KyEdRPG Spotlight: Morgan Seely, Bringing Fourth Grade "Learning to Life Through Imagination"

Morgan Seely is a Shelby County Public School (KY) teacher at Painted Stone Elementary, starting her educational career in 2011.   Seely believed strongly in evidence-based practices from the start, but the launch of Shelby County's Profile of a Graduate in 2017 helped spur her journey toward centering student agency and competency-based education in her own classroom.

Playing TTRPGs is a part of Seely's household family fun.  She began considering how to incorporate them into her classroom in the spring of 2024 with her fourth graders.  One student was particularly passionate about the Titanic, which led to a classwide mini-adventure where students experienced the difference between the survival rates of first-, second-, and third-class passengers.  Later in the spring, with the help of her husband, Seely used a simplified D&D gaming mechanic where student characters had to apply their math knowledge to solve quests.  It led to Seely vowing to do a more extensive use of TTRPGs in her upcoming 2024-2025 school year.  Of course, I was delighted to hear all of this!

When we talked in the summer of 2024, Seely shared that she wanted to kick off with a character creation activity, with the plan to play several academic-based adventures throughout the year reusing the same characters.  Once again, her husband helped devise a simplified D&D-like system that seemed appropriate for her upcoming fourth graders.  A student chooses a "species," which automatically creates two statistics of Armor Class (AC, or how hard it is to get hurt) and Health Points (HP, or how much hurt you can take before you have to sit out for the session).  A choice of "ability" -- what is called "classes" in Dungeons & Dragons -- adds a bonus to their AC or HP.   Students choose two items of equipment from a given list or can present their reasoning for something else.  Lastly, the students have to write a backstory biography about their character and explain the significance of their two pieces of equipment.  (Copies of Seely's Slides for directions and her character sheet template is available in a Google folder here.)  

I came early in the school year when Seely introduced me as a guest teacher who knew about a special kind of game where you need to depend on your imagination to co-create stories.  Would the students be interested in playing this game?  (Posing this kind of question is one of the many pieces of evidence proving Seely believes in a community of learners that has voice in the direction of how and what they learn.) The students nearly unanimously said yes.  Cut to about a month later in mid-September, and I came back as an observer and helper for their character creation kickoff activity, with a title Slide announcing that today we would be "Bringing Learning to Life Through Our Imagination."

I was impressed and caught the fever of their enthusiasm from the start.  Imaginations were visibly on display, as students became deeply invested in how their biography, physical description, and explanation of their equipment intertwined.  (Just like adults, coming up with names was the hardest part; I advised a student, "Maybe you could go with Jack Potter as a good wizard name?")  When students were ready, they queued up in line to have Seely help generate a portrait of their character in an artificial intelligence image tool.  This became a great on-the-spot lesson about prompt engineering, as students quickly realized the more details you provided, the better result you got.  A clever tech management strategy that Seely used was digitally distributing the character templates to each student as a Slide that was linked back to a master slide deck for the teacher; this meant Seely could view all the student characters in one place, as well as easily drop her AI image for a particular student's character sheet.  One student (who happened to be Seely's son) led a handful of his peers who had finished early on how to map a dungeon.  It foreshadowed Seely's goal of having student "game masters" lead small groups through adventures in the future.  It should be pointed out that Seely was very mindful of the age and maturity of her students -- she reminded them that "kindness is the most powerful ability you can have" and that whatever obstacles may lay ahead in their adventures, we were "defeating" adversaries, not "killing" them.  As Seely wrapped up the activity and brought them back together as a whole group, she had the students reflect how the day's work was aligned to an academic reading standard.

Even if this character creation activity was the end of the road, it still would have been a worthy learning experience.  But Seely promises to have her fourth graders role-play with these characters in academic quests to come.  I can't want to visit again and see them in action!

KyEdRPG in Kentucky Teacher

 

Back in September 2022, I wrote a series of three blog entries for the launch of my new site, Kentucky Educators for Role Playing Games.  I also interviewed Justin Gadd (Shelby County Public Schools) about his afterschool D & D club, and shared how Patrick La Mar (Oldham County Public Schools) integrated an Oregon Trail-style roleplaying game into a social studies lesson. 

Last week, Kentucky Teacher published an article highlighting all of the above: "The power of role-playing games for deeper learning experiences."  It's a great title and one that I whole-heartedly agree; game-based learning in general, and RPGs in particular, certainly have a lot of potential for deepening learning!

