Using games for purposes other than simply entertainment is an idea that Martín-Hernández et al. (2021) suggest goes back to the very beginnings of mankind, and the authors also suggest that ,while game-based learning is certainly not a new concept, it is an idea whose popularity has grown dramatically over the past decade. Game-based learning (GBL) has both benefits and challenges. Hughes and Roblyer (2023) cite positives such as the versatility of using GBL across a wide variety of content areas and subjects, increased student motivation, engagement, interactivity, and higher student achievement. Other benefits of GBL include increased student attention (Lin et al., 2019); increased ability to delegate tasks and responsibility and to work as a team (Brown et al., 2019); it can provide a means to create interactive formative assessments (Zainuddin et al., 2020) These benefits are enhanced, as Hughes and Roblyer (2023) propose, when the games promote inquiry and problem-based learning (PBL), teach other skills such as cooperation and perseverance, and “skills such as attention, perseverance, and prosocial behaviors” (p. 162), and also because of the students’ increased emotional engagement, specifically (Ninaus et al., 2019).
Hughes and Roblyer (2023) also warn of pitfalls of GBL such as the potential lack of educational value, lack of learning objectives, lack of learning transfer, lack of alignment with curriculum, and barriers to use, such as lack of access to the technology. Gros (2007) adds the challenge of knowing what an appropriate amount of time spent on the game will prove to be productive. Games may also present distractions
Such technology is completely unsuited for classroom use when the game contains inappropriate content, such as excessive graphic violence, which can have serious long lasting effects (Kimmig et al., 2018), and those games that may promote violence, aggression, or anxiety (Quwaider et al., 2019).
Hughes and Roblyer suggest strategies for GBL that include aligning and integrating serious GBL with the curriculum, reviewing games to align with the standards being taught, and emphasizing the content area skills, among other ideas. To that end, in my own classroom, I tend to work with the end in mind, identifying the skills, concepts, and abilities the students should be able to demonstrate a level of proficiency in by the end of a given unit of study, and work backwards from there to identify teaching and learning strategies, including technology and GBL, that is best suited for those specific purposes.
References
Brown, N., Darby, W., & Coronel, H. (2019). An escape room as a simulation teaching strategy. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 30, 1-6.
Gros, B. (2007). Digital games in education: The design of games-based learning environments. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 40(1), 23-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2007.10782494
Hughes, J. E., & Roblyer, M. D. (2023). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching, 9th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf 10.2.1]. Retrieved from vbk://9780137544622
Kimmig, A. C. S., Andringa, G., & Derntl, B. (2018). Potential adverse effects of violent video gaming: Interpersonal-affective traits are rather impaired than disinhibition in young adults. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 736.
Lin, Y., Hsieh, Y., Hou, H., & Wang, S. (2019). Exploring students’ learning and gaming performance as well as attention through a drill-based gaming experience for environmental education. Journal of Computers in Education (the Official Journal of the Global Chinese Society for Computers in Education), 6(3), 315-334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40692-019-00130-y
Martín-Hernández, P., Gil-Lacruz, M., Gil-Lacruz, A., Azkue-Beteta, J., Lira, E. M., & Cantarero, L. (2021). Fostering University Students’ Engagement in Teamwork and Innovation Behaviors through Game-Based Learning (GBL). Sustainability, 13(24), 13573. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413573
Ninaus, M., Greipl, S., Kiili, K., Lindstedt, A., Huber, S., Klein, E., Karnath, H., & Moeller, K. (2019). Increased emotional engagement in game-based learning – A machine learning approach on facial emotion detection data. Computers and Education, 142, 103641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103641
Quwaider, M., Alabed, A., & Duwairi, R. (2019). The impact of video games on the players behaviors: A survey. Procedia Computer Science, 151, 575-582.
Zainuddin, Z., Shujahat, M., Haruna, H., & Chu, S. K. W. (2020). The role of gamified e-quizzes on student learning and engagement: An interactive gamification solution for a formative assessment system. Computers & Education, 145, 103729.
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