This April, I began what I am calling an "Open Table" of Dungeons & Dragons for the students at the university. My overall purpose is to help my university students at my university learn the English language. Since I find engaging with Dungeons & Dragons and other TTRPGs an immersive experience, I feel that engaging with Dungeons & Dragons and other TTRPGs will be a valuable way for the students to learn the English language,as well as learn about the culture of TTRPGs which is a multilingual and international culture in an of itself.

As I was putting the club together, I realized that I would need some information for the club to be a success. Since I'm also a researcher, I figured that a worthwhile use of my time is to research how teachers are using D&D and other TTRPGs with their students. With that in mind, I've created this blog to document my progress with the club and research so that others can learn from my experiences.

My current mission: Through participating in various Discord and other online communities I have discovered that there is a current toward using TTRPGs as an extracurricular activity at the primary and secondary school levels in North America. In order to put my proposed club on a solid footing, as well as to begin my academic research into how TTRPGs are being used with primary and secondary school students in North America, I am seeking to find how these clubs are being formed and what kinds of experiences the people facilitating those clubs are having. 

My research will explore how facilitators of Tabletop Role-Playing Game Clubs at primary or secondary schools have set-up their clubs. What have they learned? And how have the students responded to their efforts? I will use the information to set-up a club at my university. In addition, I will design follow-up studies supporting the teachers who facilitate such clubs and advocating for the positive inclusion of Tabletop Role Playing Games in educational settings.

I look forward to having you follow along as I post the progress of the club and my research. I also look forward to hearing about your experiences using D&D with your students.

About Me:

My name is Timothy Gutierrez (he/him). I am a teacher, researcher, and administrator at a large university in Japan. One of my primary duties is to facilitate events at the university’s Global Research and Education Center which help students learn the English languages. My secondary duty is to do research on methods for teaching language and culture. Combining this with my interest in Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs), I came to believe that developing a TTRPG club at the center will serve my students. I also came to believe that researching TTRPGs will be a fulfilling life and research purpose.