Layered Literacies Carolyn J. Stufft with Sandra Schamroth Abrams and Hannah R. Gerber

Sandra Schamroth Abrams Hannah R. Gerber

Critical Thinking and Layered Understandings: Book Clubs, Videogames, and Adolescent Learning

This article is also available in an online format that between their experiences, and educators can use allows direct access to all links included. We encourage these rich conversations to help scaffold students’ you to access it on the ALAN website at http://www. discussions and hone their critical thinking skills, all alan-ya.org/publications/the-alan-review/the-alan­ the while respecting and honoring students’ literate review-columns/. experiences that extend beyond the book.

ayering literacies in the classroom involves Videogames and YA Literature: Using educators and students thinking expansively Book Groups to Layer Literacies about the integration and application of digital L by Carolyn J. Stufft and nondigital resources, including experiences and perspectives (Abrams, 2015). In this column, Carolyn Seven male high school students sat around a table in Stufft examines how seven adolescent males inte­ the corner of their inner-city school’s library to discuss grated their videogame experiences into their YAL the book Game Slaves by Gard Skinner (2014). These book club discussions, building upon Gerber’s (2009) 10th- and 11th-grade students were members of an research that compared videogame and young adult after-school videogame club, which included a book literature (YAL) genres. More specifically, in “Video­ group that met every other week during the Spring games and YA Literature: Using Book Groups to Layer 2014 semester; the students read two books, Assas­ Literacies,” Stufft suggests that traditional book clubs sin’s Creed: Renaissance (Bowden, 2009) and Game can become contemporary learning spaces when they Slaves, and asked each other questions about the text. hinge on interest-driven content. Further, adolescents As a researcher, my role was to listen to and facilitate can engage in critical evaluations of texts when they the book group’s discussions when appropriate. build upon their videogame experiences to interpret What emerged from the book group’s discussion young adult literature. on that particular day was a conversation in which As Stufft’s work reveals, the adolescents in the the students seamlessly moved between the YA book after-school book club juxtaposed a range of literate Game Slaves and their experiences with videogames experiences, from their reading of YAL to their vid­ and movies. The following is a direct transcript (all eogame playing to their movie watching. The adoles­ names are student-selected pseudonyms) that provides cents’ conversations revealed a layering of literacies insight into the seven adolescents’ literacy practices that supported expansive and critical understandings and meaning-making experiences: of YAL and their own learning experiences. Stufft’s findings suggest that bridging traditional and contem­ Aditya: So, let’s say if it was a game, if there was a porary practices may not be as onerous as some may game called Game Slaves and it was based on this think; in fact, many students already draw parallels book . . .

96

The ALAN Review Summer 2016

m96-102-ALAN-Sum16.indd 96 4/28/16 12:46 PM Mateo: No, I would not play it. Deshi: Yeah, uh, it explains how the game world works but not the real-life world. Diego: I would give it a chance, you know. Book clubs and videogames? Indeed, the high school Mateo: No, it’s one of those things that . . . it was students analyzed two books, including story struc­ poorly structured. The story was lacking details. ture, details, and craft.

