[Module 3] The Benefits of Video Games in Formative Education | Research

The benefits of Video Games in formative education

- An individual study-purposed report produced by Arthur Fostier -

Abstract

Video games are proving to be every day more present in the daily life of the mass society, and for this reason, it is important to critically analyse a phenomenon this relevant, in order to identify advantageous effects for the players, especially children and teenagers who are still undergoing a process of psychological formation. 

For brevity reasons, this individual study-purposed report does not intend to explore on prejudicial aspects of video games to players, for this is not the overall goal of the research. Instead, the report will describe a series of beneficial abilities improved or/and developed by the experience of play, by providing evidence and examples on determined subjects. More specifically, those abilities are categorised into cognitive; social and academic-related skills, followed by a discussion involving formative institutions using video games as a learning tool, and case studies of games being used in educational environments. 

The study then concludes that video games have indeed a solid potential to influence the learning performance of students, while enhancing a range of skills applicable inside and outside gaming activities. 

Methods of Analysis Used

On a reminder note, the motivation of the research conducted for this report is strictly based on beneficial effects that video games cause on their subjects (the gamers), and despite acknowledging the presence of prejudicial impacts correlated to the activity, it is not the goal of this study to analyse those. Having established that the findings will explore the positive features of video games in formative education, the only matter to determine is: what benefits are there? 

Here lies another challenge in the crafting of the study, for there is no list that can be exhaustive or objective enough, having each author focusing on a limited amount of fields of study considered by them the most relevant, and the result is a collection of reports containing different approaches to the theme. And so in this specific paper, having in mind the question “how do video games influence society beneficially?”, three main categories appeared to be the most pertinent to describe the relation between video games and the acquirement of skills, being them: academic-related; social and cognitive skills. 

As the title emphasizes, the analysis targets effects linked to formative education, and so it seemed natural to include evidence of academic performance of subjects affected by gaming experience, followed by indicators of improved social behaviour due to engagement in activities provided by games. The third factor considered when building the structure of the debate was the influence of video games on cognitive skills, for the interactivity associated with the very act of playing. 

To gather all the information necessary to demonstrate, analyse and discuss the chosen theme, many sources were considered, but the most refined mediums proved to be article archives, publications in academic journals and personal books, where the debate assumed a scientific and professional tone. More mainstream and informal sources such as online blogs and magazines were considered but no actual content was used in the report for validity reasons. Being entitled to a university membership allowed more in-depth research, special access to archives and publications. In addition, Google Scholar was helpful in filtering papers by author and year of publication, so that the arguments were not outdated. In the production phase of this document, the sources chosen to be used as evidence were organized into tiers using Trello and successively cited according to the Harvard referencing methodology. 

Findings

Cognitive Skills

“The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses. A perception, sensation, idea, or intuition resulting from the process of cognition.” (Oxford) 

The previously quoted line refers to the definition of the word “cognition” by the Oxford Living Dictionaries website, describing the process to enhance cognition as linked to sensory experiences that are mentally stimulating. And so it is reasonable to correlate the action of incrementing the cognitive capabilities of the subjects due to their engagement in play, which is “a range of voluntary, intrinsically motivated activities normally associated with recreational pleasure and enjoyment.” (Garvey C., 1990) 

Various studies successfully displayed an array of skills influenced beneficially by the interaction with the video game medium, which provided a significant improvement in cognition even in non-game associated activities. Furthermore, the overall trend of the material analysed for the purpose of this report indicated that certain areas of cognition impacted by the games are strongly reliant on the genre of the product used in the tests. 

As for evidence, C.S. Green and D. Bavelier (2012) conducted a study in which they concluded that ‘action’ video games accomplish improvements in fast decision making and spatial processing speed, being ‘shooter’ and ‘fighting’ games the main contenders to do so. In the test ran by the researchers, individuals concluded a series of pre-test tasks and then were split into two categories, with players picked randomly: in the first group, the subjects played action games, and the second group played non-action games. In the post-test phase, another series of tasks were executed and the results suggested that the individuals who played action games experienced a major boost in their cognitive skills in comparison to the group who did not (see Figure 1 in Appendix). 

On another project, strategy and role-playing games were studied for their ability to teach players problem-solving solutions, which then were used in academic environments not related to the games, successfully increasing academic grades for students subject to the tests, proving that games not only provide improvements to cognitive skills applied within play but also offer an use of those new-taught abilities in non-gaming situations (Adachi, P. J., & Willoughby, T. 2013). 

