Using games in a classroom can be a great way to motivate
students to learn about something that they may not be particularly interested
in otherwise. They can be used to help differentiate instruction by giving
students the opportunity to work at their own pace and be rewarded for growing
and incremental accomplishments rather than finishing a complete task. Willis
(2011) discusses the benefits of incremental goal progress stating that “when
the brain receives that feedback that this progress has been made, it
reinforces the networks used to succeed” meaning that players will want to
continue to achieve a dopamine reward and will continue to work at the next
level, and then the next level.
Though I do not agree with most of his views on Millenials
and the fact that they should not be blamed for things like not taking
responsibility for their actions, Langlois (2013) discusses the benefits of
playing video games today by Millenials versus the games played by Generation X. He says that today’s are “game worlds where
survival and thriving require critical thinking, social collaboration, and lots
of trial and error for mastery” as opposed to games like Pong where maybe
hand-eye coordination was a benefit.
Games in all forms can benefit students. This does not
always mean video games, but could be print based games as well. This type of
learning makes it possible for students to discover something that will work
for them and can bring them to higher levels than they ever thought possible.
References
Langlois, M. (2013, January 23). Epic every day: What video games
and the millenials can teach us if we let them. Retrieved March 8, 2017, from
Game Therapist website:
http://www.gamertherapist.com/2013/01/23/epic-every-day-what-video-games-and-the-millenials-can-teach-us-if-we-let-them/
Willis, J. W., MD. (2011, April 14). A neurologist makes the case
for the video game model as a learning tool. Retrieved March 8, 2017, from
Edutopia website:
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/neurologist-makes-case-video-game-model-learning-tool
Erin
ReplyDeleteI think your blog post was interesting and informative.
Interesting research on millennials and generation x students.