Games: Impact on Learning

General Expectations of the Impacts of Games on Learning

Prior to exploring the research, it is important to define our terms. For the purposes of this entry, learning games offer experiences that include

• a form of play activity,
• some conflict to drive play and cognitive activity,
• rules readily apparent to the learner that mirror a reality that governs,
• interactivity between player and game that includes feedback from the game system, and
• a win or loss for the learner or player.

Much of the research on the use of learning games has focused on examining the construct as a tool for supporting particular activities expected to support learning, but not directly impact achievement. For example, Kurt Squire’s work with the Civilization series focused on providing support for constructed, shared student understandings, to encourage social interactions to that end, or to encourage engagement with a game system rather than on particular learning outcomes or achievement. Early games in the 1980s and 1990s such as Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, Math Blaster, Reading Blaster, Lemonade Stand, and Oregon Trail I and II were put forward as examples of how games could be used to teach and meaningfully improve learning. However, formalized research was not conducted at the [Page 300]time, leaving us mainly with anecdotes about their effectiveness as learning tools rather than empirical evidence.

Since then, meta-analyses of learning game products previously conducted by Robert T. Hays indicate that only rarely do learning games induce statistically significant gains with standardized achievement. Games offer affordances like autonomous learning opportunities for learners seeking self-pacing, interaction, and rapid feedback with peers and instructor, and can be a safe place in which to engage in repeated practice of skills that may be too dangerous to do in the real world.

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