Gaming: The New Silver Bullet

Have we lost relevancy in instruction? If students don’t know why the content matters, why should they care?

Although traditional practices do not associate teaching with gaming, new developments and strategies of video games are proving otherwise.

I finally got around to reading the feature story of Educational Horizon’s April/May 2013 issue: “Games for Learning”.

The article explained the significance of learning through experiences offered in video games. It makes sense: Listening to facts and information in the classroom for hours on end is not only boring, but also does not prove to have purpose. Students will become more invested in our instruction if they know the why and how.

Why?

Any teacher who has gone through the credential program has completed numerous unit and lesson plans. During my program, my professors drilled into my head to explain to them through my lesson why they should care. It’s a good question, why am I taking up your time right now reading this blog posting? Why would I need to explain the difference between writing a research paper from a journal entry? Games are centered around completing a purpose and students understand what their mission is to complete the game. Not only should teachers take advantage of the use of video games for teaching, but teachers should also adapt this feature of video games into their classroom instruction by making it clear to students what their purpose is within the lesson.

How?

Experience. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts about the value of work experience, you can’t exemplify your skill or knowledge without proving it through application. Our students need to apply the information we are giving them into practice. This means getting students out of their chairs and letting them experience the purpose of the lesson. Gaming gives students the experience of trial and error, which challenges the student to use their knowledge to make decisions and creatively fulfill their mission. Students also learn patterns through gaming and retaining facts when they have experience using the information.

In the video above, Robert Torres explains the advantages and features of educational games that can be used within the classroom. It is amazing how many of our students are using games and dropping out of school within urban areas. I appreciated his research that revealed integrating games into the classroom can actually save students from dropping out, in addition to demonstrating students’ knowledge through an enjoyable application assignment.

Despite our students’ repetitive yawning and eye rolling, they want to succeed and learn. If they are able to pass a level of Angry Birds, they’re going to keep playing that game to beat their friends. With video games, students will have to a reason to play, which will challenge them to apply and perfect their knowledge and understanding.