Discussion--Gaming

 

    


                Some teachers with whom I have worked have been incorporating gaming into their curriculum. I have quietly watched the students “working” on their game worlds that either incorporate the measurement calculations they have been working on in math, or their knowledge of cultures and people from social studies.

I have noticed both benefits and challenges associated with this gaming. Concerning benefits, students are certainly engaged. They have created large worlds that have required many hours of work and students are proud of what they have created. However, the challenges that I have noticed stem from the students’ ability to actually use this engaging task for learning. Students often seem more focused on what outlandish things they can design or have their characters do to entertain their peers than completing the assignments to demonstrate understanding of the content. Roblyer and Hughes (2019) explain the challenges of gaming similarly explaining that students struggle with the transfer of learning from games to the classroom, the correspondence between game goals and learning objectives in which students may work to win the “game” regardless of the learning challenge, and their focus on having fun over learning where the educational value of games is limited. The games are “fun” for students, but they often do little to address content—at least in the ways students are utilizing the games.  

   An Edutopia article that I just read mentions the idea of using game platforms from StoriaEDU to have students work on narrative writing. As students interact with the game, they develop plots, characters, dialogue, and advance their writing skills while doing so. I do not have experience with incorporating this type of gaming in my classroom, but I am intrigued by its possibilities.     

               At this point, I have very few strategies that can make gaming truly productive. I think a start is to set up explicit rules and expectations prior to allowing students to begin any gaming work. Additionally, monitoring student use is essential. Setting up check points and reviews of student progress can assist in ensuring student focus, but I feel that some students will still use the opportunity for gaming as an opportunity to avoid work. To be appropriate to the classroom, gaming should engage students in accomplishing the learning objectives, but what is occurring most often, is students engaging in “educational” games after their classwork is complete.  

  

 

References 

Roblyer, M. D., & Hughes, J. E. (2019).  Integrating educational technology into teaching.  Pearson Education.   


Boss, S. (2019, May 6). Gaming as a tool for narrative writing. Edutopia. Using Game-Based Learning to Teach Narrative Writing | Edutopia  

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