Discussion

Research Questions April 2025

  • Primary research question (RQP): How can understandings of how to design and facilitate CGD&P be enriched using socio-cultural approaches (used in this study)?

  • Sub-question 1 (RQ1): What contradictions arose in this research’s evolving design process and how were they addressed in the resulting CGD&P pedagogy?

  • Sub-question 2 (RQ2): How can the use of a collection of game design patterns support CGD&P, in particular in relation to abstract and concrete dimensions of existing pedagogies?

  • Sub-question 3 (RQ3): How can varied dimensions of agency be identified and nurtured in an evolving community of game makers?

Introduction

This discussion chapter draws together the findings of previous chapters to deepen the analysis of the concepts explored and to synthesise observations into formulations that can be communicated in an accessible way. To begin, this chapter discusses the findings of Chapter 6 in relation to existing research on programming pedagogies. It specifically addresses the complexities of the abstract and concrete dimensions of computing education.

The second section addresses gaps in the existing landscape related to social and cultural dimensions of CGD&P research through examining participants’ development of agency via game making. To achieve this, I begin with an exploration of the study’s findings in relation to instrumental, transformative, and relational agency. I develop an interpretation of relational agency drawing on Rogoff and Gutiérrez’s [@gutierrez_cultural_2003] concept of learner repertoires. To do this, the findings of this research are framed within three stages of a described process of relational agency by repertoire blending.

A final section summarises findings for a broad audience, addressing the characteristics of the design that support relational agency, a graphical representation of the development of agency, and an exploration of metaphors that synthesise significant features of the learning design.

<!– As such, it communicates insights for equity and diversity via practical concerns to inform future recommendations for practice.

deepens the analysis and discussion on RQ2 regarding the potential uses of gameplay design patterns (GDP) and concludes with an analysis and discussion on RQ3, addressing reflections on participant agency. –>

Part one - Exploring concepts of abstract and concrete knowledge frameworks in relation to Game Design Patterns

The tension between the abstract and concrete dimensions of the process of learning to program runs as a theme through the literature in the domain of computer game design and programming (CGD&P). Yet, the field would still benefit from research on novel pedagogies that explicitly address the complexities of abstraction in computing education (see Chapter 2). Areas of complexity relevant to this study include: issues of degrees of abstraction in understandings of computational thinking; the role of levels of abstraction for teachers and learners; and epistemological pluralism as a way to value concrete approaches. This chapter explores these characteristics in relation to the data surfaced in Chapters 5 and 6 of this thesis. This section develops the proposal of GDPs as a construct located between the abstract and concrete poles of the learning experience and examines the utility of this positioning for facilitators and participants. Finally, a technical pedagogical structure is advanced and given the term of remix-enabled elective pattern patching (REEPP).

Conceptions of abstraction in the research field

This section explores dimensions of abstraction and concreteness in the use of GDPs within the context of computing education by revisiting relevant pedagogies outlined in Chapter 2. In activity theory, specifically in formative interventions, the research process and the evolving design involve a process of rising to the concrete. This analytical process involves identifying from concrete data an abstraction of interest and utility and leveraging the power of this concept to generate distinct concrete instantiations of it. Thus, in this study, GDPs are conceptualised as both intermediate-level learning design principles (explored in Chapter 5) and as units of analysis (see Chapter 3), as well as analytical germ cells manifested in varied motivational and mediational forms (Chapter 6).

Exploring findings in relation to existing pedagogies

Computational thinking and bricolage

While computational thinking is not a pedagogy, it has formed the basis of a significant amount of research on diverse pedagogies to support its development. As such, a summary in relation to the findings of this research is relevant here. Chapter 2 explored definitions of computational thinking varying in degrees of abstraction or application. Two notable interpretations include Wing’s [-@wing_computational_2006] focus on abstraction encompassing overarching computing principles and high-level structural design approaches, and Resnick and Brennan’s [-@brennan_new_2012] more applied approach including computational practices and perspectives.

This applied approach draws on the legacy of Papert and Turkle’s [-@papert_epistemological_1990] research on diversity in coding approaches to counter potentially alienating abstract approaches. The authors describe an alternative approach to the dominant formal, abstract style that “emphasizes control through structure and planning” [-@papert_epistemological_1990, p.134]. This dominant approach can be characterised by the following: a top-down design process involving extensive planning prior to coding, explicit teaching of language principles and syntax, and coding from scratch rather than altering existing products. To counter this dominance, Papert and Turkle highlighted the value of a more concrete computing pedagogy, likening the process to bricolage, a craft-based approach where participants become very familiar with their tools and materials. Bricolage approaches involve an iterative process, proximity to the code, strong links between function and form, and maintaining close contact with a concrete sense of the outcomes, even at the expense of programming efficiency or neatness of code. The findings of this research suggest that participants’ practices resembled bricolage, a theme explored further in the following sections.

Exploring findings using concepts of semantic profiles, LOA, & PRIMM

Concept of levels of abstraction (LOA) and semantic profiles within the PRIMM pedagogy were explored in the pedagogical discussion in Chapter 2 [@waite_abstraction_2016; @sentance_teachers_2019]. A shared feature of both models is the recommendation that learners shift their focus between abstract and concrete levels of project structure and semantic concepts respectively. The pedagogies are advanced to help teachers design learning experiences that allow participant shifts in perspective and thus deepen knowledge by packing and unpacking abstracted concepts via concrete experiences, in line with legitimation code theory [@maton_making_2013].

In this thesis, there are two principal dimensions of abstraction at play. The first features the abstract concepts present in Wing’s definition of computational thinking at one pole and concrete code implementation at the other. The second dimension, represented in the LOA framework, is a hierarchy of elements, namely: goal, design, code, and results. The goal, being the most abstract element, situates GDPs between these levels (see Table 7.x for more details). To represent GDPs on a graded scale of semantic density, following Barendregt et al. [-@barendregt_intermediate-level_2017], they would be situated between abstract CT processes and concrete implementation. Thus, for the purposes of this analysis, it is appropriate to place the LOA in the lower half of the profile (see Figure 7.x below), and at levels above GDP place more abstract concepts of systems thinking and computational thinking.

Figure 7.x - Semantic density of the key concepts of this research {width=75%}

Addressing interpretations of LOA [@waite_abstraction_2018] in video data, we can map the levels of abstraction to shifts between conceptions of goals, code implementation structures, and observations of results in my findings.

Level Focus Example
Conceptual Level Goal formation. Choosing what features to add to the game in the form of GDPs.
Design Level Design choices involving coding concepts and knoweldge of Documentation organised around GDPs scaffolds this process. What needs to be done is to a large extent prescribed.
Code Level Adding, checking and debugging the lines of code. This process is supported via template a structure which encourages simple modification, and code patching. Debugging of code also happens at this level.
Execution Level Understanding the outputs. There is immediate feedback here and a strong correlation between goal and outcome in the self-playing of the game product.