Deshi: I don’t think it’d be bad. I just don’t think it The Relevance of Book Clubs has the game play elements it would need. The book club is not a new phenomenon. Following an established practice, teachers have employed book Aditya: So, what is missing that would help turn the groups as an approach to teaching reading (Raphael & book into a game? McMahon, 1994) and have used book groups within English language arts classes and across content areas Mateo: Um, a better structure in the story because to both engage students and support content learning there’s things still missing. One, we don’t know (e.g., Long & Roessing, 2015). As students respond what in the world all of those . . . those monsters to texts within book groups, they have the ability not that they’re facing. We don’t know the backstory only to discuss books, but also to share their own about it. interpretations of and reactions to each text. Accord­ ing to Louise Rosenblatt’s (1978/1994) transactional Diego: Oh, yeah! theory, aesthetic reading involves attention being “centered directly on what he [the reader] is living Mateo: It wasn’t giving much detail other than ev­ through during his relationship with that particular erything looks like a basic barren desert inside the text” (p. 25); engaging with a text, “the reader finds it city. necessary to construct the speaker, the author . . . as part of what he decodes from the text” (p. 20). Deshi: I feel like there was a lot of detail, in my Rosenblatt’s theory applies to other texts, includ­ opinion. Yeah, details of the outside world. I guess ing digital texts (Evans & Po, 2007) and videogames that’s what I’m trying to say. (e.g., Sanders, 2013), as readers actively construct meaning. When “a reader is successful in applying Mateo: I’d give it a four. Everything is in it, it’s good, . . . genre-related strategies, the text will generally but it’s still missing those parts we were talking provide a satisfying aesthetic experience” (McEne­ about. aney, 2006, p. 362). For students who are gamers, the relationship with a given text may be influenced by Aditya: Like story-wise? personal experiences with videogames, as evidenced through the discussions with these seven high school Mateo: Yeah. gamers. When the students drew upon their gaming knowledge to interpret Game Slaves, they experienced Deshi: Mm, I’d give it a three out of five. I think it has personally relevant learning, as the “text comes alive too many flaws for me to rate any higher. Just lack for an actively engaged reader” and the student has of details of the outside world, you know. “something worth discussing” above and beyond the content of a particular book (Galda, 2013, p. 12). Aditya: Well, my rating would be uh, four because, Researchers and educators have showcased intersec­ uh, the story, I like the idea of how it has that de­ tions between videogames and traditional literature tailed narration of action. Like, that tells me, okay, (Abrams, 2009; Brinckerhoff, 2007; Gerber, 2009; if it was made into a movie or a game, it’d be a Gerber & Price, 2011; Hidey, 2006; Steinkuehler & pretty good one. But the bad thing is, that story of Squire, 2014); book groups provide another avenue human, it’s confusing, it’s missing. for layering students’ literacies.

97

The ALAN Review Summer 2016

m96-102-ALAN-Sum16.indd 97 4/28/16 12:46 PM Videogame book groups provide a space for Layered literacies involve interest-driven move­ students to layer literacies as part of their discus­ ment between online and offline spaces as youth sions, which may, in turn, provide a setting to share engage in multimodal meaning making within and learning, such as students linking content from a between in-school and out-of-school spaces; layering history course to the historical setting of a videogame literacies also involves iterative learning and practices (Abrams, 2009), exploring that inform one another regardless of where they science concepts through take place (Abrams, 2015). In other words, students’ Layered literacies involve videogame play (Annetta et interests (such as videogames) help students discuss, al., 2013), and using a vid­ connect, consider, and layer a variety of media as part interest-driven move- eogame like Portal 2 as part of the meaning-making process. The students may of English language arts, perceive how a particular videogame setting relates to ment between online and math, and technology edu­ a passage in a book; students may then advance that cation (Abrams & Russo, analysis and compare both to a movie with a similar offline spaces as youth 2015). By offering a setting plot. What we see, then, is students moving seam­ engage in multimodal within which students can lessly among in-school, out-of-school, online, and explore and discuss their offline experiences. This type of learning and layering meaning making within gaming experiences, teach­ continues and cycles between and among the different ers may be able to help forms of media. In the case of the seven youth in the and between in-school students develop a deeper after-school, teacher-sponsored videogame club, the and out-of-school spaces. understanding of more learners engaged with various experiences, texts, and traditional texts (Beavis, modalities as they understood YA literature through 2012). In this sense, book their videogaming experiences. groups provide a space for students to share gaming experiences and to refer to YA Literature and Videogames in Book Groups other media of interest as they interpret a YA text; the As noted earlier, for the book group the students book group can act as a springboard for students to read Assassin’s Creed: Renaissance and Game Slaves. continue to learn both within and beyond school. The former directly corresponds with the Assassin’s The transcript also suggests that the students re­ Creed videogame series (Ubisoft Entertainment, 2007), lated ideas from the YA book to their experiences with whereas the latter includes gaming terminology and other forms of media, including movies and video- characteristics but is not itself related to an existing games. In fact, they engaged in the type of plot analy­ videogame. The Assassin’s Creed videogame series sis that may be part of a traditional English classroom centers around the conflict between two opposing discussion. However, the students also extended such factions, the Knights Templar and the Assassin Order, an analysis to include a range of literary elements, with characters from the Assassin Order completing turning to other forms of media, including video- missions in adherence to the Assassin’s Creed that games, to explain their points. When they discussed guides their actions. Game Slaves, the adolescents’ critiques varied as they The YA text Game Slaves follows the lives of mentioned backstory, action, setting, and videogame Team Phoenix, a group of in-game avatars consist­ mechanics (i.e., the rules and/or design within a ing of Dakota, Mi, Reno, York, Jevo, and their leader videogame that allow for interactivity between the Phoenix. The team faces battles together within their player and the game; see Sicart [2008] for additional virtual world while observing the rules they are information). Mateo, for instance, focused on nar­ expected to follow. Dakota, however, does not accept rative details and a lack of backstory, while Deshi the rules at face value and instead questions the status referred both to videogame interactivity and to setting. quo, leading to a seismic shift in perception for the Aditya considered story elements related to action for other characters as they navigate and explore whether movies, videogames, and books. As they analyzed they are inside or outside a videogame. As one of Game Slaves, these high school students examined the the high school students described it, Game Slaves text in relation to a variety of literary and videogame is about “taking real people and putting them in the elements. Internet, basically.”

