Imagine the reaction of your students if you walked into your classroom tomorrow and said, “For today’s class we will be gaming!” It is likely that you would quickly gain the attention of every student in that class. Gaming is what students know. What are the benefits of using games for learning purposes and why would a teacher consider using them?
Games are fun! From the time children are very young they actively engage in games. Games provide entertainment and give the child the opportunity to learn while having fun. Games like peek-a-boo teach a baby problem solving strategies. As children get older they learn problem solving skills in games like hide and seek. They quickly determine the perfect hiding spot if they are the hider and clues to find their opponents if they’re the seeker. Yang (2012) states that “While playing games children are not only having fun, but are also developing learning skills, enhancing visual and spatial perspective, as well as practicing decision making”(p.366).
Using game-based learning gives the teacher an opportunity to present material in a different way. A teacher may choose to introduce a topic using games to increase motivation for the subject or may use games to reinforce concepts already taught. Students have the opportunity to make mistakes in a risk-free environment and through practice learn the right way to solve the problem. Games provide students with an environment where they can apply what they have learned. The Joint Information Systems Committee (2007) notes in a briefing on game-based learning that, “Game-based learning, if used effectively and in a coherent and relevant way, can support both the option of more choice for how the learner can learn (experientially), as well as offering the potential for personalising the learning experience”(p.1). A teacher can become knowledgeable about a game and the learning outcomes that can be achieved through its use so that games can become very beneficial indeed. Game-based learning is student centered. Educators are constantly seeking for ways to meet the needs of the diverse learners represented in their classroom. Game-based instruction allows for the personalization of the educational experience for learners. Students receive immediate feedback in real time. Scaffolding is sometimes built into a game which allows students to keep track of what they have learned.
Game-based learning creates an environment of doing. Students learn best by doing. When students are immersed in the gaming experience they learn problem-solving skills through interaction with the game and also through collaboration with their peers. Game-based learning fosters a constructivist approach to learning or learning that occurs from being able to experience an environment first-hand. Duplàa and Shirmohammad (2010) of the University of Ottawa state “Serious games support inductive, experiential learning, with a genuine constructivism approach” (p.1). Students in a game-based environment interact with the game and learn coping strategies to solve problems while they are acquiring skills and developing thought processes. Games can be tailored to suit the needs of learners thus enabling the teacher to provide differentiated instruction for the students. Games provide another way for students to interact and communicate.
Perhaps the single greatest benefit to using game-based learning is that games motivate students. Students who are often difficult to reach become engaged and motivated in a game-based learning environment. According to Yang (2012), “Digital games involve challenge, curiosity, control, and fantasy, increasing students’ interest and intrinsic motivation for learning”(p. 366). Children are instantly rewarded in a game-based learning environment. They receive immediate feedback and can adjust their strategy accordingly. The challenge of moving through stages or levels along with the feedback and the reward helps to keep students engaged. Students can interact and communicate with their peers in a game-based learning environment. Often the potential is there for them to challenge each other within the game. Students also offer and obtain advice from others when they play thus improving communication and social interaction.
We are teaching 21st century learners in a digital age. As educators we are challenged to provide them with the necessary skills and tools that they will require to navigate their world. As Trilling and Fadel (2009) state:
The following two essential skill sets will remain at the top of the list of job requirements of 21st century work, the ability to quickly acquire and apply new knowledge and the know-how to apply essential 21st century skills—problem solving, communication, teamwork, technology use, innovation, and the rest—to each and every project, the primary unit of 21st century work. (p.10)
Game-based learning environments help students develop and refine skills they will require to succeed in the 21st century."
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