The use of interactive narration techniques in teaching history

By: Leandro Villela de Azevedo

PhD in Social History (USP-2011) and Elementary and High School teacher for

25 years

https://linktr.ee/Leandrovillela

(Text originally written in Portuguese and published on the tecnaula blog and

later via Scribd)

This article partially presents the results of the work of professor

Leandro Villela de Azevedo in his research into the practical application of

interactive narration techniques, arising from RPG games (RolePlaying Game)

in elementary school students, in four schools in the State of S?o Paulo. Paul.

Establishing the theoretical basis for such use and demonstrating their

effectiveness, especially with regard to teaching attitudinal content, linked to

the deepening of procedural and conceptual objectives.

RPG emerged as a form of entertainment in the United States in the

1970s. It is an interactive form of storytelling, where a main narrator takes on

the role of the storyteller, while each of the participants takes on the role of

role of a character within that narrative. Each participant can request actions

only for their own characters, while the narrator controls all other characters

(NPC

– Nonplayable Character) and the result of actions in the universe being

narrated. The participant can say that their character will try to open a door,

for example, but it is up to the narrator to say whether this action was

performed correctly, or whether the door was locked. This narrative technique

has received several scientific studies both in the United States and in Brazil

(RODRIGUES, 2004).

The use of the interactive narration technique for educational purposes

began in Brazil at the end of the 90s, and in 2002 an NGO called Ludus

Culturalis emerged, which organized four RPG and Education symposiums

(2002, 2004, 2006, 2007) with a total of more than 3000

Translated from Portuguese to English - www.onlinedoctranslator.com

participants. The proceedings of the first of these symposiums were later edited by the

publisher Devir.

Interactive narration can occur in different ways, but, for the purposes

of better adapting to the content of this article, we will divide it into two

categories. To theregulatedand thenot regulated.With the advent of RPGs, rule

systems emerged that facilitated the creation of both the universe and story to

be narrated, as well as the creation of the characters that would be played by

the participants. Systems likeDungeons and Dragons, GURPS, World of

Darkness, facilitated the creation of fantastic universes that could range from

science fiction environments to dungeons infested with monsters or dragons,

from werewolves and vampires to characters from Brazilian folklore (LIMA,

2006). These rule manuals are generally accompanied by data that help the

narrator establish “chance” within his narration. For example, a participant

indicates the desire for their character to walk across a tightrope. Within the

entire context of the narration, this character proved to be athletic, but had

never tried to cross a tightrope before. Thus, the narrator establishes that

there is a 50% chance of this action being successful, thus establishing that on

the six-sided die, a result equal to or less than three means that he will be able

to carry out the action, otherwise he will fall from the rope. The narrativesnot

regulated, depend much more on the imagination of the narrator himself,

since at the same time it gives him much more freedom of creation, at the

same time it establishes a more arbitrary narration, not leaving transparent

the rules he uses for the success of actions, for example.

The first of these rule manuals created with an educational function

appeared in Brazil around 2003, as a result of the joint effort of teachers

participating in the aforementioned symposium. We have among them some

focused on the history of Brazil, such asThe rescue of refugees (where students

take on the role of detectives who go in search of the painting Retirantes by

Portinari, going through different aspects of the history of the painter and of Brazil

in the first decades of the 20th century) or for general history, such asThe

Crusades (where the teacher can allow his students to simulate a religious war

from the 13th century through interactive narration)

According to Cesar Coll and Antoni Zaballa (ZABALA, 1998, p.31) the

teacher's objectives must encompass three types of content, conceptual,

procedural and attitudinal. The first are the concepts themselves, typically

called specific contents or subjects, such ascrusades, feudalism,etc. The

procedures refer to theknow how to do, such as map interpretation, image

analysis, among others. Finally, according to the author himself, the most

challenging of these are the attitudinal ones, which refer to the to bethat is,

teaching students values that will be part of their character.

