The Science Of Games-Based Learning
Sure, they’ll spice up a dull subject – but computer games in the classroom shouldn’t merely be for pacifying your digital natives, says Nicola Whitton
Good games are powerful teaching tools. For over 30 years, educators have used computer games in their classrooms to motivate students and support learning.
For many teachers the overriding motivation for using such resources is to encourage students to participate in something they perceive as boring; often using variants of quizzes or tests with rewards to provide extrinsic motivation to support practice and recall. It is certainly true that digital games can do this very well, but this is only the starting point for the potential of computer games in the classroom.
While digital games will motivate some learners simply because they are games (and research shows that this is not all learners, not all types of games, and not all of the time) and they can be a great way to support memorisation, there is a lot more to learning; and computer games have a lot more to offer. There are four key reasons why computer games have the potential to transform learning: they are active; engaging; digital; and playful.
Multiple benefits
First, computer games can create active learning environments in which players learn-by-doing from interaction with the game and the other players; they are all about action and interaction, rather than passively watching or listening. Good computer games require discussion, practice, active problem-solving, learning through experience, reflection on actions taken and development of alternative strategies. They provide meaningful challenges in authentic and situated contexts, drawing on collaborative and social learning perspectives.
Second, going beyond the idea that digital games are motivational in and of themselves, there are various mechanics used in games that support ongoing engagement. For example, the use of competition, points and rewards, rules and goals. Good computer games are able to provide challenges that are not too easy, nor too difficult, keeping the player in a state of flow, or immersion, with goals that are possible but uncertain, increasing levels as skills develop, and providing a real sense of satisfaction when players ultimately achieve their objectives.
Third, digital games also have a range of potential benefits in line with other learning technologies: as interactive systems, they can support learning through gradual steps, guiding players as they acquire greater competence; adapt to the skills and experience of the players; and provide appropriate, timely and meaningful feedback on actions. They can allow players to take part in simulated experiences that would be impractical, expensive, or too dangerous to undertake in real life, and provide simultaneous visual, auditory (and sometimes tactile) outputs, with the potential of these different sensory experiences for learning.
Finally, an often-overlooked potential of computer games in the classroom is that they create safe spaces for play, experimentation and, crucially, failure and learning from mistakes. Managing failure and development of resilience and risk management skills are vitally important for young people, but our education system, with an increasing focus on testing and attainment, stigmatises failure instead of seeing it as a vital component in the learning process. In digital games, failure is integral; in fact, any computer game that could be won at a first attempt would be pretty boring for the player. Safe play spaces also stimulate imagination and creativity and develop lateral thinking and problem-solving skills in a pressure-free environment without fear of repercussions in the real world.
Flexible approaches
There is a clear case for the benefits of digital games in learning and teaching, but the approach is not without its drawbacks. Computer games can be expensive to buy, work erratically within the limitations of school systems, provide a poor overlap with curriculum contexts, and be time consuming to test and use in practice. In many cases, these limitations outweigh the benefits of games, and it is not surprising that many teachers are sceptical of their value in the classroom.
However, digital games in the classroom do not simply have to focus on learning by playing games – there are a range of different potential uses, from using games as a stimulus for learning to having students develop their own games (see boxed text for more detail). There is also a trend away from digital games in education to the use of traditional games (such as board or card games) and mixed-reality games, which take place in both the digital and real worlds. These game formats offer many of the advantages of computer games and are easier for teachers to develop for themselves.
Whatever the approach, what is crucial for any form of learning with games is that the activity itself is not seen as the end point, but rather as a starting point for the activities, discussion, and reflection that develop learning from and in the game, and support its consolidation and transfer to other contexts.
Game on!
There are lots of different ways in which computer games can be used in the classroom to support, inspire or consolidate learning. For example:
Learning with entertainment games
Basing teaching around games originally designed for entertainment, such as commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) games, apps or mobile games.
Learning with educational games
Using games developed with the express purpose of learning in an educational setting, either commercial games for learning or bespoke games created by teachers or as part of development projects.
Learning inspired by games
Using games as a context for learning, but not learning about the game directly, for example, using chess as a stimulus for designing algorithms.
Learning within games
Exploring the informal learning that happens while games are played for entertainment, for example development of leadership skills in online role-playing games.
Learning about games
Examining games as social, political, historical and cultural artefacts.
Learning from games
Analysis of the design principles that embedded within games, and consideration of how to apply these principles to learning, for example the use of escalating challenge and rewards.
Learning by making games
Developing skills through the process of design, development and creation of games.
About the author
Nicola Whitton is a professor of education at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research focuses on the use and potential of digital games and play for learning