Table. 7.x Levels of abstraction located in the findings

This table therefore outlines some of the impact of the design decisions made on the level at which participants are spending time in their game making. To continue this process, the following diagram is an approximate representation of the scope of movement using the scale of semantic density outlined in Figure 7.x above, using participant (Toby) behaviour seen in Vignette 1 (also explored in Chapter 5). In this vignette, an exploration of abstract CT concepts and explicit use of systems concepts are rarely present, and the resulting semantic profiles show movement in the lower areas of the gradation of semantic density. This shallow semantic wave above is typical in describing the data of other participants in analysed session recordings.

Figure 7.x - Semantic profile in Vignette 2 {width=95%}

Movement between layers of abstraction and concrete occurs as Toby(c) shifts between goal formation and the concrete implementation using design practices and specific code structures. Toby starts by imagining and choosing a design pattern and navigates to the relevant documentation. He progresses to implement the pattern via patching in code from the code example. He tests it via previewing and playtesting the game. He then revises or debugs it iteratively. For example, a series of alternations between checking game output level and the code debugging level results from Toby needing to make several changes to get the positioning of the moving enemy correct. Examples pervade the data of Vignettes of similar iterative shifts between these levels. The descriptions of increasing participant fluency via operationalisation in Chapter 6 are interrelated with this repeated movement between levels and perspectives. Games provide high motivation to adjust code to get the result feeling just right, and GDPs are particularly relevant in this process due to the tangible level of feedback at the most concrete level (as explored in Chapter 5 and 6).

While the semantic profile shows rapid iterations, they are limited in scope with little activity at the code design level or use of more abstract computing concepts. This pattern is due in part to the format of supporting resources structured in design pattern format, with a description of a GDP packaged together with a suggested code design and sample lines of code as a concrete implementation (see Chapter 5). Additionally, as a learning designer, I had pre-completed aspects of project implementation that required more generalisable computational thinking skills which would have been a potentially valuable learning experience. For example, abstraction was present in the structuring of key variables within the starting template and via the graphical design tool in the form of a grid matrix in an array data structure. Decomposition and generalisation (pattern recognition) were present in the structuring of the collection of GDPs. For advocates of the potential of abstract interpretations of computational thinking, this process could be perceived as over-scaffolding, depriving learners of the chance to learn and practice valuable practices.

These black-boxing decisions were initially made to address barriers associated with abstract approaches and conceptual complexity (see Chapter 2), thus prioritising accessibility and flow experience. As such, the resulting semantic profile of Figure 7.x above can be aligned with the description of Papert and Turkle’s [@papert_epistemological_1990] bricoleur maker styles and constructionist design heuristics [@resnick_reflections_2005] (see Appendix.tech for fuller details). Observations show most participants operating as bricoleurs, feeling their way through smaller-scale iterations rather than extensive planning followed by implementation. The process of scaffolding this abstraction allowed greater focus on the relational and affective elements of the learning design, processes which are described in more depth in part two of this chapter.

While the utility of black-boxing to increase accessibility for participants here supports the potential of LOA to review participant experience of learning programming [@waite_abstraction_2018-1, p.21], there remains the question of the value of participants being explicitly aware of LOA. While systems concepts and computational thinking concepts are being explored at the concrete level, and were included in written instructions, they were not explicitly taught in sessions. These intentional limits in exploration of more abstract concepts, in line with a bricolage approach, appear to be at odds with advocacy for alternating between abstract and concrete dimensions in semantic waves [@curzon_using_2020]. It follows that the authors would cite this as a problematic limitation in the approach, or at the least as missed opportunities to unpack and repack concepts [@maton_making_2013].

While the value of explicit teaching of more abstract dimensions of computational thinking is not challenged here, my findings expose underlying tensions. In my use of just-in-time personal instruction of abstract concepts while code is being worked on, I balanced factors such as how welcome this underpinning knowledge would be to students. Would it interrupt their flow? A tension involving competing demands on the facilitator is also relevant, as there was a high demand on my time and I prioritised getting people unstuck to keep them engaged. Given a different focus or motivation, for example a need to explore concepts due to curricular or exam pressures, the process of supporting students to explore more abstract concepts could have been scaffolded further through more explicitly guided reflective processes. An alternative profile is represented in the illustration below.

Figure 7.x - Possible alternative semantic profile {width=95%}

The map of learning map dimensions (see Chapter 6 & Appendix.learningDimensions) is relevant here to chart and thus facilitate exploration of relevant coding and systems concepts. The trajectory represented in Figure 7.x can be clarified by describing an imagined facilitator intervention in the context of Vignette 1. After the participant has completed iterative code changes to add a moving enemy and is ready to progress to another goal, the facilitator could initiate joint reflection on the processes and concepts used in the implementation of the pattern. In this example, this would allow the participant and facilitator to explore some of the following concepts: the use of x and y coordinates as separate parameters of the tween function, and the role of the tween function as an abstracted element provided by the underlying Phaser code library. A similar approach could be taken after Toby had undertaken changes to the graphical level design matrix, by drawing attention to the technical aspects of that coding construct. Specifically, the facilitator could describe the matrix variable as an object consisting of an array with an entry for each line of level design. Additionally, if appropriate, the facilitator could highlight the function later in the code which parses each array and component element, applying conditional numerical operations to correctly place game elements in the corresponding area of the game screen.

In order to prompt and support the process of reflection (as well as initial goal formation), in P2 I asked participants to plot their progress by moving self-created avatars on a physical map (see Vignette.map). This encouragement of the process of reflection via playful methods could also be achieved in different ways, perhaps by attributing badges or points to a successful reflection of different elements of learning dimensions. While this aspect has not been prioritised in this thesis, it is an area of future interest which could be explored by adapting the design for use in a more formal setting. The extrinsic nature of the process of gamification would appear to align with contextual factors of examination-driven education.

Interpreting GDPs as both intermediate-level knowledge and as a gateway pedagogical concept

While this research has avoided explicit teaching of concepts, it has conversely surfaced a mechanism via the use of GDPs that allows more accessible access to both abstract and concrete elements present in the learning environment. Eriksson et al. [-@eriksson_using_2019, p.15] frame design patterns as a form of “intermediate-level knowledge” between the detail of concrete implementation and more general theories [@hook_strong_2012]. In addition to this interpretation, I propose that GDPs act as gateway concepts that communicate pedagogical utility to access different dimensions of learning. The use of GDP concepts as a primary object of activity allows them to open up exploration of both abstract and concrete concepts. This is represented conceptually in Figure 7.x below.