Interactive storytelling techniques allow for a deeper dive into each of

the categories above, if they can be applied well. For example, the teacher

creates a scenario relating to the colonization of Brazil, where students play

different roles inside a caravel. This narration can extend over two or three

classes, where different dangers will have to be experienced by them, such as

calms and lack of food, such as storms, rats trying to feed on rare food, barrels

of water that come loose and run out, diminish the little ones. available

resources or even a disease, such as scurvy. During this first phase of the

narration, they will be able to deepen their knowledge about the difficulties of

navigation, in situations that they could never imagine until then, such as the

possibility of dying of thirst surrounded by water. A simple list of these

difficulties given by the teacher could not be understood with the degree of

depth of seeing that your character could die during that difficulty, thus

leaving him out of the activity, causing him to become emotionally involved

with the story narrated, since I wouldn't want to stop participating in it.

In procedural terms, the possibility of a new, more practical meaning for

the skills learned arises. Following the example above, the ability to read a map

would be essential for the success of the adventure. The captains of the twelve

vessels should meet and discuss, based on navigation charts, choosing the

best route to reach their destination, avoiding storms and places of possible

difficulties. More than that, it would be possible to work the opposite way. After

arriving on dry land, on a second day of class, with the continuation of the

narration, students could make their characters disembark on dry land, and

leave

someone responsible for creating a map while they explored the unexplored

Santa Cruz Island in this imagination guided by the teacher. This mapping

would have to follow the instructions given, but could be a fundamental part of

being able to return to the boats.

Still in procedural terms, it is more than feasible for some students to be

responsible for writing a letter to King D. Manuel telling about their adventure

in the new lands. Thus, before reading fragments of Caminha's letter, they

would have their own report and elements of both reports could be compared.

Thus working not only on the procedure for reading a historical document, but

on the production of a report. I therefore understand the document more

deeply when it is read.

The use of the interactive narration technique is efficient in deepening

students' knowledge and may also be able to overcome some of the daily

challenges faced by the teacher. According to the philosopher of education Edgar

Morrin, there would be seven major challenges for the education of the future,

according to his production made for UNESCO thinking about schools in the 3rd

millennium (MORRIN, 1999).

The first of these challenges would be working with theerrorand the

illusion. According to him, all knowledge, however scientific and careful it may

be, is always subject to errors and therefore generating illusions. The biggest

mistake would be to believe that knowledge is not subject to error and the

biggest illusion would be to believe that it is possible to overcome all illusions.

Within this basic principle, the practice of interactive narration allows the

teacher to work on the issue of knowledge formation as a process and not

absolute knowledge. According to the same established example of possible

interactive narration, we would have a creation by the students that would be

an account of their trip. Certainly, by critically analyzing the letter created by

them, they would know that it does not reflect with absolute precision all the

elements that they experienced, even though it may contain a relatively large

amount of clues about how their adventure would have been.

In the same way that they could perceive the importance of this document

for someone from outside to know how the interactive narration occurred in their

classroom, they could also easily perceive that certain nuances were not faithfully

described in the document, no matter how carefully the students who

created the letter have been. In this way, when comparing it with Caminha's

letter, the teacher will find it easier to work with the idea of a historical

document, even though it is indispensable for our better understanding of the

past, it does not represent an absolute and infallible certainty of an event.

The example cited above allows the history teacher to work on the issue

of documentation, which is, in a way, the essence of historical knowledge.

Once there is the challenge that the student knows that while knowledge is

important and scientific, it is not absolute, and that the history teacher knows

that our historical knowledge came from the analysis of documents of the

most diverse types, Both principles must be closely linked to each other. If it is

impossible for the history teacher to create a scientific experiment that

reproduces some experience, as would easily occur in the areas of biology,

physics and chemistry, in interactive narration we have the possibility of the

students creating and experiencing a fictitious history, but based on reality,

where they can compare their actions with the documents they would produce,

and thus have an idea of the other side of the coin. Since the historian's work,

as a rule, always starts from the present, through documents, trying to

understand the past and not the opposite, where people from onepresent that

has passedthey are living a situation and can perceive the result of the

documents they created with the production of future knowledge about that

time.

