EAGER: Adolescents Learning Social Problem-Solving Skills Using an Interactive On-Line Graphic Novel

这个项目团队的长期目标是学习如何设计交互式图形小说和相关的严肃游戏，以帮助青少年学习解决社会问题的技能。这样做的目的是，这些技能的学习不是简单地让青少年说出他们应该做什么，而是以一种导致行为改变的方式来学习。该项目正在研究如何使用图画小说来吸引青少年思考困难的社会情境，并为他们提供以非暴力方式有效处理这些棘手情境的方法，他们正在研究如何使用相关的严肃游戏和其他互动组件来促进对所读内容的反思，促进围绕情境的讨论，并提供练习机会。这种新颖的想法基于一种叫做认知行为修正的治疗方法，并与一种叫做认知学徒制的教育方法有关促进技能学习的建议产生共鸣。该项目汇集了认知行为修正、社会心理学、互动叙事、图形小说设计、严肃游戏以及青少年健康和福祉方面的专家。这个EAGER项目的目标是：(1)综合社会心理学、互动叙事和严肃游戏方法，设想学习者需要学习的体验，并采取新的社会问题解决行为；(2)开始设计互动图形小说和围绕它的体验，这有很好的机会促进高危青少年目标人群的行为改变。（ii）建立一个强大的研究团队，长期合作，将最初的努力产生的有价值的想法贯彻到底。这项工作潜在的更广泛的影响在于：(1)使用图画小说，这些小说很容易获得，可以引起年轻人的高度兴趣，促进思考和做可以帮助青少年学习新的解决问题的行为，(2)学习如何促进生产性行为的改变，以及(3)确定技术在这种学习中可以发挥的作用，以及如何利用技术作为促进生产性行为改变的资源。

The long-term goal of this project team is to learn how to design interactive graphic novels and associated serious games to help adolescents learn social problem solving skills. The intention is that these skills will not simply be learned in a way that allows the teens to say what they should do but, rather, that they will be learned in a way that results in behavior change. The project is investigating the use of graphic novels to engage teens in thinking about difficult social situations and to model for them ways of dealing effectively and in non-violent ways with those tricky situations, and they are investigating the use of associated serious games and other interactive components to promote reflection on what has been read, promote discussion around the situations, and provide opportunities for practice. This novel idea has its foundations in the approach to therapy called Cognitive Behavioral Modification and resonates with what the approach to education called Cognitive Apprenticeship suggests about promoting skills learning. The project brings together experts in Cognitive Behavioral Modification, social psychology, interactive narrative, design of graphic novels, serious games, and adolescent health and well-being. The goals of this EAGER project are to (i) synthesize social psychology, interactive narrative, and serious games approaches to envision the experiences learners need to have to learn and take on new social problem solving behaviors, (ii) begin the design of an interactive graphic novel and experiences around it that has a good chance of promoting behavior change among the targeted population of at-risk teens, and (ii) develop a strong research team that will collaborate over the long term in following through on worthy ideas that come from this initial effort.The potential broader impacts of this work lie in the potential for (i) using graphic novels, which are easily accessible and can be of high interest to young people, to promote thinking and doing that can help teens learn new problem solving behaviors, (ii) learning how to promote productive behavior change, and (iii) identifying the roles technology can play in such learning and how to use technology well as a resource in promoting productive behavior change.