98

The ALAN Review Summer 2016

m96-102-ALAN-Sum16.indd 98 4/28/16 12:46 PM Students began book-group discussions by com­ the students centered discussion of videogames on the paring characters within the book and analyzing the literary elements within games that related to the YA setting; they also were quick to layer literacies and text, rather than focusing discussion on an examina­ draw parallels between the book and other media, tion of game mechanics, which encompass tools and/ such as movies and videogames that had plots and or elements of a videogame “designed for interaction actions similar to that of Game Slaves. Students even with the game state” (Sicart, 2008, par. 6). extended game-based understandings to critique the Discussions of videogame narratives were more book. One teen suggested that the character Dakota common than those of game mechanics that often could be considered part of a DLC (i.e., download­ addressed actions a player was able to execute within able content) package, thereby applying videogame a game. However, understanding the relationship background knowledge to his interpretation of YA between traditional texts and the inner workings of literature. a game that control what a player can do (e.g., game For these students, videogames served as texts in mechanics) reveals an application of deep thinking their own right, yet differed from traditional books. related to different forms of media. The following When discussing the characters and setting of Game discussion provides an example of this type of critical Slaves, for instance, Mateo compared and contrasted analysis. the YA book to a videogame: “And it reminds me of [the] TimeSplitters [series] because in TimeSplitters: Deshi: Man, this [Game Slaves] is like Fallout 3. Future Perfect, it turns out all of the TimeSplitters are genetic [sic] mutated people and clones. They were. Diego: Yeah, like Borderlands and Call of Duty some­ And see, they’re all . . . they’re all being made . . . for how. world conquering. And so, even though it’s not the similar story, it’s still the genetic mutation thing.” Deshi: They had the post-apocalyptic feel. Mateo critiqued Game Slaves by saying that more description is needed for the portions of the plot that Jonas: It reminds me of a game called Left for Dead 2. take place outside of a videogame setting: “Whenever they’re in the game, they’re fully detailed. I mean, I Carlos: Why? could even see all the skeletons and dogs. But when they’re out of the game, they’re, it’s like, it lacks the Jonas: ’Cause they explained the zombie part, and rest of the details.” Through comments like these, the that made me think that this is similar. students provided insight into ways they were able to visualize the parts of Game Slaves that are set within a Diego: Yeah, okay, and well like in Borderlands, the videogame but needed additional details to better en­ characters you fight, the enemies are kinda like vision action that takes place in other settings within they’re . . . they’re smart because they’re like you, the book. like they have really good aim and stuff. These As they reflected on Game Slaves, the group characters [in Game Slaves] remind me of those, members noticed similarities between the book and ’cause you know how they acted and like they’re videogames such as Fallout 3 (Bethesda Game Stu­ there; you know how in Borderlands 2 like the dios, 2008), Borderlands (Gearbox Software, 2009), enemies they can like speak to you. Like talking to TimeSplitters (Free Radical Design, 2000), Left for them, it’s cool. They had a lot of things to say. Dead 2 (Valve Corporation, 2009), and Call of Duty (Infinity Ward, 2003). In each instance, students Deshi: I would say Fallout, in terms of setting, of provided examples of characters, setting, or plot from people surviving. Games Slaves that related to a videogame; that is, they were able to tie YA literature to videogames as Diego: The setting is like this story setting. part of a dialogue that flowed from experiences with traditional text to experiences with multimodal rep­ In Diego’s above remarks, game mechanics, such as resentations in other forms of media. In most cases, the abilities ascribed to characters within a videogame

