Roll to Save Democracy: How TTRPGs Can Be the New Forefront of Civic Education and Formation

Can tabletop RPG players save democracy? This session will explore the ways in which the experience of playing tabletop RPGs can support the development of essential democratic habits and skills that our society desperately needs, while engaging student/citizens to creatively imagine how our society can thrive. Using the educational theory of John Dewey to tap into the incredible resources around moral imagination and relationship building, this session hopes to inspire educators and clinicians to think about the civic gains tabletop RPGs can support along with the emotional gains.

Learning Objectives:

1. At the end of the session, attendees will be able to identify three ways in which tabletop RPGs play promote skills necessary for thriving democratic civic engagements
2. At the end of the session, attendees will be able to compare the traditional form of civic education with progressive Deweyan approach to civic formation
3. At the end of the session, attendees will create a plot sketch for a campaign that could support the development of democratic skills
4. At the end of the session, attendees will be able to identify three ways a Game Master resembles an instructor whose methods are rooted in progressive pedagogy