Rebuilding the Industrial Revolution: Using Minecraft in Teacher Education in Social Studies

Abstract

This article discusses how Minecraft: Education Edition (MEE) can be used as a teaching aid in social studies and as a digital learning resource to facilitate the development of generic and subject-specific competencies. The study reports from an intervention in a teacher education program where student teachers recreated historical environments of the industrial revolution along the river Aker in Norway. The rebuilding of the industrial revolution in MEE was conducted through three phases: introduction, reconstruction and transformation. These phases are illustrated with empirical data. This approach to teaching student’s history emphasizes active learning by making it more engaging.