Figure 7.x - GDPs as a gateway construct opening up the exploration of wider related concepts {width=95%}

The framing of design patterns as an intermediate construct [@eriksson_using_2019; @barendregt_intermediate-level_2017; @hook_strong_2012] was originally used as a tool for researchers to surface design concepts and practices. While this remains valid in this research, a similar process is clearly present for purposes beyond research utility. For example, participants in the last chapter outlined the varied uses of GDPs in terms of mediational strategies and as a motivational element, repeated in varied forms as different patterns are implemented. Additionally, for facilitators, GDPs serve functions within the pedagogical approach of this research, including: the ability to structure participant choice within practical limitations, and acting as a unifying construct to aid the packaging of documentation and the support provided to assist project navigation.

Summary of structural components of applied pedagogy - REEPP

The previous section has shown how, instead of explicit teaching of concepts, the structural support provided by the use of GDPs allows flexible navigation of the abstract and concrete elements of the learning experience, driven by participant choice. This section summarises an approach to facilitate the use of GDPs via a technical structuring of resources. I propose that key elements of this pedagogy constitute a replicable approach, which is a valuable contribution to coding education. To communicate the essence of this structural, technical model, I propose an acronym: remix-enabled, elective, progressive, pattern patching (REEPPP). The summary table outlining the features of the REEPPP approach has been written to be applicable to projects beyond the use within game making, potentially extending to wider digital media making.

REEPPP Term Description
Remix Enabled Project formation is accelerated, limited and scaffolded through the use of a structural starting template in a recognisable project genre with easily discoverable affordances strongly coupled with object output, providing immediate feedback.
Elective Participants have choices over their learning pathways in dimensions of content and design patterns to be added.
Progressive The processes involves progressive steps. In this case pattern recognition through exploration/play, quick start activities involving minimal changes with high impact on the project outcomes, using progressively more challenging documented patterns, finally implementing patterns without support
Pattern The process has at its core the use of recognisable design patterns which are presented together with suggested design solutions and concrete code snippets.
Patching The authentic technical process of code patching accelerates production and creates errors suitable for debugging at a novice level.

Table Figure 7.x - REEPPP as a technical structure which synthesises key elements of the learning design

This technical structure synthesises the use of a code playground, a game library, a half-baked game template, UMC pedagogy, and a collection of game design patterns. While similar approaches exist, this structural pedagogy is innovative in the way systemic tensions have been resolved and congruencies introduced.

The first part of this chapter has, through an analysis of the characteristics of the learning design related to abstract and concrete elements of computing knowledge, addressed a gap in research in finding an appropriate level of scaffolding [@waite_teaching_2021; @quintana_scaffolding_2004] supporting CGD&P identified in the problem statement of this thesis. The use of conceptual and practical frameworks to scaffold domain-specific working practices can help ameliorate the dialectical tension between engagement via tinkering and requirements to promote “principled understanding” [@barron_doing_1998, p.63]. This research has surfaced a method which facilitates a principles second approach using GDPs as a gateway concept to dimensions of abstract practice based on reflection on completed activity. In addition, findings of Chapter 5 are reframed to communicate the value of a structural approach I call the REEPPP approach, which hinges on the use of design patterns to access and facilitate varied dimensions of game making. While this chapter has so far focused on the personal dimension of knowledge, the scaffolding provided by the REEPPP approach accelerates and supports the making process, which in turn allows for greater possibilities of social and cultural making via playtesting, outlined in the following section.

Part Two - Agency, and re-mediation of repertoires in third spaces

A key motivation of this study is to better understand how to mobilise potentially fruitful socio-cultural perspectives via replicable pedagogical strategies to facilitate participant agency during CGD&P. This second part of the chapter is guided by Papert’s foundational focus on community-oriented project work [@lodi_computational_2021] and his related articulation of computational fluency as a challenge to research focusing too narrowly on technical approaches rather than expressive dimensions [@resnick_seeds_2020; @resnick_coding_2020]. This section is structured in the following way. Firstly, given that a guiding motivation of this study is to explore the process participant empowerment within CGD&P, an exploration of evolving expressions of agency shown in findings is undertaken using the concepts of instrumental, transformational, and relational agency. Following this is an ecological analysis of the cultural plane of activity emerging from the findings of this research. To do this, I draw on socio-cultural understandings of agency development as a utopian process [@gutierrez2020utopian; @rajala_utopian_2023], using concepts of third spaces, movement of participant repertoires, and the evolving hybridity of repertoires.

Exploring the learning process of my finding using the lens of transformations in agency

Chapter 2 examined the concepts of flow and varied characteristics of fluency in constructionist research. Chapter 6 explored these concepts in relation to the data of this study and proposed the related concept of agency as one more closely aligned to a socio-cultural approach. Many of the decisions outlined in Table 5.x summarising tensions involved in the learning design can be interpreted as increasing agency in practical terms by providing affordances or by removing barriers to use. Conceptually, these practical dimensions can be framed as instrumental agency, as they remove aspects of negative liberty caused by technical barriers [@matusov_mapping_2016, p. 433]. Instrumental agency in education can be viewed as a relatively uncomplicated view of mediation as a means to achieve pre-set goals. A distinction can be made between instrumental agency and transformative agency [@isaac_cultural_2022], in that expressions of instrumental agency are unlikely to provoke environmental changes in the activity system at hand. Transformational agency, by way of contrast, may stem from transcending individual motivation but also involves a transformation of systemic constraints [@hopwood_agency_2022]. Sannino [@sannino2015emergence; @sannino_transformative_2022], via the concept of transformative agency via double stimulation (TADS), highlights that participant acts of volition which aim to overcome conflicts blocking activity progress may serve to create or surface previously unutilised forms of mediation and tool use.

The emergence of the pedagogy used in the next phase of activity was informed by observation of acts of volition and the resulting changes. In early stages, as a facilitator, I made available a variety of affordances in terms of types of activities and materials available to facilitate the process of double stimulation. However, after noticing that volitional attempts by participants lacked more structured supporting resources, I then incorporated learning design decisions to introduce, increase the visibility of, and ease of use of new tools and affordances with an aim to increase feelings of control over the creative process for participants. More details on this process of change informed by the TADS process are included in Chapter 5 and Appendix.design.p1. This process raises a question: does adapting designs to increase affordances and instrumental agency reduce opportunities for transformational agency in future iterations? And therefore, is it advantageous to keep some key areas of the learning design incomplete to encourage the emergence of participant responses and novel practices, thus retaining the potential for transformational agency?

An additional challenge as a facilitator in this regard is how to balance the transformative potential of incomplete learning environments with the potential for participant confusion and stress. In this research, this tension was ameliorated via the use of play and other processes to create an inclusive, low-stress environment. These strategies were beneficial to participants feeling able to experiment with new forms of mediational strategies and thus enact transformational agency. Another relevant concern is how to best incorporate new affordances and processes that emerge from TADS processes into the learning community, a question explored through the concept of relational agency in the following section.

