Context:
"If this were a game, like the one you play on your phone, what would you do next?" Her eyes opened wide, and she sat up and said: "Restart the level and try again!”.
This metaphor by Cardona illustrates the importance of learning from failure. Throughout our lives, we have faced failure in one aspect or another. Whether from learning new skills, grades, relationships, or working and finding jobs. These failures burden many of our minds, and when they reach a certain threshold, many of us tend to give up on these aspirations and goals. But what if that wasn’t the case? What if we treated life like a video game where no matter if we fail or succeed at something, we improve our character just because it makes them better through experience?
In the modern era, video games have become so ingrained in most people's childhood and early adulthood that they have become a beloved pastime and something that many have a deep fondness for, no matter their age. These games foster friendships, relationships, new passions, interests, and more. They bring entire communities together and help people from around the globe interact and spread kindness and experiences. They allow new philosophies, ideas, and viewpoints to interact with one another and enable players to learn and grow their ideas and opinions. Some people have even made careers to support their families and share their passions through these platforms.
Problem:
In 2023, a study by Gallup showed how much confidence in education has decreased since 2015 and 2018. The study showed that since 2015, moderate trust in education has fallen from 57% to 36%. This trend shows how disinterested the American population has become in education. Another study by Skinner found that “…Emotional disaffection, especially boredom, seemed to exert a significant downward pressure on children’s effort and persistence and predicted their withdrawal from academic tasks. This pattern of findings underscores the idea that when children find learning activities interesting, fun, and enjoyable, they will pay more attention and try harder.” This shows us that many children who don’t find school engaging tend to lose the desire to learn, which may also increase the statistics found by Gallup. Engagement and interest in learning have always been issues in education, and efforts to mediate the problem have been investigated, but no proper solution has been found.
Solution:
For over twenty years, researchers have been investigating the possibility of using games as a means of creativity and fun to teach people new skills. This technique of using games in education is typically called "gamification,” the tools are called educational video games or EVGs. Some of these things are already very well-known and beloved in the digital space among young people: Duolingo, Kahoot, Trivia Crack, Words With Friends, and so much more. These games have been used for so long and are so practical and fun that most people consider them games, not tools we use to push the thirst for new information and skills.
Chris Haskell gave a speech at a TEDx event where he presented software called “Quest.” This EVG software gave educators comprehensive control over the lessons, enabling them to monitor student progress individually and compare them with their peers in real time. This allowed the teacher to create personalized missions for each student and guide them through misunderstandings. The biggest, most predominant issue with the program was stagnation due to low technological literacy among educators. However, when the teacher was well-versed with technology, as is common today, students often met expectations ahead of schedule and frequently accomplished double the expected workload in 30% of instances. This technique shows exceptional potential in showing young learners the joy of learning and growing their skill sets.
Other teachers have also been utilizing popular games to bring the fun back into classrooms and promote student engagement. For example, a while back, there was a popular video of an educator using the game “ Civilization 6” to teach his students history. He would follow a system where the students would play the game and move through different eras of civilization. As the students entered new scenarios or encounters and events, the teacher would relate it to an actual period of world history and how it shaped the world around us. The topics included the inventions of technology, culture, military innovations, and so much more. This technique of parallel play was fantastic for fostering student engagement, and many students even used the lessons to implement either countermeasures against the bad events better or to learn how to implement new technologies better. This game also helped the students improve their interpersonal skills as they could form new alliances and teams as the game progressed.
These instances show that educational video games hold the possible answer to increasing engagement and interest in education that teachers and researchers have been looking for. Gamifying education can allow students to find their love for exploring new ideas and skills. It can also facilitate the accumulation of new experiences that are only available to some in our current era. So why should we not allow the new generation to explore the new wild west of the World Wide Web and give them the tools and skills required to survive, thrive, and push themselves to new limits unknown to most today?
References:
Cardona, Josué. “Video Games: A Useful Metaphor for Learning from Experience.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/geek-therapy/201909/video-games-useful-metaphor-learning-experience. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.
Skinner, Ellen, et al. "Engagement and disaffection in the classroom: Part of a larger motivational dynamic?." Journal of educational psychology 100.4 (2008): 765.
De Grandpré, S. (2010). Purposeful educational relationships : Grade 7 students' perceptions of authentic engagement. https://core.ac.uk/download/185287171.pdf
“Blowing up the Gradebook - Using Video Games for Learning: Chris Haskell at TEDxAmmon.” Performance by Chris Haskell, Youtube, Youtube, 17 May 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0zeipr-cVc. Accessed 19 Feb. 2023.
Grimshaw, Jack. “A US Teacher Is Using ‘Civilization’ to Teach History.” NME, 14 Dec. 2021, www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/a-us-teacher-is-using-civilisation-to-teach-history-3118757.