Upon further inspection on problem-solving skills and video games, a clear example of influence was found in “Portal 2”, where the title was used as a case study to prove the capabilities of video games to improve specific cognitive functions, including problem-solving, spatial skills and persistence (Shute V., Ventura M., Ke F., 2015). The researchers involved in the project also registered data of a control group which played a popular brain training game called “Lumosity”, developed by neuroscientists with the intent of stimulating the players’ cognition. Whilst Portal 2 was not primarily created to achieve that goal, the analytical data showed that it was a significantly more efficient game in refining problem-solving skills then Lumosity, by also increasing abilities related to spatial and persistence areas. 

Finally, an empirical study directed by Ninaus M. et al. (2015) showed that certain tasks related to cognition can offer greater benefits to the subjects by simply ‘gamifying’ the task in question. The research consisted in a control group completing a brain training task to improve working memory, which refers to “the system or systems that are assumed to be necessary in order to keep things in mind while performing complex tasks such as reasoning, comprehension, and learning.” (Baddeley A., 2010) Successively, another group engaged in the task with game elements such as progress bar, level indicator, and a thematic setting implemented into it (see Figure 2 in Appendix). The results confirmed the hypothesis, describing a better performance for the group who played the version with game functions. 

Social Skills

Video games are frequently discussed because of their social implications, but the grand majority of the debate seems to approach the topic with negative consensus, exploring broadly on matters like aggression, cyberbullying and isolation, leaving an underrepresented minority of studies trying to display the many relevant benefits that play can offer on a social level. 

As of 2017, multiplayer online video games portray a massive section of the gaming industry, having over 53% of the most frequent gamers play multiplayer games at least once a week, spending an average of 6 hours playing with others online and 5 hours playing with others in person (Entertainment Software Association, 2017). Therefore it is important to critically analyse the social relations built in these online games where players can interact with family members, friends and strangers from across the world to find any evidence of positive outcomes caused by the play activity. 

MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game) titles are an especially proficient way to engage in social activities, as they serve as a hub to groups of gamers to connect and play together thanks to the broadly available Internet technology, developing unique traditions and social conventions comparable to those used in the ‘offline’ life: small-group self-organization; instrumental coordination and sociability are amongst characteristics learned whilst playing MMORPGs, being vital in the understanding process of how to meet people, how to manage a small group and how to coordinate/cooperate with people. (Ducheneaut N. & Moore R. J., 2005) Furthermore, products containing “civic gaming experiences” boost stimulus in players to engage in politically active themes and civic activities in real life, having as examples: helping others, debating ethical issues, raising money for charity, etc) (Lenhart A. et al., 2008). 

On another matter, a Canadian study had as a goal to determine if social interaction in a violent video game between outgroups could reduce the prejudice and bias associated to the stranger as test subject, and based on theoretical research and practical statistical data, the group found that the behaviour before and after play sessions (as short as twelve minutes long) changed significantly in a positive way, reducing the bias between the intragroup and the outgroup (Adachi, P. J. C., Hodson, G., Willoughby, T., & Zanette, S., 2014). Upon further study, it was realized that even non-violent cooperative games accomplished the same result, improving prosocial behaviour in online groups of gamers (Adachi P.J. C., Hodson G., Willoughby T., Blank C., Ha A., 2016) 

Academic-related Skills

As video games continue to grow in popularity as an entertaining activity among young audience, some teams and individual researchers bring attention to interactions between the academic lives of students and play. Uttal D. H. et al. (2013) suggests that STEM areas (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) can be enhanced by amplifying spatial skills, which are useful in many professional and scientific fields: the meta-analytical research was conducted with the purpose of establishing how different learning experience affect cognitive skills. Three training methodologies emerged to examine the subject, being them: “(a) those that used video games to administer training, (b) those that used a semester-long or instructional course, and (c) those that trained participants on spatial tasks through practice, strategic instruction, or computerized lessons, often administered in a psychology laboratory.” The study results made the group realize that the power of video games as a learning tool for spatial skills is comparable to a long-term academic course specifically designed to evolve the same skills, but requiring a much smaller time arc to achieve those effects. 

While being a relatively new program of education, the STEM system is often connected to the need of a modern structure to facilitate the learning process, and ‘serious games’ have an already demonstrated potential to define the overall experience on both macro and micro levels, due to the variety of ways to stimulate the students (virtual reality, augmented reality, simulation peripherals) and the overgrowing technology associated with the games. (Wu Y. & Anderson O. R., 2015) 

Video games have a great deal of influence in traditional school systems nonetheless, as described by the article composed by the Australian researcher Alberto Posso based on statistical data collected by the so called PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment): more than twelve thousand Australian students with the average age of 15 were examined in mathematics; reading; and science, producing a census which indicates a remarkable leap in performance for students who play videogames in their routine, by marking 17 points higher than the average in science and 15 points over average in mathematics. The same census also suggested that students who actively spend a notable portion of their day in social media platforms performed lower than average in the tests. (Posso A., 2016) 

Although it is noticed that gamers might score higher than the average in the PISA test because they are already intellectually gifted and so more lenient towards playing games, engagement in digital play activity is recommended as long as it avoids violent content, and the use of social media should be reduced and more strictly controlled according to the paper’s conclusions. As a final note, Posso A. encourages educational institutions to embed video games in formative courses as learning tools, raising an important question: what is the potential role of video games in formative education? 