Turning to relational agency in the learning design, the complex relations between participants outlined in the vignettes and data of the last chapter, in particular those evident in guided participation and cultural activity, demonstrate interdependence, one of the key characteristics of relational agency. Edwards [-@edwards2009systemic] explores relational agency within a CHAT framework as transcending individuals’ capacity to encompass collective problem-solving via specialisation and diversity of approaches within activity systems. As a collective, participants can overcome systemic contradictions via expansive learning, rearranging working relationships, and thus forging new, mutual forms of helping and learning strategies. In subsequent writing in this chapter, the concepts of instrumental and transformational agency are understood to be incorporated within this wider definition of relational agency.

Reframing findings using socio-cultural understandings of agency and repertoire blending

The discussion section of Chapter 6 examined the complexity of the expanded object in this research. It highlighted both the diversity in terms of motivations and mediational strategies present, and the limitations of 3GAT to clearly represent the important interactions between activity systems [@engestrom_development_1996]. To address these limitations, this section reframes these findings using the concepts of repertoires and third space, with attention to issues of participant identity and the movement of practices between learning settings. For Gutiérrez, third spaces are collective zones of proximal development, which can be both a specific environment and/or a process within existing contexts supporting a hybrid approach where diverse repertoires are re-mediated or blended in collaborative work on an expanded object [@gutierrez_developing_2008]. To augment this setting-related concept, Rogoff and Gutiérrez [@gutierrez_cultural_2003; @gutierrez_youth_2019-1] use repertoires as a lens to contribute to the discussion of expansive learning in CHAT as a positive, enacted demonstration of diversity and equity. The overall goal of this section is to explore the appropriation of diverse, existing participant repertoires [@gutierrez_rethinking_1999] into the third space of the game-making community and to explore the development of new mediational tactics and other repertoires.

Repertoire importation into the the game making community

Following Gutiérrez’s [-@gutierrez_developing_2008; -@gutierrez_learning_2019-1] concept of learning as movement between spaces, we can locate participant repertoires that are imported from other activity systems into an emerging third space of the game-making activity. To do this, this section draws primarily on interview data, which allows a greater precision in locating the repertoires as pre-existing in other settings rather than being rapidly developed in the new setting. Two key themes of imported repertoires emerged from the data: those involving funds of knowledge and those involving divisions of labour.

Addressing first repertoires involving divisions of labour, helping roles identified by Barron and colleagues [@barron_parents_2009] in technology use (teacher, project collaborator, learning broker, non-technical consultant, and learner) are present from the initial stages. These roles are illustrated in observed practice or in interview data (see summary in Appendix.helping roles). Some imported practices are parent-led. In video data and interview data with Susanna and Tehillah, the parent details how she is able to support her child based on her home knowledge of working styles and the use of paper to help the child sketch (see Vignette 2). The paper prototyping as a home practice imported to this space is also cited by Mark(p) and Ed(c) in interview data (see Interview.2.a). Mark(p) describes a style of working slowly and methodically as plodding, “we are plodders”, a style supported by step-by-step documentation which the family accesses at home (see Interview.2.b). This game-making program set an expectation for parents to get involved with the game coding as well as young people. Maggie (Interview.3.a) shares her thoughts on the changing nature of Home Education communities, noting that parents are now more passive and think of their roles as arranging tutoring for their children, whereas she is more aligned with a DIY approach and keen to get involved.

Other divisions of labour, which highlight imported repertoires and roles of young people, are present in the data. In Interview.1.c, Madiha(p) describes Nasrin(c)’s strong preference for independent working, which her mother Madiha respects and accommodates. Anastasia(p) (P1.debrief) also shared reflections on the issues of family and home education dynamics, suggesting that parents may get in the way of young people’s ability to move into other people’s spaces to learn things, and that parental helping roles may therefore be a hindrance.

Turning to funds of knowledge and interest, which are present in the areas of game playing interests, art, environmental and other global concerns and professional knowledge. For example, some adults imported knowledge from professional communities or previous studies, for example Maggie had studied Pascal previously and Dan brought practices from work and from volunteering at Coder Dojo (see Interview 3 & 4). Movement of repertoires was also well illustrated in the mobilisation of game related knowledge. From P2 onward the use of a half-baked game as a starting point also allowed FoK to be mobilised in several ways. The knowledge of what was normal in such a platform game, the use of gravity as a known concept in variables. And motivation to change such a game and personalise it via the graphical matrix. In Interview.1.a Nasrin shares some of the links between Minecraft practices and graphical asset authoring in the Piskel software. This surfacing of home interests into a shared process had an additional benefit for some parents. In Interview.1.b Madiha shared that via joint game making she had developed greater understanding of and had become more involved in Nasrin’s gaming activity.

Participants were able to incorporate some of their concerns about wider ecological and global issues in the planning of their game narrative. In interview data Madiha (Interview.1.c) describes her own choice to address social media, Nasrin’s choice to make a game on sea pollution and Xavier’s topic of AI robots taking over the world. On a smaller scale some participant chose their hobbies or fan interests as game subjects: Ed choosing trains (Interview.2.b) and Maggie, Pearl, Toby and Clive choosing beekeeping (Interview 3.a). Interview data surfaced the identification with art as a hobby practice by Ed, Nasrin and Madiha. This was echoed in video data where both Madiha and Nasrin appeared to favour working with graphical elements and bringing characters to the game. Madiha created a collage which she brought in to use as the game’s background.

The purpose of this section is not an attempt to exhaustively list initial imported uses of FoK and DoL, rather it serves to highlight an important stage in a longer process of agency development. At times the practice of initial combining of these repertoires with either GDP concepts or technical tools was very rapid. For some participants the process of blending their interests with those of the game making program began immediately and intuitively as illustrated by Mark(p)’s comments on Ed(c)’s use of the Piskel graphical art editor (Interview.2.a). Other processes took longer to emerge, requiring more time or active effort to incorporate as described in the following section.

The process of blending of repertoires in the third space of this research (playtesting in particular)

The work of DiGiacomo and Gutiérrez [-@digiacomo_relational_2016-1, p.144] (see Chapter 3) explored social making in a similar context and highlighted the importance of both material feedback from making activities to nurture relational expertise in the form of emerging specialisms in activity, and of social feedback to increase relational agency between participants.

Self-playtesting by individuals and pairs allowed immediate feedback from the material affordances of the learning design, a process that developed specialisms related to growing participant proficiency. As explored in Chapters 6, the structuring of the GDP collection around the MDA game framework, drawing on aesthetics, dynamics, and mechanics of the game, reflected initial participant interests. Some participants developed their imported home interests into areas of game-making specialism. Some focused extensively on the creation and implementation of graphical assets and level design, being motivated by narrative placement in the game via GDPs.

