overcome difficulties.

RealLives: The Ideal Tool for Classrooms

Enhancing Creative Self-Efficacy

RealLives provides a safe environment for students to experiment with creative solutions. For instance, when faced with the challenge of improving the life of a character living in poverty, students must devise innovative strategies to enhance the character’s circumstances. This process helps build their creative self-efficacy as they see the tangible impact of their decisions.

Fostering Imagination and Adventurousness

The diverse scenarios in RealLives require students to use their imagination to navigate unfamiliar situations. By exploring different life paths, students learn to embrace uncertainty and develop a more adventurous mindset. For example, students might guide a character through a career change, encouraging them to think outside the box and consider unconventional solutions.

Cultivating Openness to Art and Experience

RealLives exposes students to a variety of cultural experiences and artistic expressions. Through the game, students might explore the life of an artist in a different part of the world, gaining insight into different artistic traditions and cultural practices. This exposure broadens their horizons and fosters an appreciation for art and diverse experiences.

Promoting Openness to Intellect

The complex scenarios in RealLives challenge students intellectually, requiring them to analyze information, make informed decisions, and reflect on outcomes. This intellectual engagement encourages students to embrace new ideas and think critically about complex issues. For example, guiding a character through educational and career decisions helps students understand the importance of lifelong learning and intellectual curiosity.

Sparking Curiosity

RealLives naturally stimulates students’ curiosity by presenting them with intriguing and varied life stories. The desire to learn more about different cultures, social issues, and personal experiences drives students to explore the game in depth. This continuous exploration fosters a lifelong love of learning and discovery.

Developing Perspective-Taking

RealLives excels at fostering empathy and perspective-taking. By experiencing life from the viewpoint of different characters, students learn to appreciate diverse perspectives and understand the complexities of global issues. This skill is crucial in today’s interconnected world, where understanding and respecting others’ viewpoints is essential for effective communication and collaboration.

Building Persistence

The challenges and setbacks encountered in RealLives teach students the value of persistence. By navigating through difficult scenarios and finding solutions to complex problems, students develop resilience and the ability to persevere in the face of adversity. This persistence is a critical skill for success in both personal and professional life.

Implementing RealLives in the Classroom

Interactive Learning Experience

RealLives transforms traditional learning into an interactive experience. By actively engaging with the game, students become participants in their own education, making learning more dynamic and enjoyable. This active participation enhances retention and understanding of complex concepts.

Cross-Curricular Applications

RealLives can be integrated across various subjects, including social studies, geography, history, and language arts. For example, in a social studies class, students might use RealLives to explore the impact of socio-economic factors on individuals’ lives, linking the simulation to real-world data and case studies.

Promoting Global Citizenship

RealLives aligns with the goal of fostering global citizenship by promoting empathy, cultural awareness, and social responsibility. Through the game, students gain a deeper understanding of global issues and the interconnectedness of different cultures. This understanding encourages them to become more compassionate and proactive global citizens.

Supporting Diverse Learning Styles

RealLives caters to diverse learning styles by combining visual, auditory, and kinesthetic elements. The game’s rich narratives and interactive features engage students with different preferences, making learning more inclusive and effective.

Encouraging Collaboration

RealLives can be used as a collaborative tool, where students work in groups to navigate scenarios and make decisions collectively. This collaborative approach fosters teamwork, communication skills, and the ability to consider multiple perspectives when solving problems.

Assessing Impact and Outcomes

Teachers can use RealLives to assess students’ understanding of key concepts and their development of social-emotional skills. By observing students’ decisions and reflecting on their outcomes, teachers can gain insights into their students’ thought processes, creativity, and empathy.

Some Ideas for Classroom Implementation

Idea 1: Enhancing Empathy in Middle School Students

A middle school could integrate RealLives into their social studies curriculum to enhance students’ empathy and global awareness. Students could be assigned characters from different parts of the world and asked to navigate their lives. Through this process, students would develop a deeper understanding of global issues and demonstrate increased empathy toward diverse cultures.

Idea 2: Promoting Critical Thinking in High School

A high school could use RealLives to promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students could be tasked with making decisions for characters facing complex life challenges. The game’s scenarios would require students to analyze information, consider multiple perspectives, and make informed decisions. The results would likely show significant improvement in students’ critical thinking abilities and engagement with the subject matter.

Idea 3: Fostering Global Citizenship in University Students

A school or university could incorporate RealLives into their global citizenship course. Students could use the game to explore the lives of individuals from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. This experience would help students understand the importance of empathy, cultural awareness, and social responsibility in a globalized world. Course evaluations would likely indicate that students felt more connected to global issues and motivated to make a positive impact.

Idea 4: Interdisciplinary Projects

RealLives could be used in interdisciplinary projects that combine subjects such as geography, history, and language arts. For instance, students could explore the historical context of a character’s life, analyze geographical factors affecting their decisions, and write reflective essays on their experiences. This approach would encourage students to make connections between different fields of study and develop a more holistic understanding of the world.

Idea 5: RealLives as a Tool for SEL Development

Teachers could use RealLives as part of their Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum. The game’s scenarios would provide opportunities for students to practice empathy, perspective-taking, and decision-making in a controlled environment. Regular reflection sessions could be held to discuss students’ experiences and the emotions they felt while playing the game. This approach would help students develop their social-emotional skills in a meaningful and engaging way.

Idea 6: After-School Programs and Clubs

Schools could establish after-school programs or clubs centered around RealLives. These programs would provide a space for students to explore the game in depth, share their experiences, and collaborate on projects. Club activities could include discussions on global issues, cultural exchange sessions, and presentations on characters’ life stories. This extracurricular