Special thanks to Audrie Lamb for writing the article, Justin and Patrick for taking the time to get interviewed, and Kentucky Teacher for featuring the #KyEdRPG site.

KyEdRPG, Part Two: The Power of a D & D Club

 This is Part Two of a three part series to kick off a new website, KyEdRPG, and how role playing games can positively impact student learning.  In Part One, we celebrated the launch of the website itself. In this entry, we prove how a D & D club can be a wonderful extracurricular opportunity...before or after school, in person or virtual!

File image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaming_Dice_%284434184961%29.jpg.

Justin Gadd is a Kentucky social studies middle school teacher who recognizes the multiple ways that a Dungeons & Dragons extracurricular club can improve student learning, both socially-emotionally as well as academic.  After hearing his story, I asked Justin if he would agree to an interview, which I'm happy to share below (slightly edited for clarity).

Justin, welcome to Edtech Elixirs!  Share your educator story. 

Hello, My name is Justin Gadd. I am currently a Social Studies teacher at Marnel C. Moorman K-8 School. This is my 4th year of teaching and my second year in Shelby County Public Schools. I have taught both ELA and Social Studies for 8th, 7th, and now 6th grade.

When did you start playing role playing games?  What got you started?

I got started playing role playing games when I was first introduced to D&D in college by a friend. I had only heard of it in pop culture prior to that, and when he invited me to play, I gave it a shot. We played the Curse of Strahd story and it was so much fun. My first character was a Mountain Dwarf Barbarian named Tor'uk. I have played as a Bard, Warlock, and my current character is a Ranger, and I have been involved with my current campaign as a player for almost 3 years now!

What RPGs do you personally play today?

Currently I am only playing D&D but I have played some different one shots from friends that were set in different time periods but same rules as D&D. My favorite was a holiday themed one shot I played that a friend ran where we all played as different holiday movie characters to try and save Santa! I think it goes to show the versatility of tabletop RPGs.

You've shared with me that you started a virtual D & D afterschool club at your previous school when the pandemic began, which is equally impressive and awesome given the obvious challenges.  Tell us more about that experience.  

I worked in Oldham County Public Schools from 2019-2021.  I began a DnD club with a co-worker at the start of virtual learning in 2020. We created it because we wanted something that was engaging, free, and something we could do safely from home at a very stressful time.

In the first year of the club, in the spring of 2020, we had about 5 students and it was pretty fun, although we didn’t use many manipulatives, maps, or dice rolling.  It was more description and imaginary story telling.

In year two (2020-2021), we were teaching part virtual, part in-person and this time we were able to get a consistent group of about 8-10 students every week. The club itself was still virtual but it was from 6-8pm every Tuesday as that was a time that worked for everyone’s schedule but wasn’t terribly late.

We were able to use some funding to give each student their own set of dice but virtual rollers were utilized as well as virtual apps such as dndbeyond.com which is also free, and it can be used for effortless character sheet creations and managing a character's inventory.  But really, the start up cost for a club was not terrible as there’s so many free online sources now for D&D and other RPG games.

I should point out that in Shelby County, we have a Profile of a Graduate, and what they do in D&D definitely authentically applies several of our PoG competencies: Effective Communicator, Responsible Collaborator, Critical Thinker.  

The best part of the experience was we were able to build a really great community with these kids and it was such a stressful time where we were still part virtual and Covid was still looming. I had one student tell me after a game that “D&D nights are so great because it’s one of the times I laugh the most all week” and parents emailed us telling us how much fun it brought them and they wanted to start playing with their kids too!

Parents playing with their students, that's fantastic!  I also love how playing D & D ties into your district's Profile of a Graduate, and clearly there is some great social emotional learning going on, too.  Can you elaborate further on the academic benefits of students playing role playing games?

The academic benefits of tabletop games is pretty broad if you come into it with an open mind. There is creative writing when crafting a backstory for your characters and their motivations. For those who run a game as GM (Game Master) or DM (Dungeon Master), there is planning involved in preparing the story, and how they decide if one thing happens, what happens next? There is math and probability in the dice rolling, and making those calculated risks based on their character statistics is vital to success. In Shelby County, playing D&D definitely applies to several of our PoG competencies.

• Effective Communicator: Students have to be able to communicate their actions with the players and DM running the game. 
• Responsible Collaborator: Team work! It is so important to success in the game as well as the choices you make can have ripple effects in the story and world of the game! 
• Critical Thinker: Thinking about your actions and the affect they have on others and the success of your mission.

