Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Public Charter School

Back to the States: Teaching, Learning, and Designing Experiences

After many years living and working internationally, the changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic eventually gave me the opportunity to look toward returning to the United States. Like many major transitions, that process came with plenty of uncertainty, but I was fortunate to find a wonderful place to land at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School (PVPA) in Western Massachusetts.

While my professional background began in game design, my other passion has always been education. I am currently a high school mathematics teacher at PVPA, teaching Algebra I and Discrete Mathematics. During my time here, I have also taught 8th Grade Math and Algebra II. Although teaching and game design may appear to be separate worlds, I have found that many of the same skills apply: understanding systems, breaking down complex ideas, creating engaging experiences, and constantly adjusting based on feedback.

In many ways, a classroom is its own type of interactive system. Every student brings different experiences, expectations, and challenges into the room, and a successful lesson requires iteration just as much as a successful game does.

Bringing Game Design Into the Classroom

One of the unique opportunities I have had at PVPA was teaching Paideia courses. Each year, during a two-week intensive period between semesters, teachers offered specialized classes outside of the traditional curriculum, and students choose subjects they want to explore more deeply. Sadly, we are no longer offering this to our students at the moment, but I do hope we bring it back in a new form soon.

During these sessions, I created and taught two game design courses: Game Design 100 and Game Design 101.

Game Design 100: Understanding Systems

Game Design 100 focused on learning how to analyze games as designed systems. Rather than simply playing games, students were encouraged to become designers observing their own experiences.

Each day, we explored different genres and styles of games, discussing what made them interesting, engaging, frustrating, memorable, or even unsuccessful. Students examined mechanics, player choices, rules, feedback loops, and the ways different systems interacted with one another.

After discussions, students had time to experiment with games themselves, keeping journals about what they played and analyzing why certain design decisions worked, or didn't.

The goal was to help students develop the same mindset designers use every day: looking beyond what a game is and asking why it works the way it does.

Game Design 101: Creating Experiences

Game Design 101 moved from analysis into creation. Students were challenged to design and build their own tabletop games, either individually or with a partner.

They were provided with basic prototyping materials: blank cards, dice, tokens, timers, and other tools they could use to create their ideas. They were encouraged to build whatever they needed, including custom boards or additional components.

Once their games were created, students entered one of the most important parts of the design process: playtesting.

They played each other's games while observing how players interacted with their rules. Designers took notes, answered questions when necessary, and learned an important lesson that every game developer eventually learns: the game in your head is not always the game other people experience.

Watching students go through that process was incredibly rewarding because they were experiencing the same cycle that professional designers use; create, test, receive feedback, revise, and improve.

Teaching Math Through Confidence and Curiosity

Beyond game design, my primary role at PVPA is teaching mathematics, which is not always a subject students approach with excitement. Many students arrive with years of accumulated math anxiety, convinced that they simply "aren't math people."

One of my biggest goals as an educator has been changing that relationship. I want my classroom to be a place where students feel comfortable making mistakes, asking questions, and exploring ideas without the fear of immediately being wrong.

Much like game design, learning mathematics is about iteration. You try something, receive feedback, adjust your approach, and try again.

I would like to believe that approach has made an impact. During my first year at PVPA, my students nominated me to speak at their 8th-grade step-up ceremony. The following year, many of those same students asked (or perhaps strongly encouraged) I teach them again, which eventually led to my transition into teaching at the high school level.

This upcoming school year will be their graduation year, which makes it a particularly meaningful milestone. Watching the students I started with cross the finish line of high school will be incredibly rewarding, although they have already started jokingly threatening that they will convince me to give their graduation speech as well.

Looking Back

My time at PVPA has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my career. It has allowed me to combine two things I care deeply about: helping people understand difficult concepts and creating experiences that encourage curiosity.

Whether I am designing a game system or designing a lesson, the goal is ultimately the same: create something that helps people engage, explore, and discover that they are capable of more than they initially believed.