Enabling collective creativity in schools using Minecraft: serious play

Situated in complexity theory this thesis covers the broad area of creativity re-conceptualise creativity within Australian mainstream education, as being something that continually emerges from collective process. In doing so, many of the key characteristics of the Australian education system, were analysed for the role they played in enabling or hindering creativity within a school. M inecraft was a key pedagogical tool used to filter this aspects through to reimagine them. The findings of this study included: 1. Situating pedagogies framed in complexity have limited scope in the current discourse around mainstream Australian education. 2. There is a role for pedagogies that arise out of new and conflicting discourses (e.g., complexity theory). Its place and role are one of continual ‘deterritorialization and reterritorialization’ (Deleuze & Guattari 1987; Roy 2003). Despite existing only on the edge of the discourse, their mere existence is evidence of the potential for change. 3. Digital games based on complexity, such as the MMO game Minecraft, have a place in education and are enablers of systemic creativity. 4. The students in the study were developing new and previously unnamed multithreaded identities through their complex game design and play. I have labelled this new form of identity Vellooming.