1

Running Head: EDUCATIONAL GAMING

Educational Gaming

Adam Jernigan

Coastal Carolina

EDIT 704

July 31, 2019

 2
EDUCATIONAL GAMING
Introduction

The growth of educational technology throughout the recent past has grown into one that

has attempted to blend the realm of educational learning and fun. The emphasis being put on this

level of educational technology is that of incorporating educational curricula with the traits of the

gaming world that a majority of students relate to and enjoy. This is part of the relatable part, to

help create more drive and emphasize features of a class that might be overlooked in a regular

classroom environment. This report will focus on providing descriptions of the conclusions

reached by scholarly researchers on the topic of educational gaming and its effect.

Research Evidence

Computer & Education: An International Journal contains the article “Reviewing the

need for gaming in education to accommodate the net generation”. This article tests the concept

of gaming in order to advance education. This study compared the performance of what they

classified as net generation participants and non-net generation participants while employing

gaming concepts toward learning new information. This study found that “although there is no

difference between the representatives and non-representatives of the net generation, there is a

correlation between learning preferences and the use of gaming” (Bekebrede and Warmelink,

2011). This outcome provides a suggestion that gaming may have a greater effect on certain

learning types, but that the active nature of the gaming concept did have an impact on the

average learner.

Viewing this concept from another view point comes from the Review of Educational

Research publication citing an article named “Our Princess Is in Another Castle: A Review of

Trends in Serious Gaming”. Here we see research conducted by reviewing many different
 3
EDUCATIONAL GAMING
academic journals and scholarly articles in order to develop a culminating concept of the effect

of gaming on education. The consensus reached by these authors suggests that in certain

subjects there are “promising impacts that video gaming can have on school achievement”

(Young, Slota, Cutter, Jalette, Mullen, Lai, and Yukhymenko, 2012). They went on to conclude

that with the advances being made in technology that the effect gaming has on education would

continue to increase.

An article from Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming in Education

titled “Video Games, Reading, and Transmedial Comprehension” focuses the effect that gaming

in education has on literacy. This presentation operates based on the premise that the literary

experiences that students face outside of the classroom are more different from what is being

learned in the classroom than it ever has been. The incorporation of gaming has been seen as a

way to bridge the gap between these two literary events, however, this article shows that “only a

few of them had developed the skills we had hoped with the video games, and that students who

were poor comprehenders and poor decoders with traditional text also struggled with the games”

(Ferdig, 2008). The conclusion that the researchers arrived at was that gaming as it relates to

literacy did not have an overwhelming effect on meeting educational goals but did have an effect

on the level of compliance that learners display towards learning.

The article “Gaming Research for Technology Education” found in the Journal of STEM

Education focuses on the use of gaming in the educational fields of science, technology,

engineering, and math (STEM). The author uses this research to investigate the hypothesis that

gaming helps to influence the motivation of learners in the area of STEM. The researcher

worked to develop a survey instrument that would provide insight into the attitudes that students

have towards the use of gaming in the educational environment. The results from this survey
 4
EDUCATIONAL GAMING
demonstrate that “many would invite gaming to become a part of the pedagogy used in our

schools and as a means to reinforce what is being taught” (Clark and Ernst, 2009).

Pearson published an article named “A Literature Review of Gaming in Education” that

is focusing on the empirical evidence available that focus on five fundamentals gaming in

education is presumed to feature. The fundamentals are that educational gaming is built on

sound learning principles, provides more engagement for the learner, provides personalized

learning opportunities, teaches 21st century skills, provides an environment for authentic and

relevant assessment. Educational gaming enforces effective learning principles in form of

providing immediate feedback to allow students to modify their responses and research the

correct avenue to achieve the goal at that moment. The personalized learning opportunities can

be derived from gaming in the form of evaluating a student’s performance and choices that were

made to determine the educational level of the player, as well as, the game being adapted based

on the needs of each individual student. Boredom is one enemy of education and gaming has

been proven to help with the motivation level of students. Gaming itself is a 21st century skill,

but it also helps to create interactions that develop the learner by incorporating tools that will be

needed in future endeavors. Gaming is a built-in assessment tool that evaluates learners progress

continually and offers feedback as interactions through game play. The consensus reached by

this article is that digital game play in the educational environment can have a profound effect on

student engagement, but there was very little evidence to prove the effects on academic learning

alone. “Perhaps what is most unique about digital games—as opposed to any other learning

innovation—is the combination of motivation, engagement, adaptivity, simulation, collaboration,

and data collection that can’t be achieved at scale any other way” (McClarty, Orr, Frey, Dolan,

Vassileva, and McVay, 2012).

 5
EDUCATIONAL GAMING
Summary

The effect of gaming in education is the present question as it relates to educational

technology. Given the previously presented articles it appears that the evidence provided shows

a resounding effect on the motivation of students in many different educational environments.

Evidence does not say that educational gaming is perfect for every learning situation, but it does

state that the majority of learning opportunities can find benefit in the incorporation of gaming.

One overarching theme that has become apparent is the fact that there is very little evidence that

states that gaming in education has any academic value, but I would propose that the effects that

it has towards the motivation of students does provide academic value. Having a hook, a method

of catching the attention of a student and having them focus on one concept willingly changes

the entire dynamic of the learning environment. Once students are willing participants the

educational strain can be lifted, and academic value would increase. Educational gaming just

helps to meet the student where they are, based on what they like to do, and incorporate that into

how they learn new information.

 6
EDUCATIONAL GAMING
Resources

Bekebrede, G., Warmelink, H. J. G., & Mayer, I. S. (2011). Reviewing the need for gaming in

education to accommodate the net generation. Computers & Education, 57(2), 1521-

1529.

Clark, A., & Ernst, J. (2009). Gaming research for technology education. Journal of STEM

Education, 10(1).

Ferdig, R. E. (Ed.). (2008). Handbook of research on effective electronic gaming in education.

IGI global.

McClarty, K. L., Orr, A., Frey, P. M., Dolan, R. P., Vassileva, V., & McVay, A. (2012). A

literature review of gaming in education. Gaming in education, 1-35.

Young, M. F., Slota, S., Cutter, A. B., Jalette, G., Mullin, G., Lai, B., ... & Yukhymenko, M.

(2012). Our princess is in another castle: A review of trends in serious gaming for

education. Review of educational research, 82(1), 61-89.