The Application of ‘Activity Theory' in the Design of Educational Simulation Games

As you read this text you perform an activity. Activity is literally everything we do and yet we are unaware of most of our operations. In this chapter, I will describe activity through a psychological lens and explain how this relates to the process of learning. The conceptual instrument used for analysis is 'activity theory'; a cultural-historical concept that was formulated in Russia during the 1920s. I will offer suggestions as to how activity theory may be used in the design of computer simulation games directed at education and highlight its conceptual underpinnings. In the latter part of the chapter, I offer possible directions for further research in this field.