Now that students are fully back in person, what are you thinking of doing differently with a D & D club this school year? 

This year I hope to start a D&D club with the Quest program in October, which is an in-school club or area of interest for students to participate in for 9 weeks.  It would be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings for 45 minutes and could be a fun experience to introduce the game to others and be able to play some D&D consistently.  

What advice would you give to someone trying to start up a club like this in their own school, especially if they have little or no experience with playing D & D? 

The advice I would give to someone wanting to start a D&D or tabletop gaming club is to first just ask around and do some research! See who's interested in your school community in playing or helping run it. There are so many resources on the official Dungeons and Dragons website for beginners wanting to start and even some beginner book sets with all the rules and stories written out for you. For my beginner players I give them a pre-made character (available from the website) and then have them come up with the back story for their characters. Knowing how to play without having to stress about the whole character creation process gives you more time to focus on the play time!

I have found that overall, the D&D community on Facebook groups and Reddit can be very helpful resources for asking beginners. Just searching "D&D for beginners" brings up loads of helpful links. The next thing I would say is don't go too big your first time around. 8-10 is about the maximum size of a group I would run if you were the only DM because that way every player can feel included. If you have students who know how to play, encourage them to DM and then you can have more players in your club and smaller player-to-DM ratios. And feel free to reach out to me via email to ask questions!

Last question, and for this one forgive me if I geek out with you a bit.  D & D has some changes and expansions coming up, such as the Spelljammer sourcebook which allows your characters to play in outer space, and a playtest of a new backwards-compatible edition that will be launched in 2024.  What are some things about D & D that keep you excited about the game?  

 I love to geek out about stuff! I think taking D&D into space could be a lot of fun. The beauty of Dungeons and Dragons is it is quite literally limitless what stories you can tell and "Homebrewed" spells and items you can use. For example, my DM, whose campaign I have been in for almost three years, mixed Call of Cthulhu stories with the regular D&D world and it's so cool! Teachers could make a story with any content or book they are reading with a bit of time and effort. I am grateful for shows like Stranger Things making Dungeons and Dragons "cool" for kids because it makes it that much more engaging when we bring it into schools.

A huge thank you to Justin for taking the time to share his insights!

Be sure to check out Part Three, where you'll hear how a Kentucky teacher uses a custom-created role playing game as part of his lesson plans.

A New Chapter

In July of 2014, I stepped out of my high school classroom at Oldham County and into a newly created district position that was both exciting and terrifying.  As the first Technology Integration Coach for Shelby County Public Schools, I fully felt the weight of the task -- to help launch a technology 1:1 initiative for seven thousand students and hundreds of staff.  Over the years, the position and responsibilities changed (as did the title to Digital Learning Coordinator!), and my educational journey at Shelby has taken me far and wide.  Project-based learning, personalized learning, competency-based education, blended learning best practices -- all this and more has been infused into my educational DNA along the way.  I've been very fortunate to grow my pedagogy in such an innovative district.  My colleagues have become co-learners, friends, and an extended family.

And now, a new chapter of my educational journey is about to begin.

Late last July, I accepted my next challenge.  This Monday (8/22/22), I'll be starting a new position as a Deeper Learning Design Specialist at the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC).  I'll be joining the just launched Deeper Learning Team (with Lacey Eckels and Rachel Albright) that's led by the legendary Carmen Coleman.  Beyond the DLT itself, I'm also looking forward to working with the many other fantastic educators at OVEC, including the new incoming CEO Jason Adkins.  Lastly, I am excited to collaborate with the Deeper Learning Teams from the other seven regional co-ops around Kentucky.

What is Deeper Learning? It is a broad concept, and one that I will undoubtedly blog more about in the future, but this "elevator pitch" definition is a great introduction:

Our mission. Great things happening in Kentucky. #KYDL #thrive #transfer pic.twitter.com/njkJhynOu2

— Robb Smith (@DrSmithKAEC) August 11, 2022

I am eager to spread, support, and celebrate the Deeper Learning innovation throughout OVEC's fifteen districts and 150,000+ students -- which includes Shelby as a member!

