Gameplan is proud to announce a partnership with Minecraft Education, introducing Exploring Careers in Esports, an elective course for middle schools where students explore a range of careers and skills within the esports ecosystem. 

Exploring Careers in Esports teaches students how to design and implement an esports game in Minecraft Education. Students work towards hosting an esports tournament at their school while practicing skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, and communication, which are essential skills for students to learn in a world with rapid technological advancements.  

The course uses project-based learning where students work in groups to build games, give each other feedback, and improve. Students explore career pathways such as game design, coding, marketing, and event management.

Game-Based Learning with Minecraft Education and Gameplan

Minecraft Education offers students an opportunity to get into esports in a non-violent and safe environment. It builds future-ready skills such as creativity, problem-solving, and digital literacy. Gameplan leverages Minecraft Education to build a standards-based curriculum with hands-on experiences that increase student engagement and prepare students for high school. 

Units within the Exploring Careers in Esports come with comprehensive lesson plans, assignments, and Minecraft Education world templates, making it easy for teachers of all experience levels to lead the class. The course uses Gameplan features such as scenario reviews, journaling, and interactive puzzles to keep students engaged. Progress tracking, grading tools, and integrations with the most common learning management systems make class management a smooth experience for teachers. 

Upgrade Your Middle School Electives with Exploring Careers in Esports   

Here is a glimpse into the course:

1. Explore Game Design 
   This unit introduces students to game design principles and building techniques in Minecraft Education. Students learn how to create engaging and interactive game environments. The unit consists of 11 lessons, including designing and building a parkour mini-game, understanding game mechanics, and playtesting and analyzing challenges. 

2. Explore Game Development 
   In this unit, students collaborate to design, plan, and develop an competitive esports game. They work on various aspects of game development, including storyline creation, character design, and level building. This unit also consists of 11 lessons, focusing on teamwork and project management. 

3. Explore Game Logic 
   Students add more complex mechanics to their games using command blocks and redstone. This unit focuses on teaching students how to implement game logic and create dynamic game elements. It includes 10 lessons, covering topics such as command blocks, scoreboards, and redstone circuits. 

4. Explore Marketing 
   Students create marketing materials like thumbnails and videos to promote their games and tournaments. This unit helps students understand the importance of marketing and how to effectively promote their esports events. It consists of 9 lessons, including creating game trailers, designing promotional assets, and building a digital portfolio. 

5. Organize Tournaments 
   As the capstone project, students learn how to organize their own esports tournaments. They plan and execute a school-wide esports event, applying the skills they have learned throughout the course. This unit includes 9 lessons, focusing on tournament logistics, team registration, and post-tournament reflection.

   

   *Image: A glimpse into the course

   Professional development is provided for administrators and educators to ensure district-wide implementation of the course is successful. This enables educators with various experience levels to teach the course with confidence. Everyone teaching the course on Gameplan will gain access to a community of educators, a source of support and inspiration.

Benefits of Esports and Minecraft Education 

The research shows that esports in schools boost student engagement and motivation, particularly for those not traditionally engaged in conventional sports or classroom activities. For those students, esports provides a fun and engaging way to learn, helping students develop a sense of community and belonging. Minecraft Education has been shown to reduce anxiety-related learning issues in subjects such as mathematics and science, leading to a boost in scores. Another study has also found that students who used Minecraft performed better in computational thinking tasks, such as abstraction, decomposition, and generalization, compared to students who used a paper-based approach.  

"Minecraft Education is the perfect tool to use in the type of game-based learning courses Gameplan wants to offer." said Rasmus Sandström, the CEO of Gameplan. "We’ve seen first-hand the positive impact Minecraft Education has on student engagement and are excited to include it in our courses and take them to the next level." 

"Gameplan’s curriculum uses Minecraft Education to create fun and engaging learning experiences in Esports. Their ‘Exploring Careers in Esports’ course helps students develop critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills essential in today's tech world." said Allison Matthews, Head of Minecraft Education.  

Find out more at https://gameplan.com/minecraft-education

About Minecraft Education 

Minecraft Education is a game-based learning platform that inspires creative, inclusive learning through play. Millions of educators and students in 115 countries use Minecraft Education to build future-ready skills like problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking. The platform offers standards-aligned STEM curricula, professional development, and fun challenges designed for all types of learners, developed with partners like BBC Earth, the Nobel Peace Center, NASA, UNESCO, World Wildlife Federation, and Code.org. 

About Gameplan 

Gameplan offers standards-aligned curricula with resources for middle and high schools, designed to increase student engagement, reduce chronic absenteeism, and foster college and career readiness, using esports as the main method of instruction in pathways that lead to career opportunities and workforce credentials. Lessons are delivered through Gameplan’s online platform which integrates with other learning management systems, ensuring a smooth implementation for schools. Gameplan also offers professional development for administrators, educators, and coaches. 

For media queries, please contact: marketing@gameplan.com