99

The ALAN Review Summer 2016

m96-102-ALAN-Sum16.indd 99 4/28/16 12:46 PM (e.g., intelligence and good aim with weapons) were Slaves to videogames, based on their experiences with central to his discussion of the book Game Slaves. both types of text, through observations that highlight­ While Diego considered the setting and characters ed the critical connections they made across content in Game Slaves, his comparison was based on an areas. Additionally, students’ conversation showcased analysis of the game mechanics, specifically those the ways in which they were literate beyond the tradi­ related to characters’ qualities and behaviors inherent tional text of Game Slaves, such as their consideration in Borderlands; in the same of the rule systems of videogames and the ways they way that the videogame relate to a YA text. For the book group students, ex­ By validating students’ Borderlands is designed periences with and expectations of videogames clearly with characters who are impacted their reactions to and interpretation of the experiences and exper- smart and skilled with YA text. weapons, so too do the tise with videogame play, characters in the YA text Classroom Applications teachers are able to cre­ Game Slaves have these at- One way that teachers can incorporate videogames as tributes. Diego’s comment an entryway for students to layer literacies as part of ate spaces within the is noteworthy because his their learning is through the inclusion of videogame­ comparison moves beyond related books as options for literature circles or book classroom for students to consideration of literary groups. The adolescents in my book group reported share these experiences features, such as plot, that they enjoyed both books but preferred the vid­ to instead compare the eogame book. By validating students’ experiences and to hook background YA text and a videogame and expertise with videogame play, teachers are able based on the rules of inter- to create spaces within the classroom for students knowledge from video- activity within the game. to share these experiences and to hook background games with content from This type of comparison knowledge from videogames with content from shows how layering goes literature being read and discussed in school. In this literature being read and beyond a focus on plot, way, videogames serve as an entryway for students’ setting, or characters; it participation in literature discussions. discussed in school. can include game elements Teachers should recognize that student-led book within traditional English groups can serve as a catalyst for teens to layer litera­ language arts discussions. In fact, students prompted cies as they combine discussions of various media— one another to expand their thinking and provide from books to videogames—using different modes evidence to support their thoughts. Additionally, the to mediate their understandings of diverse texts. way students moved between videogames and Game As Gerber (2009) contended, within the classroom, Slaves, using videogames as a guide to critique literary students can examine how iconography (e.g., sym­ elements within a text, suggests that the students were bols, game art, and icons) exists across videogames not only accustomed to critiquing videogames, but and YAL. Thus, teachers can structure book groups in also were reading and thinking critically about the YA ways that allow students to naturally layer literacies. book. For example, each book group could have access to Mateo continued his critique of Game Slaves and an Internet-enabled device to participate in a weekly its perceived lack of details by stating, “Well, they, classroom TweetChat conversation with other book there’s always a backstory [in videogames].” Deshi groups. Teachers could also consider using prompts, responded, “In Fallout, cause in Fallout you can make such as the ones included in Figure 1, to support book your own character and make your own story.” Diego club discussions. emphasized the way that videogames as texts differ When videogames and other media have a place from books by adding, “I was thinking in the vid­ within book groups, discussion extends beyond the eogames, it’s more visualized, you know. And this book to include students’ experiences and interests one’s [Game Slaves], like, you know, you gotta write with other forms of media. In book groups, students it down.” The students continued to compare Game “learn not just from the characters but also from each

100

The ALAN Review Summer 2016

m96-102-ALAN-Sum16.indd 100 4/28/16 12:46 PM • Can you think of a videogame or movie that has a setting similar to the one in this book? • Which of the characters in your book is similar to a videogame character? What do they share in common? What dissimilarities do they have? • Choose a character from your book—what would this character Tweet if he/she had a Twitter account? • What changes would you make to the text if you were going to turn this book into a videogame? Into a movie? • In what ways would you extend the backstory of this book? • Create a character profile, including strengths or special skills, for one of the characters from your book. How would you describe this character’s abilities? • What would an in-game map include or represent at this point in the book? How would the mechanics of the game allow a character to move around and throughout this map?