On August 1, 2014, I published the first post for this blog, initially started as a way to share information and innovation with Shelby staff.  At the end of the entry, I used the words "humbled" and "thankful."  Those are definitely the words that come to mind now.  I am thankful for the opportunity to work at OVEC, humbled to be chosen among many deserving applicants.  But I am also so, so humbled by the teachers, staff and students of Shelby County Public Schools, who are amazing people and are doing amazing things.  You have inspired me to grow, and stretch, and dream.  I am thankful for all that you have personally done for my own learning journey, but even more importantly, I am full of gratitude to have been a part of your innovative, impactful team of educators for eight wonderful years.

Another school year launches, and a mention in Forbes!

Like many districts across Kentucky, tomorrow is Shelby County's first day of school: my ninth one since joining the district in 2014.   Also tomorrow, back in the district where I live, my youngest daughter will be starting sixth grade.  I'm definitely experiencing a lot of emotions as I look back both at my professional journey in Shelby as well as thinking about my daughter reaching the halfway point of her schooling.  

Today, however, was celebration and kickoff.  Shelby held its Opening Day ceremonies at the Martha Layne Collins High School gym.  One of the highlights was members of the Shelby County High School Rockets choir treating us to a lovely rendition of "True Colors":

Opening Day! @shelbycountysch educators, let your beautiful true colors shine through this school year. #IL3 #ShelbyInspired pic.twitter.com/vsRbJeFGEn

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) August 9, 2022

In the opening remarks, there was discussion about promoting the legacy and story of Shelby County, including our recent mention in Forbes!

A quick recap for context: back in 2020, Lora Shields (the former Shelby County Public Schools Staff Developer) and I co-created and co-led our first "Shelby Speaks" vodcast series where we interviewed staff during the pandemic to share their challenges, their successes, and how their learning was going to be applied post-pandemically.  Several months later, I created and led the second "season" in the vodcast series, with SCPS teachers sharing strategies on how to teach in a hybrid/concurrent model.  The vodcasts were highlighted in a national report by Next Generation Learning Challenges  -- with Shelby the only Kentucky district mentioned by name. (For more on the report itself, click here; for more on the vodcast series, click here.)

That brings us to last month. In an article about the NGLC report in Forbes magazine, our vodcast series was mentioned again at length.  So glad to see the hard work of SCPS staff recognized!

Educators, I wish you the best as your new school year launches!

Vodcast Series Highlighted in Next Generation Learning Challenges Report!

Education during COVID-19 -- and COVID's lingering impact on learning post-pandemic -- will likely be researched and studied for years to come.  One such study was conducted recently by Next Generation Learning Challenges, which surveyed 70 schools and districts in 2020 and 2021 who, despite genuine challenges, were having some successes.  The key question was: how and why were these schools and districts succeeding despite distance learning issues and other pandemic obstacles?  This is reflected in the final report's title, "What Made Them So Prepared?"

The full report was released today and it's a fascinating study.  From NGLC's press release, I'll quote three big themes that emerged from their findings:

• The common-sense assertion: To help students become capable, caring, self-directed learners and creative problem-solvers, our schools should model those same attributes for them – in their design of learning, but also in our adult working culture and operating habits. 
• The research finding: Schools and districts that had made this commitment pre-COVID strongly benefited from it during the pandemic, enabling our communities (including students) to respond adaptively and creatively. Agentic learning and operating approaches, efforts to create a healthy culture supported by strong relationships, and resilient, flexible systems made districts feel prepared to face the pandemic’s many challenges.
• The value to ALL schools and districts: Ed leaders seeking positive ways to move past Omicron and rebuild forward momentum can use this project’s findings and resources to build on their own school or district’s examples of resilient, adaptive innovation during the pandemic. This research offers a productive way forward at a time of urgent need.

One of these 70 schools and districts that NGLC picked to interview was Shelby County Public Schools, and we are highlighted in their report!  SCPS is mentioned briefly on page 9 (PDF page 5) as one of several districts that have a Profile of a Graduate, but more prominently, we are featured on page 7 (PDF page 4) for our two "Shelby Speaks" vodcast series that we uploaded to our YouTube channel in May 2020 and January 2021.  I was proud to co-create and facilitate these interviews with our fantastic SCPS educators from many different role groups -- general education, ECE, English Language, librarians and more -- who shared their reflections on tips, tricks, strategies, successes and challenges of distance and hybrid learning.  (For more on these vodcasts, please read my blog entries here and here.)

We are thankful to NGLC for the chance to contribute to such a historical project, and I encourage you to read their full report.