How Game Mechanics Fit History Learning Objectives: Taking Situational Simulation and Role-Playing as Examples

Abstract

Traditional history instruction often falls into the trap of prioritizing memorization over comprehension and conclusions over process. Students often rely on rote memorization to grasp historical facts, struggling to develop core competencies such as a sense of time and space, the ability to interpret history, and a sense of patriotism. This disconnect exists between the three-dimensional history learning objectives of "knowledge, ability, and emotion" outlined in the new curriculum standards. To address this issue, gamified instruction, leveraging its immersive and interactive nature, has gradually entered the history education field. Situational simulation and role-playing are core mechanisms that align with the principles of history learning. This paper uses literature analysis and case studies, drawing on the practical application of middle school history teaching, to explore the logical fit between two game mechanics and historical learning objectives. Simulations, by recreating historical scenes, help students develop a sense of time and space, meeting the "knowledge objective" of mastering historical facts and spatial and temporal perspectives. Role-playing, by assigning students historical roles, encourages them to actively explore their roles' perspectives and behavioral logic, meeting the "ability objective" of cultivating historical material analysis and historical interpretation. The synergistic use of these two mechanics can further guide students to empathize with historical figures and develop a sense of value, meeting the "affective objective" of cultivating historical literacy. The study found that well-designed simulations and role-playing can transform abstract historical knowledge into concrete experiences, addressing the pain point of traditional teaching methods: the disconnect between history and students' lives. Finally, addressing issues such as biased contextualization and unbalanced role participation, an optimization approach of "historical fact calibration, task stratification, and multi-faceted evaluation" is proposed. This approach provides a reference for the application of game mechanics in history teaching and helps cultivate students' core historical literacy.