Digital Games: Powerful Motivation Tool or Not So Much?
Digital Games: Powerful Motivation Tool or Not So Much?
Digital Games: Powerful Motivation Tool or Not So Much?
By Mark Lieberman
January 06, 2021
Summary
More than 60 percent of teachers who are using games more often said the games are making learning more interesting for students, while only a quarter of the students playing more games said they make learning more interesting.
Those findings bring an interesting twist to questions about the role of digital games in instruction, especially since one of the biggest arguments in favor of using games is that they are one of the best tools teachers have to motivate and engage students.
One reason students might not value the games they are playing at school could be that educators are haphazardly integrating games into learning without strategizing first, suggested Richard Van Eck, a researcher who has studied educational games and currently serves as associate dean for teaching and learning at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Incorporating digital games as a tool for engaging students is okay, Van Eck said, but "If you do so on a superficial level, you're not tapping into the benefits, like promoting problem solving and critical thinking."
Laura Steinbrink had been using digital games as a teaching tool before the pandemic.
Digital games have been an effective learning tool during the pandemic for Michael Matera, who teaches 6th grade history at the University School of Milwaukee, a private K-12 school.
None of the pandemic-related growth in digital game use in schools comes as a surprise to the nonprofit Games for Change, which creates and distributes games for social impact goals.
Reference
Lieberman, M. (2021, January 6). Digital games: Powerful motivation tool or not so much? Retrieved March 01, 2021, from https://www.edweek.org/technology/digital-games-powerful-motivation-tool-or-not-so-much/2021/01