Figure 1. Examples of book group prompts to support students in layering literacies

other” (Polleck, 2010, pp. 65–66). By incorporat­ The teacher’s role in this case would be to scaf­ ing videogames as part of YAL discussions, teachers fold students’ awareness of the ways in which a can transform book groups into spaces within which variety of features of different media, such as the rules students layer literacies and consider relevant com­ of interactivity of videogames, can be used as part of a binations and interpretations of meaning when they critical analysis of text. More broadly, with educators’ incorporate different forms of media and analyze, encouragement, students can consider aspects of liter­ critique, and respond to books. Students can draw acy beyond traditional printed text. Teachers are able from this knowledge when reading books and consid­ to facilitate students’ creative and critical thinking and ering narrative elements within their reading. They to encourage myriad connections as students layer can use their videogame experience both to connect literacies in the classroom. In terms of adolescent lit­ with books and to critique characters, setting, and plot eracies, the inclusion of videogames is a powerful way within books. In these ways, students may engage in not only to engage students in media of interest to critical thinking, such as when they compare the set­ them but to promote literacy development by fostering ting from a book with that of a videogame; however, connections between videogames and books and by they may need additional guidance from teachers to supporting students’ critical analysis of the different help them expand their insights and understandings forms of media that are present in their lives. when considering game mechanics/rule systems for videogame interactivity. Carolyn J. Stufft is an assistant professor in the depart­ The previous conversation in which Jonas linked ment of Elementary Education at Stephen F. Austin State the setting of Games Slaves with that of Left for Dead 2 University in Texas. Dr. Stufft is a certified ELAR (Eng­ provides an example of a student drawing from video- lish/Language Arts/Reading) teacher, reading specialist, and master reading teacher and has taught grades 4–8 in game knowledge to discuss a literary element within charter and public schools. Her research interests include a book. In that same conversation, Diego related char­ young adult literature, digital literacies, and preservice acters in the book to those in Borderlands 2, noting teacher preparation in literacy. She can be reached at the qualities of the characters, such as having good [email protected]. aim; however, Diego did not pursue this comparison further. Instead, the conversation moved back to com­ Sandra Schamroth Abrams is an associate professor paring the setting between videogames and the YAL in the department of Curriculum and Instruction at St. book, indicating that the students may have benefit­ John’s University in New York. Her research into digital ted from a teacher or peer to help them develop their literacies and video gaming provides insight into agen­ understanding of the book in light of their videogames tive learning, layered meaning making, and pedagogical (and vice versa). discovery located at the intersection of online and offline experiences. Her recent work appears in the Journal

