Kritisk tenkning og Minecraft i lærerutdanningen: en studie av samfunnsfagundervisning om det industrielle gjennombruddet i Norge

Abstract

This article discusses how Minecraft can be used as a learning resource in facilitating historical empathy and critical thinking in teaching social studies. Minecraft is a sandbox video game reminiscent of digital Lego, where the participants have unlimited access to resources that can be used as building blocks to create buildings and other structures. In the virtual Minecraft world, players can build visual structures and interact through avatars. In our study, three cohorts of student teachers tried out Minecraft Education (version adapted for educational use) when they reconstructed buildings and historical events taking place during the industrial breakthrough along the Aker River. The project was divided into three phases: (1) introductory phase where students worked with the historical context through campus teaching, historical sources, and excursion, (2) reconstruction phase where students recreated the factory buildings in Minecraft and developed scripts for the digital role-play and (3) transformation phase, where the students used what they had developed (buildings and script) to produce a film to enact a historical event. In planning the project, historical empathy was emphasized, however, the article focuses on how working with historical empathy through Minecraft also facilitates critical thinking. That is making judgements while working with sources, taking different historical perspectives in reconstructing historical events and artifacts, and critically reflecting on connections between past and present.