Video Games and Education

Having established that video games enhance abilities such as, but not limited to: cognitive; social and academic areas, outlining possible ways to integrate play into formative education is the next discussion point to further demonstrate the potential positive impact that video games cause on society. 

On one hand, there are games specifically designed with a scope other than just fun, being denominated as ‘serious games’. While these products should be still entertaining and engaging, their main purpose is to educate or train a target audience by creating simulation of real-life situations; narrating a particular topic or advertising a certain cause. (Games and Intelligent Animation – GAIA) 

An empirical study examined different iterations of a serious video game named “Gem Game”, a simple mathematical puzzle-based product (Link), to gather information about the individual mechanics that constitute the play-based learning experience (versions included the normal build, a storytelling-based build, and a programmable build). In the study, four groups of 13-year old students were formed, where the first three sets played a specific version of the game each, while the fourth set was used as a control group and followed a traditional learning method (paper-based). The results indicated that engagement and motivation to learn the subject were much higher when using the game as a tool, independent of its build, making the research authors assume the potential of digital games to immerse students in school classrooms. (Garneli V., Giannakos M., Chorianopoulos K., 2016) 

Furthermore, having at disposal a serious game to simulate certain tasks may be so proficient to the point of outperforming the same activity in real life, for the visual structure and aids may help to achieve the goal in question, as it occurred in 2010 when a few individuals and teams of Foldit players successfully generated models of sufficient quality for successful molecular replacement and subsequent structure determination a protein (crystal structure M-PMV) using the online multilayer platform. The achievement has drawn interest to the importance of video games for education, as the same protein could not be structured for more than ten years in laboratories by highly trained biochemists, while the crystal ‘puzzle’ was completed in about three weeks since the beginning of the procedure in Foldit. (Khatib F. et al., 2011) 

On the other hand, traditionally designed games may offer a high-level educational experience even if they were not initially designed to do so. One of the most popular example of this trend among research teams is seen in Minecraft, a 3D sandbox video game where the player may shape and build a custom world made of a wide range of blocks which represent different materials. The original game as well as its ‘modified’ educational versions allow close to unlimited usability in academic subjects like: ecology, biology, geology, physics, geography, arts, history, media industry and even artificial intelligence to some extent (Nebel S. et al., 2016). Because Minecraft is easily available in computers, consoles, handhelds and mobile phones, tied to the fact that custom ‘mods’ can be added without a need for programming expertise, the game remains relevant for experimental research, with some examples being programming, psychology, cognitive capacities and art. 

More evidence about the benefits linked to the insertion of video games into education comes from an American investigation about how teaching methodologies can be adapted to portray a more interactive manner of knowledge transmission to students. The tutors in question selected “Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings” as the case study video game to facilitate learning about ancient history to seventh-grade pupils, having successfully displayed the interest of students to approach a scholar subject in non-conventional ways, and their development of strategical and critical thinking skills as a result of this self-generated engagement. (Maguth B. M., List J. S., Wunderle M., 2015) 

Recommendations & Conclusion

For the scope of the report being limited to analysing exclusively beneficial features of video games and their respective impact on society, targeting formative education, the results clearly displayed an optimistic scenario regarding the interaction between play and learning. This effect is intentional nonetheless, as the research community has just recently started to shift their pre-conceptions about games from an overall negative standpoint (Granic I., Lobel A., Engels R. C. M. E., 2014), and this essay intends to reflect a positive representation of games, as the findings hopefully portrayed. 

In conclusion, it has been evidenced that video games may offer many different benefits to a player who interacts with the digital systems, and certain skills are connected to specific game genres: cognitive abilities are better trained when paired to ‘action’ and strategy products; social skills are commonly acquired when the player interacts with others online, most frequently on MMORPG titles or any other kind of game which allows management of social matters; and lastly, academic-related performance is linked by many genres of play, for the interactive and technological method of teaching is the primal element to the advantageous outcomes in grades. 

Education wise, both ‘serious video games’ and ‘traditional video games’ present a strong potential to evolve the learning process for teachers and students, with more interactive solutions to grant high motivation and interest rates amongst children and teenagers. Simple adaptations of the current study programs such as ‘gamifying’ standard activities and using games like Minecraft (which are already massively popular and accessible) to introduce a wide array of subjects make it sound like a future with game-based education is indeed achievable. 