The process of playtesting, beyond an evaluation phase [@fullerton_game_2018], became a community process. Group playtesting of the games of others surfaced existing practices and amplified opportunities for new repertoires, specialisms, and associated identities to propagate. Playtesting can thus be seen as both a process and a (third) space suited to both the re-mediation of mediational strategies in response to the diverse practices, and thus the organic and introduced development of hybrid practices which blend existing repertoires of young people, parents, and facilitators [@gutierrez_lifting_2010]. In addition, group playtesting unlocks the relational aspects of both expertise and wider agency, a process that is explored in this section using the data of this thesis.

The development of different styles of being in playtesting represented new forms of re-mediated strategies incorporating home practices and newly introduced repertoires. Some adults who developed new technical processes by working through documentation in a methodical manner (see Vignette V3.c & Vignette 2) refrained from extensive testing of other games, waiting for others to test their games and carefully observing their responses. Some participants were very social in their playtesting approach and used playtesting as a way to gain an idea of what to add to their game next and to ask for direct help in that process (see Vignette 1.b). Others built relationships during playtesting in different ways. For example, some gave feedback via kind and supportive comments. Madiha voiced her personal identification with created characters and often said how cute the characters were (Vignette 5.b). Others embraced a disruptive stance in playtesting which, for some participants, provided a chance to break conventions and game design norms of the genre, as a way to cause frustration or confusion, illustrated by Tehillah’s behaviour in (Vignette 2.c). Some children added additional playful elements to playtesting (see Appendix.playtestingtypes). Some, in particular, brought a physicality to the process, clustering in a particular zone of the class, referencing the gameplay elements, acting them out, attempting to change the games of others, and playful tussling as part of resistance to those changes.

The re-mediation of hybridisation of existing and new repertoires shows the development of participant interests into game-making specialism. This identity formation alleviates barriers to participation in programming communities explored in the problem statement of this thesis. The role of specialism within playtesting creates helpful system congruencies helping the development of novel and effective repertoires through a positive affective relationship to the overall activity. The diversity in making and playtesting behaviours shows the development of a robust community with a variety of modes of participation echoing Rogoff’s characteristics of a community of learners [@rogoff_developing_1994], and the hybrid modes of participation made possible in third spaces [@gutierrez_rethinking_1999].

Importantly, social playtesting made the resulting specialisations on learning visible, thus contributing to possibilities of relational agency within the learning environment as a whole. New expertise exists as a form of identity within an individual’s repertoire and can be mobilised by peers as a relational affordance of the learning system. In short, following the logic and terminology of DiGiacomo and Gutiérrez [-@digiacomo_relational_2016-1] the emerging relational expertise helped develop relational agency.

Supporting emerging identity formation and specialisation through interventions to support relational repertoire blending

While the previous examples have focused on relational agency between participants, the role of the designer and facilitators are also relevant. My recognising and valuing the emerging areas of specialisation and expertise, both technical and social in nature, helped the development of diverse practices. Specifically, the responsive design revisions outlined in the first part of this chapter help keep the games in progress in a working state and more time devoted to open playtesting helped reinforce and support the diverse practices of social feedback in playtesting. I reflected on the possibility that the success of some participants in drawing on imported repertoire could be encouraged or accelerated in others if suitable affordances be added to the learning environment. This is explored in this section via reflection the roles of supporting helpers and the facilitator interventions of side missions.

The role of supporting student helpers and their helping styles took on a important role in the process of repertoire blending. In phases 2 and 3, I asked students to circulate during making time as a way of replicating some of the features of playtesting with a smaller disruption to game programming time. While it is important to acknowledge the importance of the role of student helpers in the formation of relational agency, given the wealth of existing research on this subject in similar settings [@kafai_mentoring_2008; @roque_family_2016; @roque_im_2016; @barron_parents_2009; @stone_problem_2007-2], only a brief summary of activity is included here. I asked helpers to identify and bring to my attention coding blocks which were preventing participants from progressing, thus overcoming some parent’s unwillingness to make demands on facilitator time. Student helpers were asked to prompt descriptive reflection by asking participants what features they were working on and to notice and reflect on any distinctive behaviours emerging in participants’ product or practice (see Vignette 1). This parallels a similar study by Stone and Gutiérrez [-@stone_problem_2007-2, p.51] where student helpers highlighted emerging “zones of competency” of learner’s identities and relational expertise. Student helpers also communicated to participants innovations in practice made by peers, thus amplifying this relational expertise and the increasing overall possibility of relational agency.

The introduction of side missions and maker types made visible emerging repertoires as cultural affordances in a way which increased and legitimised diversity. Turning to address two more explicit interventions in P2 and P3 which aimed to accelerate the process of relational expertise and repertoire blending. This section is also limited in scope but for a different reason. While there are novel and promising elements here which synthesise the helping roles described above with elements of drama practice and mantle of the expert, a detailed exploration would take this thesis in a different direction. From observation of the emerging specialism and identities explored above, I created a working typology of participant approaches to playtesting and game making approaches. This grouping became a topic of reflection via a playful game exploring Bartle’s player types. Subsequently, to support these maker styles, I created a selection of side missions and presented these together with a wider mission within a drama frame (see Appendix .makertypes for a fuller description and participant feedback on the process via interview data).

In interview data participants shared their positive feelings towards both the shared fictional frame of making a game for an audience of judgemental aliens, and the social and mischievousness of the social missions within that drama. The value of the drama narrative and side missions aligns with work on play theory as a technique giving participants permission to play [@walsh_giving_2019], legitimising the previously peripheral activities and bringing them into the shared conceptions of the idioculture. The recognition of the hybridity of possible modes of participation increases conceptions of enacted diversity of the community.

This strand of thought invites a theoretical examination of the particular value of identity formation via the blending of repertoires of play and design approaches. The role of play as a leading activity is explored by Gutierrez [@gutierrez_learning_2019-1] to facilitate movement between sites of learning. The invitation to play can be seen as a familiar affordance leading to more unfamiliar territory. A helping process in blending through opening a door to a new collaborative zone of proximal development.

COMMENT - THIS WOULD NEEDS A BIT MORE DEVELOPMENT.

Part Three - Synthesising and reframing the findings of this research for a broad audience

Returning to the gaps in existing research driving the question of this study we can see the importance not only of research exploring and analysing the development of socio cultural approaches to CGD&P but also on means to disseminate these practices into an atrophied but still extant grass-roots community, and via remaining funded communication channels. The following section prioritises key messages arising from this research and with an aim to frame them to be accessible but theoretically consistent with socio-cultural approaches.

How can varied dimensions of agency be identified and nurtured in an evolving community of game makers?

