Rolling the dice on innovative teaching

IN JANUARY 1974, Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gyax shipped out the first 1,000 game boxes from his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. A few weeks later, Adam Watson shipped out into the world. 

Watson came of age during the golden era of tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) – collaborative, story-driven challenges where players take on characters and shape the narrative together using imagination, conversation and dice. He was 10 when a relative noticed his fascination with f ilm and science fiction, making him a perfect fit for TTRPGs. 

“There’s something joyful, something engaging about D&D that really captures the imagination,” the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education and Human Development alumnus said. “The biggest and most wonderful thing is that at its core, it’s a co-created story with the people around you.”

Today, Watson is a cornerstone of Kentucky’s TTRPGs-in-education movement, turning fantasy play into learning realities for students across the commonwealth. He’s watching a new generation’s love for the games manifest in the classroom. 

LIKE MANY CHILDHOOD PASSIONS, Watson’s D&D boxes ended up in a storage bin. But he never forgot the feelings he had while playing. He kept that bin – both metaphorically and physically – nearby.

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As Watson moved into adulthood, his passion evolved into a desire to spark  that sense of discovery in others. Drawn to helping people experience their own “aha” moments, he found himself naturally explaining concepts to peers. Education, he realized, was a calling. 

Throughout his 20s, Watson worked full time while pursuing his bachelor’s degree in English part time at UofL. Afterward, he transitioned immediately into a master’s program in teaching through UofL’s Alternative Certification Program. As a nontraditional student in his 30s, he felt truly supported through the combination of the instruction, instructors and his cohort. 

“UofL was primed for the fact that I was in the classroom,” Watson said. “The coursework recognized that I needed practical strategies on the ground, not just theory.”

He spent nine years teaching at South Oldham High School before becoming a digital learning coordinator for Shelby County Public Schools. His latest venture is serving 14 school districts and more than 150,000 students as a digital learning consultant for the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative.

AS CLASSROOMS BECOME FILLED WITH SCREENS, Watson sees the value of faceto-face interactions and how powerful they are. The magic of TTRPGs is in the “peanut butter and jelly” combination of play and instruction.

That’s how a typical unit on the 19th century Westward Expansion transforms into a journey of “going west.” Literary classics reach new emotional depths as students embody characters and explore plot paths. Teachers aren’t hovering. They are sitting beside students participating in shared storytelling.

In these collaborative moments, play becomes a way for students to understand the content on a deeper level. And failure? It’s not a setback –  it’s an opportunity.

“For students, it's not about a worksheet that, hopefully, you’ll get 80 out of 100 points on,” Watson said. “Play is a space for us to fail, because we're failing and succeeding together.”

IN 2022, Watson launched the Kentucky Educators for Role Playing Games website, offering research and resources for game-based learning. In 2025, his book “Tabletop RolePlaying Games in the Classroom: Infusing Gameplay into K12 Instruction” was published, providing real-world examples from classrooms across the commonwealth. 

These accomplishments mark a moment that is both professional and personal, a culmination of decades of childhood curiosity, classroom creativity and community building.

As TTRPGs surge back into cultural relevance thanks to things like  Netflix’s “Stranger Things," Watson  sees an opportunity for schools searching for vibrant and engaging learning experiences that bring students together.

“How can we find ways students meaningfully and authentically engage in real time, face to face?” Watson said. “That’s what tabletop roleplaying games can offer. Joy and play.”