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Games Teach! | Kapp Notes
Games Teach! | Kapp Notes
Karl Kapp responds to Ruth Clark's claim that "games don't teach" and Richard Clark's claim that no research supports gaming with a review of the research and what it actually does and doesn't tell us.
Instructional games seem to foster higher-order thinking such as planning and reasoning more than factual or verbal knowledge.
Specifically, learning from simulation games was maximized when trainees actively rather than passively learned work-related competencies during game play, trainees could choose to play as many times as desired, and simulation games were embedded in an instructional program rather than serving as stand-alone instruction.
Challenge, interactivity and continual feedback can be applied to a classroom exercises, a paper and pencil activity or used online. The design is universal while the delivery vehicle can change. It is not technology that makes a game a game—it’s the design, the inclusion of a challenge and interactivity that make a game a game.
Imported from Diigo#games#research#elearning
·karlkapp.com·
Games Teach! | Kapp Notes
Reset? - Games In Learning | EPPIC - Pursuing Performance
Reset? - Games In Learning | EPPIC - Pursuing Performance
Guy Wallace makes some ad hominem attacks against me for my criticism of Ruth Clark's claim that "games don't teach" (although he doesn't mention me by name or link to me, it's pretty clear that he is talking about my post). Once you get past the part where he says that Clark has made so many contributions to the field that it's not fair to attack her, especially if you're someone like me who isn't a "star," there are some valid points. He's correct that "popularity is not evidence" and that games can be more expensive than other solutions that might be just as effective.
Imported from Diigo#games#research#ROI#elearning
·eppic.biz·
Reset? - Games In Learning | EPPIC - Pursuing Performance
Why Games Don't Teach
Why Games Don't Teach

Ruth Clark claims that "games don't teach," an obviously false statement. She has some legitimate points about matching the game design to the learning outcomes, but her claim that no research supports using games for anything other than "drill and practice" type activities is clearly incorrect. She makes this claim without addressing any work by Squire, Aldrich, etc., so it appears she didn't do a literature review prior to writing.

She cites one study with two games that were less effective at helping learners remember, and she believes that discounts the dozens of other studies on the topic. First, maybe those games were poorly designed. Second, if you're just measuring "transfer and retention" rather than application, I wouldn't be surprised that a game didn't do as well. Games are often better at moving from recall to application--but of course, she didn't measure application.

The goal of the research was to compare learning efficiency and effectiveness from a narrative game to a slide presentation of the content. Students who played the Crystal Island game learned less and rated the lesson more difficult than students who viewed a slide presentation without any game narrative or hands on activities. Results were similar with the Cache 17 game. The authors conclude that their findings “show that the two well-designed narrative discovery games…were less effective than corresponding slideshows in promoting learning outcomes based on transfer and retention of the games’ academic content” (p. 246).
Often the features of a game are at counter-purposes to the learning objectives. For example, many games incorporate an onscreen clock requiring the learner to achieve the goal in seconds or minutes. For learning outcomes that are based on understanding and critical thinking, games with time goals that reinforce fast responses are a poor match.
Despite the uncontested popularity of commercial games and a lot of hype in the training community, the reality is that there is scarce credible evidence on how and when to best use games to improve instructional outcomes and motivation. At this stage, I recommend games to implement drill and practice exercises for tasks that require immediate and accurate responses.
Imported from Diigo#games#research#elearning
·astd.org·
Why Games Don't Teach