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互动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，这些技能不会简单地以一种允许青少年说他们应该做什么的方式来学习，而是以一种导致行为改变的方式来学习。该项目正在调查使用图画小说让青少年思考困难的社会情况，并为他们建立有效和非暴力处理这些棘手情况的方式，他们正在调查使用相关的严肃游戏和其他互动组件来促进对阅读内容的反思，促进围绕情况的讨论，并提供实践机会。这种新颖的想法有其基础的治疗方法称为认知行为修改和共鸣的教育方法称为认知学徒建议促进技能学习。该项目汇集了认知行为矫正，社会心理学，互动叙事，平面小说设计，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（i）综合社会心理学，互动叙事和严肃的游戏方法，以设想学习者需要学习和采取新的社会问题解决行为的经验，（ii）开始设计一个互动的图形小说和围绕它的经验，有很好的机会促进高危青少年目标人群的行为改变，以及（ii）建立一个强大的研究团队，长期合作，贯彻来自这一初步努力的有价值的想法。这项工作的潜在更广泛的影响在于：（i）使用图形小说，这很容易获得，年轻人会很感兴趣，促进思考和行动，帮助青少年学习新的解决问题的行为，（ii）学习如何促进生产性行为的改变，以及（iii）确定技术在这种学习中可以发挥的作用，以及如何利用技术以及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.