Playing High-Action Video Games May Speed Up Learning, Studies Say
Sarah D. Sparks
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/11/13/13video.h34.html?r=516143060
This article is going to add fuel to a couple of fires. The gamers will use it as a defense of their time spent gaming. Opponents of video games will see the article in support of their stance to limit video game time. Researcher Daphne Bavelier from the Rochester Center for Brain Imaging argued that regular playing of action games can improve students' attention control. "Gamers really are better learners," Ms. Bavelier said. "These people come to a task and very fast learn what are the task requirements, suppress any distractions, and focus on the task at hand. It's not that they have better vision acuity; it's that they learn to have better vision acuity." Ms. Bavelier discussed how an action game is "a massive assault on all parts of brain function," and complicated decisions are being made on video and audio data at multiple overlapping levels.
For example, one study showed gamers learned new language twice as fast as nongamers. Another study showed that gamers "had much faster reaction times, but were no less accurate, and performed as well on tests of impulsivity and sustained attention as nonplayers."
I was mulling over an application of this article to teaching. A composition teacher could have students record their game-playing session for five minutes and write an essay describing the thought processes involved in that segment. What events led to certain decisions? A math teacher could practice math facts with flash cards to reinforce quick recall of those important facts. A P.E. teacher could have students design a workout similar to an obstacle course using mats to mimic a side-scrolling platformer.
This article may have teachers rethink their presentation of material. Many students play a wide variety of action games. The content delivery could be sped up. However, I think the information needs to be repeated and reviewed at intervals just as elements of an action game are repeated.
I do see the problem solving and thinking that goes into gaming. I think the ideas and concepts that go into game design can be used and redesigned to improve the classroom and make a more competitive, self-motivating classroom. However, the drawbacks I see to gaming is the amount and diversification of maintaining a life balance. As adults we know how to prioritize our lives, but more often then not I see gamers in my class struggle because gaming is valued more highly than knowledge. Many of my fellow students in college lost thousands of dollars due to network gaming. Gaming is great, but like with everything it is best in moderation. I think teachers though can take a lot from game theory and game decision to make their classrooms more attractive.
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