Citation List

Adachi P.J. C., Hodson G., Willoughby T., Blank C., Ha A. (2016). From Outgroups to Allied Forces: Effect of Intergroup Cooperation in Violent and Nonviolent Video Games on Boosting Favorable Outgroup Attitudes. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Volume 145. Issue 3. pp. 259-265.

Adachi, P. J. C., Hodson, G., Willoughby, T., & Zanette, S. (2014). Brothers and Sisters in Arms: Intergroup Cooperation in a Violent Shooter Game Can Reduce Intergroup Bias. Psychology of Violence. Volume 5. Issue 4. pp. 455-462.

Adachi, P.J.C. & Willoughby (2013). More Than Just Fun and Games: The Longitudinal Relationships Between Strategic Video Games, Self-Reported Problem Solving Skills, and Academic Grades. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Volume 42. Issue 7. pp. 1041-1052.

Baddeley A. (2010). Working Memory. Current Biology. Volume 20. Issue 4. pp. 136-140.

Ducheneaut N. & Moore R. J. (2005). More than just ‘XP’: learning social skills in massively multiplayer online games. Interactive Technology & Smart Education. Volume 2. Issue 2. pp. 89-100.

Garneli V., Giannakos M., Chorianopoulos K. (2016). Serious games as a malleable learning medium: The effects of narrative, gameplay, and making on students’ performance and attitudes. British Journal of Educational Technology. Volume 48. Issue 3. pp. 842-859.

Garvey, C. (1990). Play. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press.

Granic I., Lobel A., Engels R. C. M. E. (2014). The benefits of playing video games. American Psychologist. Volume 69. Issue 1. pp. 66-78.

Green, C.S. & Bavelier, D. (2012). Learning, Attentional Control and Action Video Games. Current Biology. Volume 22. Issue 6. pp. 197-206.

Khatib F. et al. (2011). Crystal structure of a monomeric retroviral protease solved by protein folding game players. Nature Structure & Molecular Biology. Volume 18. Issue 10. pp. 1175-1179.

Maguth B. M., List J. S., Wunderle M. (2015). Teaching Social Studies with Video Games. The Social Studies. Volume 106. Issue 1. pp. 32-36.

Nebel S., Schneider S., Rey G. D. (2016). Mining Learning and Crafting Scientific Experiments: A Literature Review on the Use of Minecraft in Education and Research. Educational Technology & Society. Volume 19. Issue 2. pp. 355-366.

Ninaus M. et al. (2015). Game elements improve performance in a working memory training task. International Journal of Serious Games. Volume 2. Issue 1.

Posso A. (2016). Internet Usage and Educational Outcomes Among 15-Year-Old Australian Students. International Journal of Communication. Volume 10. pp. 3851-3876.

Shute V., Ventura M., Ke F. (2015). The power of play: The effects of Portal 2 and Lumosity on cognitive and noncognitive skills. Computers & Education. Volume 80. pp. 58-67.

Uttal D. H. et al. (2013). The Malleability of Spatial Skills: A Meta-Analysis of Training Studies. Psychological Bulletin. Volume 139. Issue 2. pp. 352-402.

Wu Y. & Anderson O. R. (2015). Technology-enhanced stem (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. Journal of Computers in Education. Volume 2. Issue 3. pp. 245-249.

Electronic Bibliography

Cs.gmu.edu. (n.d.). Games and Intelligent Animation. [online] Available at: https://cs.gmu.edu/~gaia/SeriousGames/index.html [Accessed 1 Mar. 2018].

Garneli, V. (2016). Serious games as a malleable learning medium. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kec_mSG-dE [Accessed 1 Mar. 2018].

Glanz, D. (2016). Online gaming can boost school scores - RMIT University. [online] Rmit.edu.au. Available at: https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2016/august/online-gaming-can-boost-school-scores [Accessed 27 Feb. 2018].

Lenhart, A., Kahne, J., Middaugh, E., Macgill, A., Evans, C. and Vitak, J. (2008). Teens, Video Games and Civics. [online] Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/2008/09/16/teens-video-games-and-civics/ [Accessed 1 Mar. 2018].

Oxford Dictionaries | English. (n.d.). cognition | Definition of cognition in English by Oxford Dictionaries. [online] Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/cognition [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018]. The Entertainment Software Association. (2017). 2017 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry - The Entertainment Software Association. [online] Available at: http://www.theesa.com/article/2017-essential-facts-computer-video-game-industry/ [Accessed 27 Feb. 2018].

Appendix

Figure 1 – Training study design.

Figure 2 – Examples of the user interface showing some of the differences between the two versions of the working memory training task; Left column: GAME version of the working memory training task; Right column: NOGAME version of the working memory training task; upper half shows the Decision Task – T and the corresponding feedback (row A & B); lower half shows the Unlocking phase – U and the corresponding feedback (row C & D).