Educators and gaming experts say video games and table-top games can help children learn better in school.
At PAX East, a major annual gaming convention now being held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, multiple panels are exploring how kids can benefit from gaming.
Amy Doyle, a technology teacher at Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School, said gameplay can help students learn in a medium they might already be comfortable with.
She held a workshop on Thursday at PAX East on how gamification can be used in the classroom and the benefits of an e-gaming team at schools.
Doyle said kids can grow in many ways from gaming, and it can help kids who might be struggling with ways to connect to school material.
“Our brains are built from learning how to play, our brains are wired to understand play,” she said. “So by pulling that element into the classroom, our students can access curriculum that may be a barrier for them if it's just on a worksheet or being spoken to from a teacher. That automatic unlock helps make that safe space for students to ask those scary questions that they aren't going to ask in a regular classroom setting.”
Doyle recognizes that there is a lot of stigma around video games “rotting your brain” – but she said they can do the opposite.
“Video games are not passive activities like watching television or a movie,” she said. “They are active. They imply critical thinking skills and puzzle building skills. And I think if people give them more of a chance, maybe tried a simple game themselves, that they would start to understand the powerful impact that these games can have.”
At Ayer Shirley Regional Middle School, Doyle incorporates gaming into her technology classes, and she also offers elective classes focused around video games and the gaming industry.
She has implemented gaming into lesson plans across her school: math classes use Mario Wonder to teach geometry, English literature classes use The Legend of Zelda to explore storytelling and the arc of a hero, and in history, they let kids learn using the Settlers of Catan board game.
Doyle said the school's e-sports team, where her students get to compete in gaming competitions has helped students build confidence and teamwork skills in students.
For educators or parents who hope to incorporate gaming into their child's education, Doyle suggested you start by asking your kids what games they already like playing and build from there.
“Ask them what they play because if they already know the game, that cuts out half of the work for you and then you can start building it in,” Doyle said. “I coach an e-sports team where I don't play half the games. The kids know that part. So talk to them about what they play, what they already do, and that's going to be super easy to pull right in.”
Gaming is enjoyable for kids as it's another outlet for socialization, said Chris James, an audio data specialist at Modulate, a Somerville-based software company that fights toxic online behavior. He spoke at a panel discussion about the benefits of gaming for children.
“Places like Roblox or Minecraft, these are all spaces where kids meet up together and do something together as an activity,” James said. “Those spaces where kids express themselves and socialize with each other in a way that they wouldn’t probably be able to do if they didn't have that digital infrastructure to do it.”
Derek J. Smith, a lecturer at the University of New Haven and coordinator for the school's e-sports and gaming academic program, said gaming in moderation can help kids learn a lot of skills like problem solving, communicating and socializing.
Smith's own son loves playing video games – and one day, he noticed his son stopped playing a Spiderman game he typically loved.
“I'm like, ‘What's going on?' He's like, ‘Well, dad, I can't beat the lizard.’ I'm like, ‘Okay, so why can't you beat the lizard?’ And he's like, ‘Well, he's just too hard.’ I was like, ‘No, that's not the answer. Why can't you beat him?’”
Together, the two sat down and talked about the lizard’s story line and his motivations, and figured out a way to battle him in the game.
“Now we're actually diving more so into literary work,” Smith said. “Like literary terminology and understanding, character development. So that's what I mean about being able to channel that motivation of gaming into a different direction.”
At the end of her workshop, Doyle shared anonymous messages from her students about their own thoughts on gaming.
One student addressed the stigma video games have – “When I hear a teacher speak negatively about video games, I feel sad. I’m a good student. I get all A’s but I don’t want those teachers to think differently of me because I like video games … It makes it hard for me to trust that teacher.”
“I can see myself in a game better than I can a novel,” another student said. “If both require storytelling, why can’t I learn through games?"