Returning to address RQ3 directly, and the under-explored area of agency development in existing research in CGD&P, it is of value to re-examine and synthesise the characteristics of the learning design described using agency as a lens. Agency in this game making community is seen as multi-dimensional and as a process located in community participation rather than an individualised property. In this analysis the concept of relational agency represents an end point achieved through building on and incorporating processes of instrumental and transformative agency. It follows that it is advantageous to highlight relational agency as a guiding principle for varied stakeholders. For example, as an objective for participants to develop, for designers to design for, and facilitators to facilitate.

This chapter has explored a process of developing relational agency via analysis of the findings that were framed via a staged approach to re-mediating existing repertoires into new repertoires and an emerging game making idioculture. To help conceptualise this goal and process I propose the term relational agency through repertoire blending (RARB). This term, based on the work of Gutiérrez and others [@gutierrez2020utopian; @stone_problem_2007-2], mirrors Sannino’s [@sannino_principle_2015] concept of TADS (transformative agency by double stimulation). It is advanced with a motive to provide an accessible framing and a metaphorical structuring to a complex process.

Narrative descriptive of a proposed procedure for facilitating relational agency by repertoire blending (RARB)

RARB is a process which, in the context of this study, can be best described via three stages. In stage one, the motivation is to create an inclusive learning environment where participants are able to import existing repertoires from other spaces in the form of competencies and interests. For some participants, this may involve the use of designed affordances in pre-planned (by the learning designer) ways via instrumental agency, or they may cast around to find novel uses of affordances present in a process of TADS. As participants load their existing repertoires through the use of new tools, a process of blending is already in the process.

Stage two involves a natural stewing of these repertoires in the melting pot of a new third space (e.g., the game making sessions) into new repertoires. In this research, the repertoire-blending process leading was facilitated by the favourable conditions provided by regular playtesting and other playful elements of the programme. These emerging making behaviours and specialisms involving interests and helping behaviours resulting from manifestations of instrumental and transformative agency may start to propagate via playtesting and other social and cultural interactions in the space.

In stage three, facilitators can recognise the use of novel processes and begin to help other participants to use those same processes by incorporating them into the learning design or in some way highlighting the possibilities they offer. The role of the facilitator here involves adding yeasts or other accelerants to allow the body of the emerging idioculture to grow faster by making relational, socio-cultural affordances more visible to all participants. The culture should be kept warm by checking that such processes are not overwhelming, that they are optional, and by maintaining a playful environment at this stage to allow this form of relational agency to flourish.

Summative table illustrating stages of facilitating RARB in this study

The purpose of this table is geared more towards the synthesis of the approach in relation to creating relational agency through repertoire blending. As such, characteristics and descriptions are more decontextualised.

Characteristics of design Design example and description Evidence & related research
Stage One - Facilitating participants to import existing repertoires of practice    
Allow quick demonstrations of game knowledge Quick start activities scaffold learners to alter game players allow learners to show competency Example of quick start activities (Appendix )
Encourage early use of art and music abilities via scaffolded tool use Learners interested in art can use an intuitive pixel art and music editors to quickly integrate their home interests in digital creations. example 2
Facilitate flexible group sizes to allow importation of relational helping and working repertoires. Use of a foundational game template helps novices get started without help and facilitates a larger number of groups example 3
Use a project theme that is relevant to participants. Use of a relevant theme in the project design brief. example 4
Stage Two - Engendering blending of repertoires    
Protection from complexity via technical limitations Participants benefit from more relaxed making environment as key design complexities are baked into template design example 5
Provide feedback mechanisms in the materials of making process Uise of code playground and structuring template with key affordences with high impact on the game Microworld research, rapid feedback via code playground
Try to create a level playing field between generations The use of an unfamiliar text coding process for both YP and adults created a more horizontal power relationship example 7
Provide regular social or community feedback on emerging designs as a way to recognise and engender participant specialisms The use of playtesting allowed for regular feedback see Gutiérrez, example 2
Stage Three - Recognising and encouraging emerging specialism and identity behaviours    
Engedering a low stress and playful frame within overall activity with explicit fictional narrative Use of a drama process, example 2
Structuring reflection on relational expertise Use of maker styles as a tool to faciliate emerging specialims, and to communicate a validity of a pluralism of approaches to design and programming Papert & Turkle, Appendix.maker
Explicit interventions to support the development of new blended helping styles Use descriptions of helping styles in digital environments to reinforce adaptation of existing home helping repertoires example 2

Table 7.x - Summative table illustrating stages of facilitating RARB in this study

Representing the use of REEPP, RARB and the use of GDPs within a pedagogical framework

The following section begins with a summary of how and where the research questions have been answered, dealing first with the sub-questions before returning to the principal research question. A description and graphical representation of an overall pedagogy developed follows.

Sub-question 1 (RQ1): What contradictions arose in this research’s evolving design process and how were they addressed in the resulting CGD&P pedagogy?

RQ1 was answered via the design narrative in Chapter 5 which contained analysis using CHAT concepts to examine three key areas of contradiction in the evolving research design. A summary table and discussion discussed the findings in relation to existing pedagogies explored in Chapter 2. The REEPPP approach outlined in part one of this chapter is in part a result of this line of questioning.

Sub-question 2 (RQ2): How can the use of a collection of game design patterns support CGD&P, in particular in relation to abstract and concrete dimensions of existing pedagogies?

RQ2 was addressed by findings in Chapter 6 via a summative table of different mediational and motivational uses of GDPs. An interpretation of the role of GDPs as a germ cell of game making activity and it has been discussed in more depth in this chapter. In addition, it has been used to inform analysis of the use of patterns within the technical structure of the REEPPP approach.

Sub-question 3 (RQ3): How can varied dimensions of agency be identified and nurtured in an evolving community of game makers?

RQ3 is addressed in part two of this chapter through the reinterpretation of cultural elements in the findings of Chapter 6 using concepts of third space, and repertoires.

Primary research question (RQP): How can understandings of how to design and facilitate CGD&P be enriched using socio-cultural approaches (used in this study)?

All three questions contribute to address RQP. A fuller summary of this question will be addressed in Chapter 8 via a summary of contributions of this study. At this stage however, it is of value to return to the problem statement of the study in Chapter 2. In particular, one of the gaps in existing research concerned the process of communicating a holistic understanding of the learning design that evolved in the course of this research which is challenging. The following summary addresses this challenge by summarising the overall pedagogy, a product of the socio-cultural research methodology, via a summative description and graphical representation.

