How Games Help Us Learn | Game-Based Learning

Summary

This video explores how games enhance learning through three primary methods: increasing engagement by making activities fun, directly teaching concepts or skills, and preparing students for future learning. It highlights various examples, including 'Kahoot', 'Math Jump', 'Was it Trouble', 'Coding Ocean', and 'Dragon Box', emphasizing the importance of explicitly connecting game experiences to learning contexts to ensure educational effectiveness.

Takeaways

• 🎮 Games can enhance learning by making educational activities more enjoyable, as seen in classroom apps like Kahoot which gamify question answering.
• 🏆 Adding elements like points, leaderboards, and badges can motivate students and make learning more engaging.
• 🤔 Gamification involves recasting tasks into game-like scenarios, such as solving math problems to keep a character alive in 'Math Jump'.
• 🐰 'Was It Trouble' uses a storyline and gamified elements to teach linear equations in a fun and engaging way.
• 📚 Games can directly teach concepts or skills, with examples like strategy games (e.g., Go, Chess) that develop strategic thinking applicable beyond the game.
• 🚀 The US military used airplane spotter cards in traditional games to educate civilians about identifying enemy aircraft during WWII.
• 💡 Game design can be centered around learning goals, integrating the mechanics with the educational content, as seen in 'Coding Ocean' and 'Dragon Box'.
• 🌱 Games can prepare students for future learning by introducing concepts in a fun way, such as 'Stats Invaders' which introduces statistical distributions.
• 🎓 Commercial video games like 'Call of Duty' and 'Civilization' can be used as a preparatory step before lectures on related topics.
• 🔗 The effectiveness of games in learning depends on making explicit connections between the game content and the educational objectives.
• 📈 Research shows that games can facilitate deeper understanding when used in conjunction with traditional educational methods, but the connection must be clear.

Q & A

What are the three ways games can help in learning?

Games can help in learning by making things more fun, directly teaching concepts or skills, and preparing students for future learning.

How does the game 'Kahoot' motivate students to learn?

'Kahoot' motivates students by turning answering questions into a competitive game where points and leaderboards make the learning process more enjoyable.

What is the purpose of the 'Math Jump' app?

The 'Math Jump' app makes solving arithmetic problems more engaging by incorporating a character that dies if problems are not solved correctly, thus adding a gamifying element.

How does the game 'Was It Trouble' make learning linear equations fun?

'Was It Trouble' gamifies learning linear equations by presenting them in a different context, involving puzzles and rescuing characters, making the task more appealing.

What is the difference between gamification and game-based learning?

Gamification involves adding game elements like points and competition to non-game activities to make them more fun, while game-based learning involves designing the game mechanics around specific learning goals.

How do strategy games like 'Go' and 'Chess' contribute to learning?

Strategy games like 'Go' and 'Chess' can teach strategic thinking and decision-making skills that can be applied in various real-life situations beyond the game.

What is the concept behind 'Coding Ocean'?

'Coding Ocean' is a game designed to teach programming by having players solve problems and direct a ship using command cards, thus learning programming concepts as they play.

How does 'Dragon Box' help in teaching math to young kids?

'Dragon Box' uses visual representations of numbers and interactive tasks to help students develop early numeracy skills and familiarity with numbers.

What is the purpose of 'Stats Invaders' in learning statistics?

'Stats Invaders' is designed to prepare students for future learning in statistics by familiarizing them with concepts like distributions and standard deviation through gameplay.

Why is it important to make explicit connections between the game and the learning context?

Making explicit connections between the game and the learning context is crucial for facilitating understanding and ensuring that students can apply what they've learned from the game to real-life situations or academic tasks.

Can a single game leverage all three approaches for learning?

Yes, a game can leverage all three approaches for learning by making the activity fun, directly teaching concepts or skills, and preparing students for future learning experiences.