Games in education
Research
While dedicated research into the relationship between playing video games and education may still be relatively new, games in many forms (both digital and otherwise) are already widely used by teachers, parents, schools and other institutions with an interest in learning.
Many organizations such as the Institute of Play in New York and MIT’s Lifelong Kindergarten have developed an appreciation for the role that games can play in facilitating unique learning environments that support the development of higher order skills; skills such as the ability to solve complex problems or interact critically through language and media.
Read: ‘Why Games & Learning’ by the Institute of Play
Read: ‘Learn to Code, Code to Learn’ by Mitchel Resnick
Researchers such as James Gee, have written extensively on the potential value of games as risk-free virtual environments that encourage discovery by trial-and-error and iterative effort. Games, according to Gee, can be highly useful in promoting alternative ways of thinking that move beyond traditional academic disciplines.
Read: ‘Video Games and the Future of Learning by David Shaffer, et. al.
Read: ‘What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy’ by James Gee
Case Studies
Since its inception in 2014, the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge has engaged with students, teachers, parents and community organisations across Australia, facilitating opportunities for learning and creativity across the four STEM disciplines.
At various points throughout our short history, we’ve managed to capture a variety of case studies and interviews that document experiences participating in the competition from a number of different perspectives.
Teachers
Kalianna School Bendigo teacher Seamus Curtain-Magee found that his students learned much more than just coding by taking part in the 2017 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge.
Read: ‘Kalianna School Bendigo’
Peter Cook, teacher at Maroochydore State High School in Queensland and mentor to team Pyro Box in the 2017 Australian STEM Video Game Challenge, believes that the competition presents a valuable opportunity to overcome an enduring problem with teaching in classrooms.
Research
Logic, problem-solving, self-efficacy, confidence and risk management are all skills that can be learned and developed through the process of designing and building a video game, writes Dr Chad Habel from Adelaide University.
Read: ‘Learning Through Game Design: Insights from Research’
The Four P Model
People learn best when they are actively working on meaningful projects – generating new ideas, designing prototypes, refining iteratively. The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is, first and foremost, a project. That requires students to take an idea and work toward a goal, learning and adapting as they go.
Projects
People learn best when they are actively working on meaningful projects – generating new ideas, designing prototypes, refining iteratively.
The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is, first and foremost, a project.
It has an overall goal – something for students to accomplish and work toward over time, learning and adapting as they go.
It requires ideas – some big, and some small – and a willingness to engage in trial and error; to try something new, or to approach a persistent problem with innovation and creativity. It has milestones and dependencies (both imposed by the broader goal, and of a personal nature) which help to give the project meaning.
Completing the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge, (submitting a working game) is also akin to completing a project – students are rewarded with a tangible accomplishment, and evidence of their efforts.
Peers
Learning flourishes as a social activity, when students cooperate and collaborate. Sharing ideas, collaborating on projects, and building on one another’s work.
The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is a team activity, and we strongly advocate collaboration and cooperation between students as they engage in the process of developing a game. Shared learning, self-directed learning and peer-directed learning are all valuable skills that have application beyond the classroom.
Passion
The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge exists to inspire students to take on something new and innovative. It operates with a desire to engage students with new concepts and ideas, and provides an objective that can be used to develop, direct and harness new and existing passions.
At its core, the competition provides an opportunity for Australian students to interact with new technologies and learn new skills to achieve a goal. The process of creating a video game (especially for the first time) is very much driven by curiosity, inquiry, iteration and experimentation – catalysts for students to find new passions and explore them!
Play
The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge embraces ‘play’ as a mechanism for learning. Learning involves playful experimentation – trying new things, tinkering with materials, testing boundaries, taking risks, iterating again and again.
Video games provide an excellent environment for taking risks and making mistakes; for trial-and-error learning, and for hypothesising, testing and evaluating. The process of designing a video game involves a continuous loop of creating, testing, altering and refining; while virtual environments have the capacity to provide almost instantaneous feedback on decisions, alterations and refinements.
The Australian STEM Video Game Challenge embraces ‘play’ as a mechanism for learning, but also as a way of helping to develop an appreciation for play-related concepts (rules, boundaries, the benefit of trialing new approaches to the same problem).
Play is often fun - and the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge is all about using fun to promote and enhance learning!
Read: ‘Give P’s A Chance: Projects, Peers, Passion and Play’ by Mitchel Resnick