101

The ALAN Review Summer 2016

m96-102-ALAN-Sum16.indd 101 4/28/16 12:46 PM of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Journal of Literacy Transactional theory and the teaching of literature. Journal of Research, and Educational Media International. She is Children’s Literature, 39(2), 5–13. the author of Integrating Virtual and Traditional Learning Gearbox Software. (2009). Borderlands [Xbox 360 game]. in 6–12 Classrooms: A Layered Literacies Approach to Plano, TX: Gearbox Software. Multimodal Meaning Making (Routledge, 2015). Gerber, H. P. (2009). From the FPS to the RPG: Using video- games to encourage reading YAL. The ALAN Review, 36(3), 87–91. Retrieved from http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ Hannah R. Gerber is an associate professor in the depart­ ALAN/v36n3/pdf/gerber.pdf. ment of Language, Literacy, and Special Populations at Gerber, H. R., & Price, D. P. (2011). Twenty-first century adoles­ Sam Houston State University in Texas. Her research cents, writing, and new media: Meeting the challenge with examines the affordances and constraints that video gam­ game controller. English Journal, 101(2), 68–73. Retrieved ing experiences have on youth literacy practices in both from http://www.ncte.org.steenproxy.sfasu.edu:2048/library/ in-school and out-of-school settings. Her recent work has NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/EJ/1012-nov2011/EJ1012 appeared in English Journal, Educational Media Interna­ Twenty.pdf. tional, and Voice of Youth Advocates. Hidey, D. (2006, November). Stop laughing: Evaluating video game fan fiction might turn scholarly sooner than you think. The Bottom Line Online. Retrieved from http://www.the References bottomlineonline.org/news/view.php/574501/Stop-Laughing. Abrams, S. S. (2015). Integrating virtual and traditional learning Infinity Ward. (2003).Call of duty [PC game]. Santa Monica, CA: in 6–12 classrooms: A layered literacies approach to multi- Activision. modal meaning making. New York, NY: Routledge. Long, L. H., & Roessing, L. (2015). What are book clubs doing in Abrams, S. S. (2009). A gaming frame of mind: Digital contexts health class? The ALAN Review, 43(1), 69–77. and academic implications. Educational Media International, McEneaney, J. E. (2006). Agent-based literacy theory. Reading 46, 335–347. Research Quarterly, 41, 352–371. Abrams, S. S., & Russo, M. P. (2015). Layering literacies and con­ Polleck, J. N. (2010). Creating transformational spaces: High temporary learning. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, school book clubs with inner-city adolescent females. The 59, 131–135. High School Journal, 93(2), 50–68. Annetta, L. A., Frazier, W. M., Folta, E., Holmes, S., Lamb, R., & Raphael, T. E., & McMahon, S. I. (1994). Book club: An alterna­ Cheng, M. (2013). tive framework for reading instruction. The Reading Teacher, Science teacher efficacy and extrinsic factors toward professional 48, 102–116. development using video games in a design-based research Rosenblatt, L. M. (1978/1994). The reader, the text, the poem: model: The next generation of STEM learning. Journal of Sci­ The transactional theory of the literary work. Carbondale, IL: ence Education & Technology, 22, 47–61. Southern Illinois University. Beavis, C. (2012). Videogames in the classroom: Developing Sanders, A. (2013). Parallels between the gaming experience digital literacies. Practically Primary, 17(1), 17–20. Retrieved and Rosenblatt’s reader response theory (Doctoral disserta­ from http://www.alea.edu.au/documents/item/355. tion). Retrieved from http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/ Bethesda Game Studios. (2008). Fallout 3 [Xbox 360 game]. metadc271890/m2/1/high_res_d/dissertation.pdf. Rockville, MD: Bethesda Game Studios. Sicart, M. (2008). Defining game mechanics.The International Bowden, O. (2009). Assassin’s creed: Renaissance. New York, Journal of Computer Game Research, 8(2). Retrieved from NY: Penguin Books. http://gamestudies.org/0802/articles/sicart. Brinckerhoff, S. (2007, April). Scholar illuminates classical litera­ Skinner, G. (2014). Game slaves. New York, NY: Houghton Mif­ ture with contemporary video games. Advance, 25. Retrieved flin Harcourt. from http://advance.uconn.edu/2007/070416/07041607 Steinkuehler, C., & Squire, K. (2014). Videogames and learn­ .htm. ing. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of the Evans, E., & Po, J. (2007). A break in the transaction: Examining Learning Sciences, 2nd ed. (pp. 377–396). New York, NY: students’ responses to digital texts. Computers and Composi­ Cambridge University Press. tion, 24, 56–73. Ubisoft Entertainment. (2007). Assassin’s creed [Xbox 360 Free Radical Design. (2000). TimeSplitters [PlayStation 2 game]. game]. Montreuil, France: Ubisoft Entertainment. Nottingham, England, UK: Crytek UK. Valve Corporation. (2009). Left for dead 2 [Xbox 350 game]. Galda, L. (2013). Learning from children reading books: Bellevue, WA: Valve Corporation.

102

The ALAN Review Summer 2016

m96-102-ALAN-Sum16.indd 102 4/28/16 12:46 PM