The structural element of the REEPP approach could be augmented with the socio-cultural elements explored in part two. To do this, I could propose a logical acronym: collaborative, culturally responsive, remix enabled, elective, progressive pattern patching (CCRREEPPP). While logical, I have concerns that it may be perceived as a bit daft. Instead, I will concisely describe the relationship between REEPP, RARB and the use of GDPs as gateway concepts. The structural scaffolding provided by the REEPP framework facilitates the initial stage of the RARB process where GDPs play a key role as a gateway to abstract / concrete concepts and practices which are available to be blended with imported participant repertoires resulting in new repertoires manifested as relational expertise and relational agency in a new community of learners. While this is difficult to represent in a figure, I have attempted to do so in Figure 7.x, focused on combining the role of GDPs as a gateway concept to facilitate wider remediation of diverse imported and emerging repertoires.

Figure 7.x - A graphical representation of the inter-related elements of the of RARB {width=100%}

There are some additions to the previous representation in Figure 7.x of GDPs as a gateway construct. The REEPP structural framework is added as a foundation of the pedagogy. The gateway role of GDPs to access more personal concepts and practices remains, but more social repertoires are represented within the initial stage of RARB (labelled importing of cultural repertoires). The process of relational agency by repertoire blending (RARB) is represented as a nexus of activity where re-mediation of other repertoires occurs and emerging, blended repertoires are represented as a product of that process. Finally, in this version, as a challenge to the convention of placing the abstract dimension at the top of the illustration, I reverse the polarity aligning with the CHAT concept of rising to the concrete. Recommendations on how this representation may be helpful for different stakeholders are present in a section in the concluding Chapter 8.

The previous sections have explored a multi-faceted view of participant agency and the process of repertoire development in this learning design. This section reinterprets some of these aspects, in particular the principles in Table 7.x above, using a metaphorical approach. The use of metaphor here has two functions. The first is to help deepen my analysis via a move to the abstract, searching for communicable generalisations. Secondly, to aid the accessibility of this research for an audience of practitioners as well as researchers. Given the complex nature of the pedagogy, a metaphorical approach allows a simplified but evocative perspective which communicates the future possibilities of findings [@rajala_utopian_2023; @gutierrez2020utopian].

Harbours as both protective and authentic

Harbours are protective spaces, artificial or naturally occurring, used primarily as suitable places for docking ships. If designed, protection is offered by artificially created harbour walls extending out into the sea, creating a sheltered space. Harbour walls prevent large waves from entering but also provide gaps allowing movement out into the open sea. Harbours provide opportunities for loading, refuelling, or maintaining sea vessels. In addition, harbour transport infrastructures may be present to provide connections to inland rail or road links. The term harbour is also used metaphorically to indicate a space of safety, nurturing, or a gathering space for a community.

Harbours are a kind of third space between the land and the sea, built to facilitate transport of goods and people between the two domains. Various structures exist, such as gang planks, gantries, and cranes to assist the importing of goods, vehicles, and people onto the ships. This research has outlined the importance of these mechanisms for participants to onboard their existing home repertoires of practice into the new learning space so they can feel more accommodated.

In terms of agency and choice over learner pathway, Harbours are also safe places of play and learning. The safe nature of the harbour encourages free exploration within the protective walls. The boundaries of the harbour walls represent the restrictive decisions in terms of the genre of end product, and simplifications in code structures used. However, these restrictions may be productive through the creative potential of limitations [@rosso_creativity_2014].

But harbours can be evocative and intriguing, inviting the possibility to travel beyond the walls to unexplored realms. In early stages, the process of clicking remix to expose the underlying code and try to fix and improve an incomplete game exposes a new frontier language of text code which for many will involves entering unfamiliar waters. The motivational impact of an authentic process and set of tools exists in tension with the accompanying complexity [@nachtigall_authenticity_2024]. Thus, while this design uses an authentic, professional text-coding language with its inherent challenges, many design choices were made (see REEPPP approach) to shield new users from the complexity of the underlying configuration of interrelated web technologies and to instead highlight design affordances that facilitate creative agency. The use of authentic tools and alignment with professional practice makes it easier for learners to transition from a supported harbour of this learning design and venture out into the open seas of less supported practice. An example of this being Toby and Dan (in Vignette 7.a) who, in their choice to change the game genre from platformer to maze game, leave the safety of a set of design patterns and paired support documentation.

Jamming on the Titanic

Once on board, the passengers may entertain themselves through exchanging and celebrating diversity in cultural experiences. One of my favorite scenes of the Titanic movie is the raucous folk music jam below deck. Jamming, a term common in music and theatre, describes responsive, improvised, rapid, and fluid responses to collaborators’ ideas and audience reactions [@pinheiro2011creative; @sawyer_group_2003]. The concept of musical improvisation within jam sessions is a productive way to explore a tension between freedom and structure within the domain of research. As with harbours, a jamming process has structure and designed limitations [@rosso_creativity_2014], but beyond that they provide affordances to encourage learners to evolve their own play processes as a form of transformational and relational agency.

In a jam session, as with the harbour metaphor, foundational infrastructure is provided in the form of drums, microphones, and amps. And more established regulars act as facilitators of the process. A jam on a micro level can refer to a musical piece which follows conventions. It may be based on a familiar, popular genre, say a slow blues jam. Common jam genres are folk, blues, rock, funk, and jazz). Jam pieces are often based on variations on a song familiar to the community of musicians (often referred to as standards). The structure, tempo of the piece, and the key in which it is performed form a base guiding improvisation. Within a jam process, bringing your own style to build on that structure is welcomed. The process is augmented by the group interaction present in the musical jam, where music makers pick up techniques from others in the process. Visual and verbal encouragement is often present in successful jam nights to encourage newcomers. If a jam session is regular, local popular standard songs emerge. This provides opportunities to hear them played regularly, allows potential future participants to hear different versions, and even sing along in the audience, a useful form of peripheral participation.

Linking this metaphor to the process of game making, the process of improvisation based on a prototype of a familiar created genre is present in the half-baked platformer game template. This research has outlined the value of an authentic audience made up partly of peer makers to motivate the development of repertoires of practice in a game making context. Additionally, the value of the possibility to blend established repertoires with those brought by peer players is also a motivation in the context of the metaphor and this research.

Addressing both metaphors

Parallels between the guiding frameworks advanced in this chapter and the metaphorical descriptions above help conceptualise and communicate the diverse processes at play. The structural elements, particularly those of the harbour metaphor, are represented in the REEPPP approach. The element of transport links facilitating loading of material aligns with the importation of repertoires stage of the RARB process outlined above. While the overall broad description of the musical jam communicates the essence of the RARB process at work. There are other elements of the jam, including the role of the facilitator to hold an inclusive and welcoming space, which are less explored in this research. This and other broad limitations are now addressed in a concluding section.

Conclusion

THIS IS PLACEHOLDER FOR NOW UNTIL I KNOW WHAT EXACTLY IS IN THE CONCLUSION.

