Games Provide Active Learning Experiences
By Karl Kapp
Introduction
Research going back to the 1950s show that lectures are not effective for fostering higher level thinking. In fact, one study by Bloom (1953) found 67% of students’ thoughts during a lecture were either related to “simple comprehension of the subject,” “passive thoughts about the subject” or even “irrelevant thoughts.” The study also indicated that during lectures the learner’s thoughts involved attempting to find solutions to problems or synthesize the subject matter only1% of the time.
A more recent study by Freeman and other researchers (2014) found that undergraduate students in classes with traditional stand-and-deliver lectures are 1.5 times more likely to fail than students in classes that use more active learning techniques.
We have known for a while that lecture-based instruction doesn’t always engage the learner or help them to actually learn higher order thinking skills or concepts. So how to we engage learner in active learning situations? How can we encourage action and activity in learning? The answer is games.
What Games Provide
A well-designed game is a system in which players engage in an abstract challenge, defined by rules, interactivity, and feedback that result in a quantifiable outcome often eliciting an emotional reaction. Games can be designed and delivered in an online environment with multimedia graphics, interactive characters, and automated scorekeeping.
Using games for learning provide many advantages. One advantage is that games, when designed properly, force learners to think in a non-linear fashion. Most traditional instruction is linear, and there is only one way to think or one way to go through it. But when playing a game, a person typically needs to weigh the possible consequences of one action against another, they need to anticipate the other player’s actions and responses and they need to estimate the amount of progress they can make on each turn or with each action.
The ability to predict possible futures, to estimate possible outcomes and to anticipate possible actions by others are all valuable skills in the modern workplace. Games help foster those types of skills.
Games also provide the ability to “see the big picture.” Often times employees have a very myopic view of their role within the organization. They are not aware of how their actions impact the larger organization. This might lead them to make decisions that might benefit themselves and their operation but, ultimately, hurt the larger organization.
One such example is when a sales person in a manufacturing organization sells an incredibly larger order of one item at a steep discount. This might be great for the sales person but the larger the order, often, the lower the profit margin.
As a result of the one large order, the his means the entire manufacturing organization needs to stop work on other orders and focus on the one large order. This might delay delay smaller but more profitable orders. The sales person gets the bonus but the manufacturing portion of the organization is thrown into chaos. What was good for one person or one department was not good for the organization.
Games can play out this scenario with no real consequences to the organization and can provide the “big picture” to the sales person and help them and others in the organization realize the value in smaller but higher margin orders.
Another advantage is that many modern game environments allow multiplayer games. This allows individuals geographically distributed around the world to play games and to have fun during the game play process. Multiplayer games also encourage thinking about how others are going to react to your moves, how the game might play out and what you need to do to be successful.
Conclusion
If you are looking to escape the lecture format which is difficult in person and even more fatiguing in a virtual environment, consider how you can use games. Games allow you to help people to see the big picture, think about how their move might impact other and force learners to think in a non-linear fashion. Consider adding games to your instructional mix.
References
Bloom, B. (1953). THOUGHT-PROCESSES IN LECTURES AND DISCUSSIONS. The Journal of General Education, 7(3), 160-169. Retrieved January 5, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27795429
Freeman S, et al. (2014) Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 111(23):8410–8415.