Engagement In the Classroom

Where does engagement within games play a part in the classroom?

When games are not incorporated in the classroom the closest resemblance to playing games students said was free writing, choice reading, art, and other similar subjects (McDowall, 2016). Free writing and choice reading are only a substitute for the games students play and those interactive, whether digital or not, can be brought into the classroom with high levels of engagement.

 

In Challenging Games help Students Learn: An Empirical Study on Engagement, Flow and Immersion in Game-based Learning written by Asbell-Clarke et al., discusses how students playing an educational game such as Quantum Spectre and Spumone (as seen in the study) keep players on the edge of their seat because they feel challenged within the game play especially when the challenge is against themselves. The learning occurs through what is said in the article to be called “flow.” Flow “refers to a state of mind characterized by focused concentration and elevated enjoyment during intrinsically interesting activities (Hamari et. al, 2015).” When players reach this flow in game-based learning, students are more engaged and motivated to continue playing which in turn, continues learning. In their study, it was found that educational videos increases engagement and positively affects learning. Engineering and optics and lighting are the two challenging concepts within the game. These concepts add a layer of difficulty and challenge that increased engagement for this study. Even in difficult concepts, learning and engagement can take place.

 

Game-based learning being challenging was a central part to this article which leads me to reflect on growth through constraints. Even through a challenging topic such as optics and lighting, the task within the game play may be difficult, but the desire to complete the task and be successful creates a flow and ultimately leads to learning through challenge.

 

School and topics such as optics and lighting are not the only students games and learning reaches. In  Jui-Chih Chin and Mengping Tsuei’s article A Multi-modal Digital Game-based Learning Environment for Hospitalized Children with Chronic Illnesses they explore the benefits within game-based learning when used in a hospital setting and seek to better understand how this aids in social and emotional disconnect and the engagement behind it. The players looked at within this study were able to pick their own avator which was their self created identity. These players, who are the patients, were able to pick anyone from a bear to Donald Duck. A narrative that was created in this game play was the players being able to play different sports and participate in activities that they do not get to be a part of outside the hospital. This was essential to the players learning in the game because they were being challenged by things they are not capable to do and helped bring the players past their current physical state. This experience was engaging for the students and one that brought them continually back to the game.

Example 1: The Ward Game
Example 2: Matter Quest