Friday March 23, 2007

What DOOM taught me about learning.

Video games are commonly structured around the idea of levels. The user enters a level and works to win/solve the level, then is given the opportunity to move to the next level.

Many years ago I got caught up in playing DOOM v1.

One of my prime observations was: I entered each new level with a feeling of anxiety. I would walk out of the tele-portal into the new level, and typically I would get killed immediately. But I learned something. The next time when I walked out of the portal I knew where the "bad guys" were and I'd shoot 'em. Through several incarnations I would develop an expertise of the level.

Eventually I would discover the exit portal leading to the next level, but typically I would not want to jump into the next level right away. I wanted to continue exploring (learning) the current level (and maybe get more bounty). My anxiety of the current level had completely disappeared. In fact, I looked forward to discovering new challenges on that level. I was mastering the level. It was like a familiar comfortable playground.

Eventually I'd get bored with the current level, and I'd jump into to the exit portal, and the anxiety cycle would start all over again in the new unfamiliar level.

Education is like that. We start learning a new subject with a heightened sense of anxiety. Its that feeling of anxiety that makes us resist learning new things; we are comfortable at the level we are at.

Another (over-used) analogy: Like getting into a cold pool, you can jump in, or ease in, or just not go swimming at all. The anxiety caused by the expectation of the cold can effect whether you swim or not. You may, or may not, be swayed by knowing once your in the water the cold goes away.

If I choose to learn something new, I find it helps to be conscious of my anxiety and knowing that as I become familiar with the material over time, the anxiety will go away, and I will master the new level.

Those of us who provide learning services can use the gaming industry's model of levels, plus the recognition of the anxiety cycle, to make our products better.