Blog 8: How might video games enhance my students’ learning?

Tech For Teachers

Blog 8:  How might video games enhance my students’ learning?

Robert Dean Meili

Enhancing students’ learning through video games is not a new concept.  I remember playing Oregon Trail on my buddy’s Commodore 64 in 1983.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but I learned a little about the early American pioneers.  That game was originally designed in 1971 (before I was born according to wikipedia).  Since then, games like Math Blaster, Sim City and Lemmings, to name a few, have been teaching children and adults math concepts and the list of games continues to get larger.  As a student, I wanted to play games that were fun and engaging, that taught me about things without me realizing I was learning.  

I don’t imagine kids today are any different than I was at their age.  They want to be engaged, but have a need to be reasonably entertained or their minds begin to wonder.  I recently read a blog listing 5 reasons that video games “power up learning” (Levasseur 2011).  I’m going to paraphrase them here.  

Reason 1:  Just In Time learning.  A good game gives the player just enough information to apply what he’s learned to overcome challenges that are constantly pushing the learner to the edge of his competence.

Reason 2:  Critical Thinking.  The player enters a virtual world with only a vague idea of what needs to be done.  This leads him to explore the game to figure out how to solve the problems.  When the player thinks he knows how to solve the problem, he tests his new hypothesis.  If it doesn’t work, he reformulates it and retests it.  This is the basis of critical thinking.

Reason 3: Increased Retention.  Since games make a player think, they hold the potential for good retention.

Reason 4:  Emotional Interest.  Humans naturally have a hard time paying attention to boring things, and video games are emotionally engaging.

Reason 5:  Image Learning.  Vision is our most dominent sense, so we learn best through images.  The more visual input we experience, the more likely something will be recognized and recalled.

There are probably other important reasons to use video games as a means to convey knowledge, but I liked how these summed it up.  If there is any doubt as to the effectiveness of video games to engage learners, all you have to do is bring up games like “Call of Duty” or “Guitar Hero” in general conversations with students, and you’ll see them light right up and try to explain to you how they’ve mastered certain levels or conquered other players online.  

Reference

Levasseur, Aran “Five Reasons Why Video Games Power Up Learning” 2011.

dean6986

I understand the meaning of differentiating the process of teaching and learning to include a variety of methods of teaching concepts to students to meet their individual learning styles.  Not only do they each have a slightly (or broadly) different learning style, but each comes into the classroom with a varying amount of experience.  Some have excellent support at home and have a work ethic that has been fostered for years, so academic success is commonplace to them.  Students on the other end of the spectrum have such chaotic lives that their academic success takes a back seat to the follies of irresponsible parents or guardians, if they have any at all.  A teacher with any experience can share stories of how adults have completely failed their children, the very children we as educators need to teach to become productive members of society.  
As always, questions come to mind…

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What does it mean to differentiate the process (content, strategies for instruction) in the classroom?

I understand the meaning of differentiating the process of teaching and learning to include a variety of methods of teaching concepts to students to meet their individual learning styles.  Not only do they each have a slightly (or broadly) different learning style, but each comes into the classroom with a varying amount of experience.  Some have excellent support at home and have a work ethic that has been fostered for years, so academic success is commonplace to them.  Students on the other end of the spectrum have such chaotic lives that their academic success takes a back seat to the follies of irresponsible parents or guardians, if they have any at all.  A teacher with any experience can share stories of how adults have completely failed their children, the very children we as educators need to teach to become productive members of society.  
As always, questions come to mind when I try to imagine doing what is written in some of the articles on differentiation.  What strategies can be utilized to meet the ever-tightening time constraints of my 45 minute class period?  How can I get through the set curriculum and still take time to meet with students individually to present the concepts in different formats.  I picture myself teaching the concept to the entire class, then directing students to individually complete an assignment.  While they are working on this assignment (whether in small groups, pairs or individually), I can call students to my desk and have them complete a problem in front of me to make sure they understand the problem conceptually, then correctly use the accompanying algorithm to arrive at the solution.  
A specific part of the article “On Target:  Stragegies That Differentiate Instruction” asks the instructor to accept that success means different things to different people.  Success will simply look different with each student.  During student-led conferences in February, I had the pleasure of informing a parent that her son has a ‘D’ in math class.  I say it was a pleasure because in the past two years that I’ve known him, he’s never had anything more than an ‘F’ in his classes.  This is a student who works hard and struggles with math.  I told him he should be proud of it, and with continued hard work he should have a ‘C’ before the end of the quarter.  
Another part of the article mentioned that for work to be considered fair for all students, it will sometimes be different for each student.  I wish there were some way to give students math homework that automatically progresses them to the point at which they get stuck and need assistance.  If I were to simply tell students to work until they get stuck, a lot would quit at the first problem.  How do I get them to persevere?  I don’t remember giving up so easily when I was their age.  
The last question I have is how do I use technology to engage students and meet them at their needs?  The answer came to me after two conclusions.  The first is I have to accept that there are some horses who won’t drink the water no matter the degree to which I had led them to it.  It’s not my job to decide who will or won’t choose to achieve, but simply to provide the resources.  Second, not all the students will have access to the same technology, so making its use a requirement would be an exercise in futility.  I can’t get my students to bring calculators to class, or a pencil for that matter.  How can I expect them to follow up a lesson with a web based video tutorial at home if they haven’t quite understood how to do it?  It must be used to suppliment what is taught in the class and will likely be used by those who have access to the technology and the desire to use it.  I have to accept the fact that these additional resources will likely be used by students who are least likely to need it, and be ok with that knowledge.