Something that struck me in reading Good Video Games and Good Learning was Gee’s closing remark (and I’m paraphrasing): How can we make learning more like a video game that requires gamers to employ certain learning principles “when and if they are playing these games reflectively and strategically?” (p. 11, emphasis mine).
I guess I’m still processing what this would look like and how a teacher would be able to facilitate learning in this manner. In the video, when Gee was describing his experience with the manual for Deus Ex—not understanding a word of the technical language presented—and how after playing the game for a few hours and then returning to the manual he was somehow able to understand the lingo, it reminded me of foreign language immersion. From what I understand, language is best learned when the language-learner is fully immersed in a culture or group comprised of native speakers. Thus, this concept of not understanding words without experientially attaching meaning to them made sense to me. Maybe the problem with learning solely out of a textbook, or just memorizing facts, is that meaning is difficult—maybe impossible—to create without attaching it to experience. I know that’s not terribly profound, but I don’t think learning-by-doing and problem-solving is very prevalent or valued in school settings, yet our society clearly values inventors and innovators—those who, by nature, are hands-on.
The idea of making learning fun and engaging—even game-like—sounds great, but what does that look like? What if we can’t make every concept exciting for every student? How do we ensure that our students are engaging in a strategic and reflective manner? And how do we make this work in a system that holds opposing values? (Or, how do we change that system?)
(Sorry about all the hyphens, especially to the English majors. Please don’t ostracize me. Thanks.)
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteYou brought up a great point about video gaming being reflective and strategic. I completely agree! If video gaming could be aligned with curricular instruction in a meaningful way, it could be a valuable resource.
Mindy
Please don't worry about ostracization... I mean look, I think I just made up a word, or a spelling of the word... I don't even know, so please, break as many rules as you feel like breaking - this is a place where we can, and no one cares. That said, you brought up so many questions, TOUGH questions... I hope you don't dwell too much on finding the answers, because I think the point is not to find answers, just to learn a bit from every new perspective, and keep it in mind when we get into the classroom so we can experiment and see what works for us. But yes, funny how we value "hands-on" but don't like to let students do it...
ReplyDeleteThe hyphen is my favorite punctuation mark! That being said, I think you make a great point that learning must be tied to experience in order to be meaningful. I totally agree. I expect that will be an ongoing challenge as a teacher, but a fun one!
ReplyDeleteI think one (perhaps over-simplified) answer is avoid "sage on the stage" as much as possible. Sometimes I feel grumbly when we have to activities, but it's just so much better at getting me invested in whatever's being discussed. Maybe grumbly could be translated into "pleasantly frustrated"! It may be possible to play into a students competitive side when options for task difficulty are presented... orrrr, it could be discouraging for those who genuinely don't feel up to the tough stuff. It's hard to say in practice how these things work out, but I think it's worth experimenting with.
ReplyDeleteQuick comment on your "not terribly profound" comment about attaching experience to learning from a text. It was precisely this insight that has formed a key basis for John Dewey's enduring appeal (and challenge) to educators. I'd say that it would be hard to be much more profound, Amanda ;-)
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