- Controlled Chaos: The Course - by Rift Education -
HOW TO USE THE RIFT METHOD
A facilitation course built for educators and L&D professionals who are done with training that doesn't stick. Learn to use commercial video games as precision tools for skills training.
— The Problem
TRADITIONAL
TRAINING
DOESN'T
WORK.
Passive presentations, one-and-done workshops, scripts, and role-playing scenarios all lead to learning that evaporates the moment people leave the room.
Educators and L&D professionals know the problem. Skills training is supposed to change behaviour, but most of it doesn't. Not because people aren't trying, but because the methods are wrong.
The Rift Method is different. It uses commercial video games as the teaching tool, not as novelty. They are precision instruments for skills development.
"It's dangerous to go alone."
— The Rift Method
Every lesson is built on four principles.
ENGAGING
Games bring the engagement. Learners show up differently when play is the point.
AUTHENTIC
Not simulations. Not role-play. Real leadership, conflict, and communication.
CYCLICAL
Skills don't develop in one session. The Rift Method builds in repetition and reflection by design.
LOW-STAKES
The game absorbs the risk. Learners can try, fail, and try again without ego on the line.
— The Tools
— In The Field
What It Looks Like
IDENTIFY THE SKILL
Choose the essential skill your learners need to develop. Define what good looks like in practice.
DESIGN THE DYNAMICS
Map the game mechanics that will create the conditions for that skill to emerge naturally during play.
FACILITATE THE SESSION
Choose and play a game with your learners. The game does the heavy lifting. You facilitate ad guide.
DEBRIEF, CONNECT, AND REPLAY
Structured debrief connects the in-game experience to real-world application. Cyclical gameplay allows for trial and error.
— THE RESEARCH
Backed by Science
MEGASKILLS, a Horizon Europe research initiative, spent three years studying the impact of commercial video games on essential skills development in professional and educational contexts. Their findings align closely with what the Rift Method has been doing in the field.
Games aren't just engaging. They're measurably effective. The research is there. So is the methodology.
→ Explore the MEGASKILLS Research
Controlled Chaos: The Course
Justin Matheson
Eight years in the classroom, a Master's in Educational Technology, and a realization that changed how I think about learning entirely.
My students struggled with decision-making and critical thinking, until I watched them play Fortnite. I saw they weren't lacking the skills, hey just didn't know they had them.
That gap became the foundation of the Rift Method. I don't use games as novelty or reward, but as a sort of mirror that shows learners what they're already capable of. With the right facilitation, the skills that emerge during play can be named, practiced, and transferred. That's what the Rift Method is built to do. Since then, it's been deployed across 8 programs with 600+ learners, and the methodology keeps getting sharper.