Introduction
iCivics was founded in 2009 by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and current Justice Sonia Sotomayor sits on its governing board. Its games cover themes of news literacy, civil law, and the Electoral College system. By 2019, over five million children have played iCivics’s games. It is one of the largest free game and curriculum providers; there are currently 20 games on its platform – with more on the way (Farber 2017).
The purpose of playing through a game on the iCivics platform is not to learn rote facts about government; rather, the goal is to affect student disposition, or behavioral attitude, to want to participate in democratic processes. The iCivics website puts games in a learning trajectory and does not assume that its games can do all of the teaching.
Known as the “game sandwich,” iCivics games are recommended to be played in the middle of pre- and post-game lesson activities. An example of a game sandwich is the separation of powers unit. The...
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References
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Farber, M. (2019). Game-Based Learning as Innovative Pedagogy. In: Peters, M., Heraud, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Educational Innovation. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2262-4_10-1
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