Innovative history curriculum coming to SDSU

What can the past tell us about the present? And how can role-playing help facilitate our understanding of history?

South Dakota State University faculty and students will soon find out. An innovative, award-winning curriculum using role-playing games to engage student learning on past historical events is coming to campus.

Christine Larson, Kemp Endowed Professor in Honors Mathematics in SDSU's Department of Mathematics and Statistics, recently received notice that SDSU could support an institutional subscription to the Reacting Consortium, thanks to a Portz Grant from the National Collegiate Honors Council and matching funds from SDSU's Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College. 

"Reacting to the Past" is an active learning pedagogy of role-playing games designed for higher education. The curriculum, which was developed in the late 1990s by Barnard College professor Mark Carnes, quickly spread throughout the U.S. and can now be found in universities around the world. The pedagogy has drawn rave reviews from administrators and students alike.

"I first learned about the Reacting to the Past curriculum at the Upper Midwest Honors Conference in March of 2023 from a group of students that had participated in a number of the games," Larson explained. "Their excitement and enthusiasm were compelling, as well as their descriptions of the skills they took away from the experience, including public speaking, researching, and critical thinking."

"Reacting to the Past offers ample opportunities for gameplay in every discipline. In the current academic year, we have run four games on topics ranging from U.S. history to genetically modified foods, the origins of democracy, and interpersonal communication. The consistent outcome in each case is a reflective, fun, and engaging learning experience," said Rebecca Bott-Knutson, dean of the Fishback Honors College.

There are over 75 different games in the curriculum, each of different moments in history. Students are assigned roles and then must learn about the philosophical and intellectual beliefs of their historical figure in order to correctly role-play the historical moment. According to the Reacting Consortium, these Reacting to the Past games “effectively support the achievement of critical thinking, historical and intercultural knowledge, empathy, leadership, integrative learning, effective communication skills and intellectual curiosity among students."

"Implementing the reacting pedagogy transforms the learning space by embedding all students in diverse roles, at least based upon era and often several additional characteristics," Larson said. "Thus, all students wrestle with thoughts of what it could be like in someone else's shoes, directly advancing inclusive excellence."

The Fishback Honors College will support faculty and students as they create new opportunities to incorporate the role-playing games into the current or new courses. The funds will also support an interest group for faculty members to learn the skills necessary to implement the pedagogy in the classroom.

"We are thrilled to make this engaging educational pedagogy available to SDSU and look forward to engaging faculty and students in learning through gameplay. We are launching an RTTP training for interested faculty. Faculty members who would like to learn more about RTTP and the additional training are encouraged to attend one of these two, identical informational meetings. Those interested are encouraged to apply," Bott-Knutson said. 

The two trainings are scheduled for Monday, April 29, from 2-3 p.m. and Wednesday, May 1, from 4-5 p.m. Bott-Knutson also noted that small stipends will be available for 10 non-12 month contract faculty. 

Applications for the training can be found here.

More information on Reacting to the Past can be found at https://reacting.barnard.edu/.