This conclusion will contain a summary of some of the limitations and questions arising in this chapter that are addressed in the following chapter.

limitations include:

  • application to formal settings
  • closer exploration of inclusion as a lens and links with UDL

The final chapter aims to address this limitations with recommendations for further research.

TO MOVE OR DROP FROM CHAPTER

On planned and emergent activity)

MOVE TO A DISCUSSION SECTION? COMPRESS FOR INTRO? THIS IS PART OF DBR - REFERENCE THAT IF IT IS STILL NEEDED FOR THE CHAPTER.

The previous chapters have described interventions in design that can be characterised on a spectrum between those planned and introduced by myself as a facilitator and those which were emergent, i.e. invented or adopted by participants as a response to the contradictions covered in chapter four.

The distinction between planned and emergent activities became blurred as practices merged. In Chapter 6 outlines that while I tool a lead to collate game design patterns into an organised collection with accompanying resources and a navigational menu, many of these patterns, were introduced initially by participants who recognised them and wanted to add them to their own games.

This aligns with a key characteristic of formative intervention and DBR. Namely that elements of the introduced design changed responsive to learner need as the design evolved through iterations. Some introduced processes outlined in this chapter were very minimal in embryonic form but extended significantly by participants.

AT theory emphasises that the process of activity does not start in a vacuum. This helps justify the formative intervention process which is active in intervention and in the initial shaping of activity. In an educational context, this can involve introduction of tasks as starting activities to shape. This is justified conceptually from a view of not restricting participant agency in that some form of activity should be suggested in order for them to make a rational choice as to weather to participate. It follows that this activity should encourage the communication that participant choice is significant in the design.

Notes - MOVED TO THE END FOR REVIEW

<!– #### Comparing the activity patterns of this family to others

NOTE - MOVE / REINTEGRATE? OR REWRITE AS A LINK TO THE NEXT SECTION? NOTE - This more general observation may be part of the previous chapter

We can compare this pairs pattern of activity with other pairs / families.

  • The parent here is much more commonly rooted to the computer than other parents.
  • This meant they engaged far less in play testing of other games and found it harder to gain attention for direct support.
  • This grouping sometimes left early having completed more in code development than others but completed less social activities.

Discussion

  • The parent had indicated that she considered herself a “planner” as a maker type which is confirmed by less social Interactions

The observations above show the importance of recording the whole room. Some participants will roam to observe the work of others, to socialise, to gain attention of others for support or for feedback. When analysing data using 360 recorded video side-by-side with the screen captured data, the participant can be followed around the room and their activity can be noted even when away from their activity. –>

On Fluency

For example, creating a new graphical element in a separate online pixel-art editor called Piskel, exporting and downloading it to the laptop, and uploading it to the glitch code playground and then making code changes in several parts of the code to initialise and implement new behaviour for this element.

NOTE As a facilitator of a community I aim to notice these transitions as I aim to use the proficiency of participants to help distribute the process of helping peers.

Removed in December - perhaps rehome

These tensions of allocated roles and dysfunctional group work are mirrored in similar research - FIND THIS ON PAIR PROGRAMMING

These tensions were were highlighted in the end of P1 feedback and in some practitioner interviews that I conducted. FIND THIS IF SO

In contrast in P2 and P3 there is flexibility of interaction which suits informal moments of playtesting.

Removed in Jan - find home

MoE

One area of research which was explored in this learning design but which has needed to be deprioritise is that of Mantle of the Expert and the permission to play and experiment which the drama process advocates.

While a fuller exploration of how this was put into practice in P3 via a narrative which wrapped around the making activity, it is relevant to the use of side missions, and the possibility for character exploration in terms of a maker type.

NOTE Link to other research on permisison structures, confidence, inclusion, permission to play

An example of mini TADS - use of secondary resources

An illustrative design tension emerged surrounding which kind of documentation to prioritise. After initially steering participants directly to code snippets, I subsequently directed them instead to step by step tutorials which also included a link to the code snippets. I shifted between prioritising instruction-based practices and more piecemeal, bricolage inspired (see LR) developer practices. Whilst the process of instruction is problematic in terms of learner agency this vies with the practicality to establish a common understanding and shared framework for production.

a theme explored in more detail in chapter five Traditional, printed, instruction-based software manuals are in decline partly due online documentation but also due to the increased intuitive nature of their design [@pogue_user_2017]. CH 5.

vThe careful alignment between navigational documentation and the participants driving objectives of the mid-level activity system of implementing a game element, also helped avoid mismatch between task and tools described above as mismatch between primary and secondary stimuli. The process aligns with the concept of just-in-time instruction.

Move to next chapter Conclusion

Questions and Conceptual challenges to dissemination - MOVE PERHAPS TO NEXT CHAPTER?

How broadly can the principles be applied?

The general use of design patterns to guide digital creation are widely replicable, that of coupling documentation. The UMC methodology applies more broadly to design based education via prototyping. which could take other formats. Thus it is potentially applicable to other domains. And example of such is in PBL work using a campaign template and characteristics ads design patters, and a Poster, and elevator pitch feedback before creating then a stall [blog post].

6. The impact of constraints in design on agency - NOT SURE -MOVE to concluson?

CONSTRAINTS IN DESIGN? While supporting a flexible learner pathway is vital to this approach, the value of restrictions to creativity are also important here. The restricted genre, pixel art format and templated approach act not only as technical scaffolds but also aligns with research on the value of constraints in facilitating rapid creative improvisation in the areas of music and drama.

The domains of programming, game jams and hackathons also use constraints in a similar way [@gabler2005prototype]. Thus, I now explore the tools, process and the community in this study mutually encourage an flexible approach often referred to as jamming. As explored in Chapter 2 existing research suggests that Game Jams can be profitably used in education contexts [@aurava_game_2021], although there is no agreement on the characteristics game jam pedagogy, and scant guidance on how to address potentially problematic issues (list these),

MOVE LATER / CONCLUSION The characteristics described above offer a contribution to the literature on Game Jam pedagogy and learning design of this study offers greater scaffolding to the process to facilitate the process of jamming as a way of encouraging co-development of practices and making styles as proposed by Gutiérrez and Rogoff [@gutierrez_cultural_2003]. This strand is developed in the following chapter.

MOVED FROM CHAPTER 6

Peripheral activities MOVE TO NEXT CHAPTER IF SPACE / PLACE FOR IT.

This chapter has demonstrated that these behaviours could be undertaken in many ways, including those requiring little commitment.

this form of activity can be seen as legitimate peripheral participation (EXPLAIN?) [@lave_situated_1991; @guzdial_imagineering_2006], and thus a helpfuls practice contributing to the emerging ecosystem of the learning community.

Observation on T’s part, still legitimate

For example, even if participants only noticed the use of GDPs and used approximate terminology to comment on them during playtesting,