Still within the issue of error and illusion, interactive narration allows the

teacher a new diagnostic evaluative dimension of their students. In a formal

assessment, questions can generate a list of words and concepts, which, no

matter how elaborate they may appear, can never have a practical dimension.

While the students' reaction to a simulation imagined through interactive

narration allows the teacher to see the “practical” use of those concepts. For

example, returning to Portugal without an account of the religion of the

indigenous people (because of the importance of religion at the time) or

without an account of the riches and precious metals that could be found in

this land (because of mercantilism and metalism) could be completely

inappropriate. . However, since it is not an assessment

formal, the result of the non-practical use of a concept will not be in the form of a

note, but rather in the form of an angry speech from the king (represented by the

professor) due to the fact that the navigators did not bring the information he

needed.

Still following Morrin's assumptions, we have the principles of the

relevance of knowledge. Basically the idea that knowledge must be applied to

practice, taking into account the microuniverse x macrouniverse and its

complexity. Certainly, the discipline of history, to the extent that it allows us to

think about the society around us, to understand and think about

interventions, has full capacity to fulfill each of these assumptions. However,

some specific concepts may take a few years of maturation before they can

actually be applied in the student's life, such as the issue of participatory

citizenship and critical reflection on society to generate community actions.

Interactive narration, however, allows, albeit in a simulated way, the

student to intervene in an imaginary world, thus giving the opportunity for

practical applications of knowledge that until then would only be possible at

more advanced ages. At the same time, it allows the personal experience of

experiencing a historical era. It is very common, in the field of history, for

economic, social and political models little by little to replace personal

narration, in a sensible attempt to demonstrate that history is not just in the

hands of a few people who decided the destiny of all humanity. Although such

thinking is correct with regard to the democratic formation of citizens, it can

make action within microuniverses difficult, since, especially in older times, it is

difficult to establish a non-generalist history of everyday life. Using interactive

narration, the teacher allows the student to experience the role of a specific

character, working on the issue of microhistory, at the same time that its

reflection allows a more macro view and the establishment of models.

Morrin's third assumption is the teaching of Human Nature, in its

various facets and aspects, allowing students to reflect on their own individual

and collective existence. In a way, this item, combined with the practical issue

of the previous item, can be linked to what Zabala calls

attitudinal content. So that the applicability of interactive storytelling

techniques to achieve both objectives can be worked on together here.

By placing the student in a simulated situation through narration, the

teacher can place them in situations of moral conflict, where they can not only

argue in favor of a decision, but see the possible consequences of it. In the

activity called Cecília Sumiu (AZEVEDO, 2007) students play characters who

were hired to investigate the disappearance of Cecília, daughter of a Lord of

Engenho. During the adventure, the students discover that she did not actually

disappear, on the contrary, she helped some slaves escape and is now with

them in a quilombo, of her own free will. At the moment this discovery is

made, the overseer accompanied by some bush captains discover the

quilombo and Cecília's whereabouts. It is then up to the students to decide the

actions of their characters, which can range from trying to mediate the

situation by avoiding a dispute, supporting the quilombo invasion, fighting to

defend the fugitives, among others. When debating among themselves about

a situation in which they have already been immersed for at least 40 minutes

of narration, a series of moral and ethical aspects are raised. In a very similar

way to what they will experience in adult life in different situations, whether in

their professional or personal lives. Having the opportunity to experience these

situations in practice and feel their possible consequences allows us to delve

deeper into the issue of knowledge of human nature, both in terms of

developing a critical or supportive attitude towards an event.

