English teachers split on legitimacy of digital games as a learning tool
English teachers split on legitimacy of digital games as a learning tool
English teachers split on legitimacy of digital games as a learning tool
By Debra Vemeer
November 27, 2023
Summary
More than half of Australian high school English teachers believe digital games are a legitimate text type to use in their teaching programs, but just 15 per cent have done so, Australian Catholic University research shows.
A study of 201 teachers from diverse schools has found those with less years of teaching experience were more likely to consider digital games as a valid learning tool and use them in the classroom.
80 per cent of those surveyed also said they had not received professional development on how to incorporate digital games-based learning into their teaching practice.
Lead researcher and ACU Senior Education Lecturer Amanda Gutierrez said with digital games not listed as an example of a multi-modal text in the Australian Curriculum for English, the lack of consensus among English teachers about the merit of using them in learning programs was understandable.
"There is still work to do around digital games being valued as an important multi-modal text," Dr Gutierrez said.
Dr Gutierrez said the use of digital games was a polarising issue for teachers and that explicit links to digital games-based learning was needed in the curriculum, with professional development made available for teachers.
Reference
Vermeer, D. (2023, November 27). English teachers split on legitimacy of Digital Games as a learning tool. CathNews. https://cathnews.com/2023/11/27/english-teachers-split-on-legitimacy-of-digital-games-as-a-learning-tool/