Quick Facts
Biography
Dr. Jeremiah B. McCall is a freelance author, high school teacher, and consultant on educational game design in Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition, he is an expert on the use of simulation games in the classroom.
Early life
He received an undergraduate degree in history from the University of New Hampshire, and holds a Ph.D. in ancient history from Ohio State University. He also has an M.A. from Ohio State University. His dissertation, The Cavalry of the Roman Republic, was published in 2002 by Routledge.
Academic career
In 2000, McCall started his teaching career at the St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, Connecticut. In 2002, he moved to Cincinnati and started teaching at the Upper School in Cincinnati Country Day School. In 2004, he became the Humanities Program Coordinator.
Besides his dissertation, he has written two books, including Gaming the Past (2011), The Sword of Rome: A Biography of Marcus Claudius Marcellus(2012), and Swords and Cinema(2015). Gaming the Past is a book about using simulation games to teach history. It has received multiple positive reviews from education experts such as Katy Swalwell and been described as "fill[ing] a gap in the literature" and "a model example of reflective research" by reviewer Seann Dikkers. Sword of Rome, is a comprehensive biography of the life of Marcus Claudius Marcellus, one of the most successful politicians of the Roman Republic. Swords and Cinema, his newest book, focuses on the accuracy of movies featuring historical battles.
Games and Education
In addition to teaching high school and writing books, McCall is a leading expert on the use of simulations, especially historical simulations, in education. He regularly attends and presents at the University of Wisconsin's Games, Learning and Society Conference. He also has presented at both regional and national conferences of independent schools, during a summit at the University of Cincinnati, and as a panelist for the M.I.T. Education Arcade.
He maintains a blog and information site about historical simulations in education called Gaming the Past, is a member of Play the Past, and chairs the board of advisors for the Playful Learning Initiative by the Learning Games Network. He has also been the subject of or quoted in articles in BusinessWeek, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and the Scholastic Administrator, among others.
Selected Works
Books
The Cavalry of the Roman Republic (2001)
Gaming the Past (2011)
Sword of Rome: A Biography of Marcus Claudius Marcellus (2012)
Swords and Cinema (2015)
Articles
Historical Simulations as Problem Spaces: Criticism and Classroom Use (2012)
Navigating the Problem Space: The Medium of Simulation Games in the Teaching of History (2012)