The fifth item raised by Morrin is living with uncertainty and positioning

yourself in the face of it. Traditional history teaching sometimes leaves no

room for uncertainty, as it deals with the study of the past. Even though some

specific knowledge, such as the techniques that the Egyptians used to build

their monuments, may still remain uncertain, this does not, in itself,

characterize uncertainty in the students' lives. Morrin, in his work, uses history

exactly to explain his idea of the uncertain. According to him, who would have

been able to imagine at the beginning of the world war in 1914, that it would

last for four years or that it would see a revolution?

socialism occur in Russia? Or who could have imagined that the terms that

dictated the end of the First World War would help the emergence of a second

one? Since students, when looking at the past, take the stance of an observer

who already sees the results of actions, it is difficult for them to experience the

uncertainties that people in their time had.

In a survey carried out with 100 elementary school students, in the 8th year,

between 2005 and 2006, the author of this article asked the students the main

doubt they had about the Napoleonic period. The most frequently raised doubt, by

around 30% of the students, was the lack of understanding of what would have led

Napoleon to want to attack Russia even in winter, since he should have already

known that this would lead to an almost certain failure. It is common for us to

attribute current knowledge and values to historical characters, making it difficult

to understand their actions.

The interactive narration technique, by placing the student experiencing

a historical character, allows them, before knowing the consequences of their

actions, to make decisions based on knowledge of the time. After applying the

activity in which students played Napoleon's assistants, practically everyone

advised him to quickly invade Russia to increase his power. In this way

demonstrating that there was a logic behind the French leader's actions.

Regardless of Napoleon's specific question, we realize that interactive

narration, by placing the student in the role of a character immersed in a

certain situation or historical period, allows them to see as uncertainty

something that is already considered past for us, experiencing moments of

decisions and reinterpretations of the situation around them, helping them

learn to deal with similar situations when they occur in their lives.

The sixth item raised by Morrin is understanding the other. The

discipline of history plays an important role in this regard, as it introduces

students to a diversity of peoples, cultures, belief systems and societies, which

allow for the expansion of the student's cultural universe, coexistence with the

different, respect and for sometimes even admiration from the other who until

then was unknown to him. Although there are a series of elements of this

discipline that allow us to work with the issue of otherness, interactive

narration also expands the possibilities here.

Through the interactive narration technique, the student can not only

understand the other, their culture, their beliefs, studying them from the

outside, but they can also participate in the narration by interpreting the other,

therefore having a character immersed in another culture. In this way we have

an experience much more similar to the practice of that culture, where the

student in a certain way becomes the other, experiencing situations that that

person or society experiences or experienced, thus sharing elements of this

new culture with which they are now in contact. . Literature and cinema

already had, in a way, this ability, by allowing the reader/viewer to have a

deeper insight into the thoughts and feelings of a given character, and to see

the story from a particular point of view. Interactive narration, by introducing

interaction and allowing the student to make their own decisions within the

story, exponentially deepens this power, since they will not only see the actions

and justifications through the explanation from a particular person's point of

view, but also from From an initial situation created, the student himself will

need to make his own decisions and verify their consequences according to the

teacher's planning.

According to Morrin, this otherness would need to develop in two

aspects, one more objective and intellectual, and the other more subjective

and emotional. In a way, according to Zabala's division, one step would be to

know what is different by following conceptual principles (it is possible to know

an entire belief system of an Indian society, for example, knowing all the

names of the castes, their functions, their origin and its ills) another level of

knowledge would be the one that would bring about an attitudinal

transformation in the student, where he, in addition to understanding that

society as an object of study, would learn to respect it, taking an equal stance

towards it, and not of superiority. Interactive narration, by allowing the student

to experience the role of a character from another culture, facilitates the

understanding of this second dimension, where there is not only an

understanding of the other rationally, but an emotional involvement or

development of respect for them.

Finally, Morrin brings us the issue of human ethics, establishing democracy

and critical participatory citizenship as the focus of this ethics. The school

environment provides many of these experiences to the student and the

History can often be their central focus. For example, holding assemblies,

creating student groups, or even simple everyday items, such as students

voting on whether or not a fan should be turned on in the room. Although

interactive narration is not such an innovative element in this item, it allows

the teacher to work on a series of issues related to it. In the initial example

where students would play the crew of the 12 vessels of Cabral's expedition,

for example, we discuss them to make decisions. It is not possible for each of

the caravels to take a different position. Even though, historically speaking, the

moment of great navigations is not at all democratic, the discussion between

the students who represent each of the vessels can be. Their argumentation

regarding each of the possible actions in the narration and the sharing of the

consequences together, allows a series of discussions to emerge, which are the

basis for a full democratic experience.

