As someone who enjoys playing video games, I found this article to be extremely refreshing. Too often do people complain about video games being mind-numbing, distracting, addictive, etc. , without ever sitting down to play a video game. Knowing that Gee had really tried and experienced video games made the article much more valid to me.
I consider myself an advocate for educational video games, but I admit that I have never really looked at video games as a parallel to classroom instruction. However, as Gee explained the various aspects of a “good video game” and “good learning”, I found myself agreeing. It is true that video games have captured the attention of many people, including the youth we seek to enlighten in schools. Instead of demonizing video games and seeing them as time-wasting activities, why not look at them as models of how to approach teaching and learning?
I have included the list of “learning principles” in video games that Gee proposes, and will expand on them accordingly:
- Identity
Interestingly, our students take on different identities in the school environment, but we never truly acknowledge this. They are asked to use different thinking strategies and methods in different subjects, while balancing being a “scholar” with being a “citizen”. We can emphasize the importance of these roles to increase self-identity and self-esteem in our students.
- Interaction
In a good classroom, there is interaction between the teacher and students, and amongst students. However, interaction between students and the text or learning materials is a challenge. We must encourage students to think critically about their texts instead of just reading and memorizing information.
- Production
Very often, students feel like they are sheep being herded from one course to another, without any part of the system. Letting students choose what they find important in the curriculum and teaching what is relevant to them can help increase interest.
- Risk Taking
As explained by Gee, students are too afraid of failure to take risks. However, without taking risks and making mistakes, no progress can be made. We, as teachers, should encourage students to do things differently, and not penalize them for their mistakes.
- Customization
Related to Production
- Agency
Related to Production and Identity
- Well-Ordered Problems
- Challenge and Consolidation
- “Just-in-Time” and “On Demand”
- Situated Meanings
- Pleasantly Frustrating
Keeping classroom content challenging but pleasantly so sounds challenging, but it makes perfect sense. Content that is too easy is boring, and content that is too difficult can make students frustrated and unwilling to try.
- System Thinking
Too often, we fail to encourage students to look at the “big picture” of what they have learned. Having students make connection outside of each individual lesson, and perhaps each subject class, could help them become well-rounded and well-informed individuals.
- Explore, Think Laterally, Rethink Goals
- Smart Tools and Distributed Knowledge
- Cross-Functional Teams
- Performance before Competence
There are many educational games out there that can connect video games to the learning environment, but I agree that we should take it a step further, and look to the success of video games to make our teaching more successful. Our students’ worlds are not the same as the world centuries ago when the first school system began; therefore, we should adapt our classroom accordingly.
1 response so far ↓
jyb1 // Jul 11th 2014 at 5:06 pm
I strongly agree that video games can be valuable tools for students to explore their own identities and engage in different kinds of learning. Video games possess a variety of literary skills from critical thinking to resource/time management to even memorization. Teachers can utilize games in the classroom to help students gain these skills while keeping them engaged and motivated to learn. I have constantly been drawn to video games throughout my life and have learned many strategies that have carried over to my academic success. I still remember when I was younger, my teachers introduced me to many math and spelling games that peaked my interest in improving my abilities. I was motivated to challenge myself and beat the class high scores. The games became a constant topic of conversation among students and caused much healthy competition among peers. Students were also very open to teaching each other the content so they could more easily play with one another.
Gaming has become an exciting and easily shareable way to converse and play within a community of peers who have similar passions. By transferring this sense of acceptance into the classroom, students will be more invested in what they are learning and feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts with the class. Gaming allows learning to become a fun and intrinsically motivated experience rather than a stressful exercise that students feel they have to do.
Not only does gaming provide students with other avenues to engage with the material, it can also lead students to talk about the content through non-traditional mediums. Discussion forums, streams and videos can be used to express students’ ideas about games and to share different strategies and knowledge. This differs greatly from the fears of social degradation, destruction and violence that video games have been thought to invoke. When used properly, games can be extremely beneficial for students both inside the classroom and out.
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