Learning by Game Design: An Interdisciplinary Framework for Participatory and Innovative Higher Education

Abstract

Learning by Game Design is an interdisciplinary teaching innovation project developed at the University of Parma, Italy. It integrates game design into higher education as a structured pedagogical methodology rather than as an occasional motivational device. Beginning with a critique of traditional university teaching — which often struggles to sustain engagement, inclusion, accessibility, and active participation — the project frames game design as a learning environment that enables complex thinking, collaboration, and the use of multiple forms of representation, in line with active learning and Universal Design for Learning principles. Built around a multidisciplinary team spanning entomology, citizen science, economics, law and data protection, game science, and cultural heritage education, the project aims to build a scalable and transferable model for university teaching. The paper describes the project architecture, reports on an exploratory pilot implementation in a Citizen Science course and its subsequent extension to three further courses in economics, data science, and cultural heritage education, and discusses implications, limitations, and future validation needs for participatory pedagogy, interdisciplinary curriculum design, and the use of analog games in citizen science contexts.