October 2007 — News
Print this article | Email this articleClick here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal
Can Game Development Impact Academic Achievement?
Electronic educational gaming has received a tremendous amount of attention within the last few years. This excitement is owing, in part, to theoretical arguments and empirical findings about the possibilities of using videogames in teaching and learning (e.g. Squire, 2006; Squire & Jenkins, 2003; Gee, 2003; Prensky, 2001). Several articles in THE Journal have also drawn attention to video game use, highlighting concern (Weinstock, 2007), health and fitness issues (O'Hanlon, 2007), multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) & simulations (Blaisdell, 2006), and the promise of digital game-based learning (Deubel, 2006).
One area within the video game arena that has received considerably less attention is the concept of student development of games. The work that has been done (e.g. Kafai, 1998; also see DiPietro, Ferdig, Boyer & Black, 2007) has shown tremendous promise for motivating students, building conceptual knowledge, and improving content knowledge acquisition. Squire (2006) argued that educators "ought to pay closer attention to videogames because they offer designed experiences, in which participants learn through a grammar of doing and being" (p. 19). We concur, but add that educators also ought to pay closer attention to student development of videogames because it offers design experiences that can impact classroom learning.
In this article, we highlight the pedagogical basis for student videogame development. We also provide examples of free tools for teachers to integrate into their classroom.
The Pedagogy Behind Student Videogame Development
In addition to the practical and theoretical reasons why gameplay is important (e.g. Squire, 2006; Gee, 2003), there are a number of reasons why videogame development can also serve as a significant pedagogic practice. This is particularly true as teachers encourage students to build content-based games used to teach others. First, as Squire (2006) has suggested, games "are uniquely organized for a functional epistemology, where one learns through doing, through performance" (p. 22). The same can be said about game development. Students interact with the content as they are building curricular experiences for themselves and for other students.
Second, research has provided evidence that peer and collaborative learning are important pedagogic concepts. Collaborative learning builds on Vygotskian (1978) notions of the zone of proximal development. Vygotsky argued that the ZPD is the distance between what someone can learn on their own versus what they can learn with the help of the more knowledgeable other. This "more knowledgeable other" can be a teacher, a computer, or a fellow student. Collaborative learning lets students who are good programmers work with good artists, and content area experts work with game designers.
Peer learning or tutoring is a similar condition where students teach other students.
