At UTA Libraries, some of the most meaningful learning happens when students are invited to test ideas, collaborate with others, reflect on their experiences and grow from them. That belief is at the heart of how we partner with faculty across campus to make courses more interactive, engaging and impactful for students. 

Chloé Bennett, Creative Spaces and Services Librarian, has witnessed firsthand the power of these partnerships, through the collaboration with Rachel Baldridge, Associate Professor of Instruction in the College of Science within the Department of Psychology, who teaches Advanced Topics in Social Psychology. 
 

Baldridge first learned about the depth of UTA Libraries’ resources through the Maverick Advantage Faculty Engagement program. That introduction reshaped how she viewed the Libraries, not just as a place for students, but as a partner in teaching and learning. 

 
“I didn’t realize just how willing librarians were to partner with faculty to enhance courses,” Baldridge said. “That wasn’t something I had on my radar when I first started at UTA.” 

Baldridge stated she knew she wanted to revisit how the course was structured, especially the lab component.” 

 
Traditionally, the lab focused on reading journal articles and discussing them in class. While valuable, it did not fully reflect the hands-on nature students might expect from a lab experience, particularly in a course centered on group dynamics and social interaction. 

 
Through this partnership with Libraries, Baldridge was paired with Bennett, who introduced the idea of using tabletop and role-playing games as a way for students to actively experience group dynamics rather than simply talk about them. 

 
“Tabletop role-playing games weren’t part of my world,” Baldridge said. “But it was clearly part of Chloé’s, and she shared research showing how these kinds of experiences have been used effectively in educational settings.” 

Learning Through Play and Reflection 

 
The first iteration of the course introduced students to a collaborative storytelling role-playing game. While the concept was creative, student feedback revealed a critical lesson: the game was too abstract for many undergraduate psychology students, who sought clearer goals and a more structured approach. 

 
Rather than abandoning the idea, Bennett and Baldridge used that feedback to refine the lab experience held at the Central Library. In the second iteration of the course, the lab incorporated a variety of group-based games, each intentionally selected to build students’ comfort, understanding, and awareness of how they function within a group. 

Students began with simpler social games that introduced the idea of roles and objectives. They then moved on to more complex experiences, including “Blood on the Clock Tower,” a social deception game and eventually “Sunderfolk,” a digital tabletop-style role-playing game where the computer serves as the game master. 

Throughout the semester, students completed weekly reflections, encouraging them to examine their own behaviors, group interactions and emerging dynamics. These reflections became a key bridge between gameplay and classroom learning. 

“That self-reflection is where they really shine,” Baldridge explained. “They’re asking themselves, ‘What did I notice in myself today?’ ‘What can I connect from the classroom to this experience?’ And that’s exactly what the research says experiential learning should support.” 

The Library as a Living Learning Space 

This course highlights how UTA Libraries functions as more than a place to study. It is a space where learning can unfold through collaboration, experimentation and creativity. 

Students in Baldridge’s course spend two to two and a half hours each week in the Libraries for their lab sessions. That time together not only strengthens group dynamics within the lab but also carries over into the classroom. 

“I’ve seen better engagement in my lectures,” Baldridge said. “Students build relationships in the lab that transfer into class discussions. They’re more comfortable speaking up, working in small groups and participating overall.” 

Behind the scenes, Libraries staff also played an important role. Bennett invited colleagues from across the Libraries to help playtest games, ensuring they were accessible to participants with varying levels of experience. 

“These games turned out to be incredible team-building tools,” Bennett said. “They’ve helped build interdepartmental relationships in a way that’s inclusive and fun. Not everyone wants to play ping pong in the staff lounge and that’s OK. But there should be something for the rest of us, too.” 

Those early playtesting sessions helped spark renewed interest in interdepartmental gameplay and supported the revival of the Libraries’ board game community. 

A Win for Students and Beyond 

Student response to the redesigned lab has been overwhelmingly positive. End-of-semester feedback reflects high engagement and thoughtful observations about both player-to-player and character-to-character interactions. 

Many students in the course are preparing for careers in social work, counseling, human resources, graduate study or other people-centered fields. The skills they practice through gameplay, teamwork, communication, self-awareness and reflection, directly align with those future paths. 

Some students even had the opportunity to share feedback directly with the developers of “Sunderfolk,” feedback that has since influenced updates to the game. 

“That sense of ownership made a huge difference,” Bennett noted. “When students realized, they were contributing to something real, they cared even more.” 

Baldridge credits the success of the lab not only to the Libraries’ partnership but also to the graduate teaching assistants who help run the sessions. “They’re a huge part of making this work,” she said. “I’m honestly a small piece of a much bigger team.” 

Building the Future of Teaching Together 

The success of this project is due to the hard work of faculty, librarians, staff and students working together. This collaboration created a space for asking meaningful questions, trying new approaches, and refining teaching in ways that support student success. 

Baldridge is quick to recommend partnering with Libraries to her colleagues to help enhance the courses they teach.  

Courses like Advanced Topics in Social Psychology show what is possible when learning moves beyond observation and into experience, and when the Libraries become an active partner in teaching and discovery.