Games Anyone?

27. May 2008 by The Advisor.

eschoolnews.com is reporting that a group of scientists has developed a computer game for use in helping students learn about the body’s immune system. The game uses the highly visual, interactive methodology of computer gaming to teach immune system science to students. The larger strategy is to use the popularity of gaming with school-age children to get them interested in science. Given the shortage of scientists and engineers in the United States (which is only projected to grow), this seems like an effective strategy.

Not surprising, however, are the negative comments articles about using gaming in the classroom receive. An example:

The jury is out, however, on the efficacy of such an approach. Already my students bombard administration with cries that what they’re studying is “boring,” or “not fun.” I really don’t want to empower students away from a textbook anymore than we already have. Can these kids navigate a “cool” virtual reality and stay focused? You bet. Take many of the same kids, put a good ole textbook in front of them, and suddenly…poof! Their interest is gone. Sad…since 95% of what they’ll do in college is still textbook driven.

This comment was submitted despite the fact that the scientists who developed the game did an efficacy study and determined that:

students who played the game had significantly higher knowledge scores at post-test. There also was a statistically significant decline in the perceived difficulty of immunology content, and students who played the game had a higher interest in biology than those who did not play the game.

The key to the negative reaction despite proven efficacy is the part about the “good ole textbook. ” Clearly, by that choice of words, the comment indicates a preference for textbooks, or more generally, the familiar, over something new. There is even an indication that the textbook experience is a superior method if only the kids would quit goofing around with games, get serious, and pay attention.

The only problem with this line of thinking is that the textbook is just one of many tools that can be employed by educators for use in teaching. How many of us have endured a dreadful educational experience that was completely text book based? In today’s world, we need to look beyond the comfortable and familiar towards what is effective.

This goes way beyond gaming. The approach with technology throughout education and educational publishing has been to graft technology solutions onto existing solutions rather than crafting truly new, innovative solutions employing technology.

However, there are bright spots out there. The Immune Attack game is one of them.  Another is the work of Dr. Elizabeth Simpson, PhD of the Learning Research Institute. Dr. Simpson has been pioneering research into the use of games and gaming in the classroom, and in particular, the use of existing, off-the-shelf games as teaching tools. For example, Dr. Simpson has studied the use of games like Restaurant Empire in vocational trade education. In the game, players have to successfully design, launch and manage a restaurant to win. The very concepts students must master to successfully complete their vocational education program are the same ones they must master to win the game. This is not to say that the game is the end-all of these students’ education, rather, the game is tightly integrated with other resources to provide an engaging education experience with lasting results.

Pass the Wii controller, I’m going to practice my golf swing before heading out to the course . . .

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