Ysette Guevara of Minds on Fire presents Multiple Paths to Adulthood, a program that gamifies living and learning to develop skills for resilience, reflection, connection, self-determination, and wellness for youth transitioning from Foster Care. Presented at YTH Live 2014 session "Gaming for Health."

1. Game Planning: Youth Transitioning from
Foster Care Take Charge of their Wellness
Ysette Guevara, Ph.D.
Minds On Fire
April 6-8, 2014
San Francisco, CA
Annual Conference on Youth + Tech + Health

2. Current life skills training model for youth in foster care (14 and up):
• Bribe youth to attend standalone workshops
• Workshops are run by program staff that aren’t necessarily trained
as content experts or educators
• Topic is “checked off” in the young person’s file
• Framed as “support” rather than empowerment
Status Quo

3. • Not a priority for youth
• Lack of alignment between goals and self identity
• Lack of intrinsic motivation
• No bridge to real world
• Lack of engagement and follow up
Result: Limited Effectiveness

4. How Did We Get Here?
Scarce
Resources
Tough
Tradeoffs
Limited
Effectiveness

5. • Busy, unpredictable schedules
• Lack of space and time to devote to self-discovery
• Budgetary constraints (youth)
• Budgetary constraints (agency)
Scarce Resources

6. • Multiple demands: work, school, family, friends
• Defining adulthood: What I “should” vs. “want” to do
• Competing priorities: money vs. self-actualization
Tough Tradeoffs

7. To help young people achieve a sense of self-efficacy given
multiple resource constraints
(Let’s get back to basics!)
Goal

8. To structure youth-serving programs so they go beyond standalone life skills
workshops in order to:
• be more relevant and engaging to youth
• bridge the gap between instruction and practice
• provide continuous support to help them achieve their goals
• empower them with useful tools for life
Objectives

9. Structuring Principles of Game Plan
Self-
Efficacy
Positive
Youth
Development
Blended
Continuous
Learning
Meaningful
Gamification

10. "Empowering teens" refers to a PROCESS through which adults begin to share
responsibility and power with young people. It is the same idea as teaching
young people the rules of the game. Youth development professionals are
helping young people develop non-academic competencies that will help them
to participate in the game of life. Because it is a process, empowerment is
something that is achieved over time, not overnight.
—Huebner, “Examining ‘Empowerment’: A How-To Guide for the Youth
Development Professional”
Positive Youth Development

11. Blended Continuous Learning
Office hours, check-ins, conversations
Preview Workshop Challenge Assessment
Online Online and out in the world OnlineFace to face w/ staff
Face to face w/ staff, online, and out in the world

12. “…the use of game elements and game structures in non-
game contexts.”
—Kevin Werbach, Gamification
Gamification is…

13. • Balance of structure and play / Goal and rules
• Learning or problem-solving / Feedback system
• Voluntary participation(*)
—Kevin Werbach’s Gamification MOOC (2014) + McGonigal, Reality is Broken
The Gamefulness of Game Plan

14. • (Nicholson) Instead of external rewards, give players
the opportunity to create achievements of things they
are proud of, milestones that are meaningful to them, or
a record of how far they have gotten.
Meaningful Gamification

15. Information
Exposition
Play
Choice
Reflection
Engagement
Meaningful Gamification and Game Plan
Frame life as a game (RPG)
Quest / hero’s arc narrative
Self-determined goals
Differentiated instruction (multimedia)
Journaling and self-assessment
Participation in a learning community

16. • Character with specific set of strengths and tools
• Leveling up: experience points, self-improvement
• Combination of linear and non-linear elements
• Individual and group challenges
• Failure does not mean “game over”
• Dialogue between PCs and GM
• Encounters with NPCs (allies, bystanders, foes)
Game Plan as an RPG

17. • Foster care alumni aspiring to be social entrepreneurs
• Typical profile: 21 year-old college student working part-
time; low income; precarious housing situation
• Current topic: self care
• Duration: four weeks
Case Study: Emerging Leaders

18. • Familiarized themselves with the concept of self care
• Came up with four different categories of self care
• Shared self care tips with one another
• Active pursuit of self care exploration and goals
• Noticed the mind/body connection in their practice
Case Study: Learning Outcomes

19. • Streamline the onboarding process; write FAQs
• Integrate gamification into the user interface
• Structure assessments so they are more suitable for
quantitative analysis
• Engage more clients!
Next Steps

20. • Let’s employ meaningful gamification principles not merely as
tactics for engagement but youth empowerment.
• Let’s leverage technology to provide young people with a
continuous learning environment that is convenient, supportive,
and engaging.
• Let’s use that same technology to track outcomes (qualitative and
quantitative) and build capacity in a cost-efficient way.
Takeaways

21. Huebner, Angela J. “Examining ‘Empowerment’: A How-To Guide for the Youth Development
Professional.” Journal of Extension 36.6 (Dec. 1998). Web.
Krebs, Betsy and Paul Pitcoff. Beyond the Foster Care System: The Future for Teens. New Brunswick:
Rutgers UP, 2006. Print.
McGonigal, Jane. Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the
World. New York: Penguin, 2011. Print.
Newman, Ann E., et al. “Youth Development: The Vital Link.” National Resource Center for Youth
Services. Community Leader Journal. Blandin Foundation. 2010. PDF. Feb. 26, 2014.
Nicholson, Scott. “Meaningful Gamification: Motivating through Play instead of Manipulating through
Rewards.” MIT Game Lab. Dec. 12, 2013. Video.
Werbach, Kevin. Gamification. Coursera. Jan. – Apr. 2014. Web.
References

22. Ysette Guevara, Ph.D.
@YsetteGuevara
ysette@minds-on-fire.org
http://minds-on-fire.org/