At the 7th Annual WashU Language Teaching Fair, Biggs Department of Classics faculty member Rebecca Sears shared insights from her innovative approach to teaching graduate-level Latin prose composition. In her presentation, “Gamifying Graduate-level Latin Prose Composition,” Sears spoke candidly about the successes and challenges of this experiment, which diverged from generations of traditional Latin composition instruction.

Rather than relying on the conventional model, Sears created a role-playing game built around the Roman Second Triumvirate. Students were assigned political roles and tasked with developing characters, embedding their Latin writing into the narrative of Roman political maneuvering. Though the learning curve was steep, Sears explained that this approach led to greater student engagement and encouraged more natural language production.

Building on this success, Sears is preparing to expand her use of role-playing games in the classroom. In Spring 2026, she will launch a new first-year seminar, CLASSICS 1900: Republic or Empire? Recreating Roman Politics of the Second Triumvirate. While this course will not include a Latin language component, it will invite students to immerse themselves in the politics, personalities, and cultural dynamics of late Republican Rome through role-playing exercises.

By bringing game-based learning into both language and ancient history classrooms, Sears continues to push the boundaries of classical pedagogy at WashU, offering students opportunities to engage with the ancient world in new and creative ways.