Below are transcripts of the student discussion regarding the activity Cecília

Sumiu,previously mentioned:

Student 1: The boys want to be on the overseer's side, they only care

about the money, but we want to support Cecília's decision, I think she must be

in love with a slave and I love love stories.

Student 2: But if the issue is money, she is the daughter who owns the farm, she

could ask her father to make the payment to them saying that the foreman was the one

who started shooting while she was still with the blacks.

Student 3: Yes, but for that you would need to take her to Casa Grande, and her

father would never let her leave there again.

Student 1: It's true, it remembers what the professor taught about the

way women were treated at the time.

Student 4: She must have some jewelry with her, let's say that if she gives the

jewelry we will side with her

Student 2: Do you want a bribe? Even here in the activity you are petty,

huh.

Student 3: Yes, but what if we try to convince the overseer to pretend they

didn't find her.

Student 4: But how would you do that? I'm not going to pay him

anything.

Student 2: Let's tell her that the only way to help the slaves is to stay

with us. So we get the reward, we share it with the overseer and the father

won't even remember to capture the slaves.

Student 3 : Wait. I have an idea. What if the daughter says that she was

captured by someone else and that the slaves fought to free her? Then we can

convince the farm owner to let them go free as a reward for saving his

daughter's life.

Student 4: And we still get our reward.

Student 1: But then she won't be able to live with the slaves?

Student 2: Yes, but you can't have everything, can you? Did you want it to end like

Romeo and Juliet?

Student 1: All good. We decided.

Within the hypothetical scenario created by the teacher, the students

needed to discuss the decision they were going to make that would change the

fate of all their characters. They were emotionally connected to the story,

transposing elements of it into their own lives. When discussing, they realized

that the issue was much more about uniting ideas and proposing new actions,

through each person's contribution, than just voting on previously established

options. The subsequent discussion of these elements, mediated by the

teacher, can be much more useful for students' understanding of the true

meaning of democratic participation, than simply electing a class

representative, as we see occurring in many schools. Argumentation with

others allows the creation of new ideas and new courses of action, which are

decided collectively, even if the final result may not completely please

everyone, but there was a consensus.

Despite the advantages of using the interactive narration method, the

technique still has little practical support in the area of education. The

aforementioned NGO LudusCulturalis was closed at the end of 2009, and there

were no new RPG and education Symposiums. Currently, Educational RPG

workshops are still taking place at Centro Cultural S?o Paulo, organized by

MegaCorp in partnership with Gibiteca Henfil.

AZEVEDO, Leandro Villela de. RPG e Educa??o: A teoria e a prática em oito atividades, Publica??o online com apoio da ONG LudusCulturalis, disponível em https://www.scribd.com/doc/48836808/RPG-Educacao-Leandro-Villela-de-Azevedo-VC . Acesso em 7 de mar?o de 2011

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LIMA, Vanessa Martins de. RolePlaying Game como jogo dramático aplicado à educa??o, FAMOSP, disponível em https://www.scribd.com/doc/48951783/RPG-e-teatro-educacao . Acesso em 7 de mar?o de 2011

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MORRIN, Edgar. Seven Complex Lessons in an education for the future. Unesco Publishing, 1999

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RODRIGUES, S?nia. Roleplaying Game: e a pedagogia da imagina??o no Brasil. Bertrand Brasil, S?o Paulo, 2004

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ZABALA, Antoni. A prática educativa: Como ensinar. Armed. Porto Alegre. 1998

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ZANINI, Maria do Carmo (org). Anais do 1o Simpósio de RPG & Educa??o, Editora Devir, S?o Paulo, 2002