Educational video game: Difference between revisions

Video games such as ''[[Minecraft]]'' and ''[[Portal (video game)|Portal]]'' have been suggested as platforms for teachers to experiment with their educational abilities. ''Minecraft'' is a [[sandbox game]] in which the user can create objects using the [[crafting (gaming)|crafting system]], while ''Portal'' is a [[physics game]]: the player uses the [[laws of physics]], such as [[gravity]] and [[inertia]], to advance through the game's series of test chambers. [[Critical thinking]] and problem solving are inherent in the latter game's design. Both ''Minecraft'' and ''Portal'' are adaptable to some learning environments; for instance, ''Minecraft'' has been used for young children while ''Portal'' has been used by high school physics teachers. ''Portal 2'' has also been used to develop cognitive skills in older undergraduate students, however.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Shute, Valerie J.|title=The power of play: The effects of Portal 2 and Lumosity on cognitive and noncognitive skills|journal=Computers & Education|volume=80|year=2015|pages=58–67|doi=10.1016/j.compedu.2014.08.013|display-authors=etal}}{{subscription neededrequired}}</ref> A 2017 study found that games including ''Portal 2'', ''[[Borderlands 2]]'', ''[[Gone Home]]'' and ''[[Papers, Please]]'' may be used to develop a range of skills in undergraduate students, such as communication, resourcefulness and adaptability.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Barr, Matthew|title=Video games can develop graduate skills in higher education students|journal=Computers & Education|volume=113|year=2017|pages=86–97|doi=10.1016/j.compedu.2017.05.016|doi-access=free}}{{open access}}</ref>

One study<ref>{{cite journal|author=Poli, Dorothybelle|title=Bringing Evolution to a Technological Generation: A Case Study with the Video Game SPORE|journal=American Biology Teacher|volume=74|issue=2|year=2012|pages=100–103|doi=10.1525/abt.2012.74.2.7|s2cid=84247429|display-authors=etal}}{{subscription neededrequired}}</ref> showed that using a video game as part of class discussions, as well as including timely and engaging exercises relating the game to class material, can improve student performance and engagement. Instructors assigned groups of students to play the video game ''[[Spore (2008 video game)|SPORE]]'' in a freshman undergraduate biology course on evolution. The group of students that was assigned to play SPORE and complete related exercises, in a total of five sessions throughout the semester, had average class scores about 4% higher than the non-gaming group. The game's inaccuracies helped to stimulate critical thinking in students; one student said it helped her understand "the fine parts of [[natural selection]], [[artificial selection]], [[survival of the fittest]], and [[genetic diversity]] because of the errors within the game. It was like a puzzle." However, because the game was accompanied by additional exercises and instructor attention, this study is not overwhelming evidence for the hypothesis that video games in isolation increase student engagement.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}