Literature Review in Games and Learning John Kirriemuir, Angela Mcfarlane

Literature Review in Games and Learning John Kirriemuir, Angela Mcfarlane To cite this version: John Kirriemuir, Angela Mcfarlane. Literature Review in Games and Learning. 2004. hal-00190453 HAL Id: hal-00190453 https://telearn.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00190453 Submitted on 23 Nov 2007 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. FUTURELAB SERIES REPORT 8: Literature Review in Games and Learning John Kirriemuir, Ceangal Angela McFarlane, Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol FUTURELAB SERIES REPORT 8: CONTENTS: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 Literature Review in SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION 5 Games and Learning SECTION 2 GAMES CULTURES AND PLAY 7 John Kirriemuir, Ceangal SECTION 3 Angela McFarlane, Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol GAMES AND LEARNING 13 SECTION 4 KEY ISSUES IN DEVELOPING GAMES FOR LEARNING 19 FOREWORD SECTION 5 FUTURE DIRECTIONS Computer games are today an important research in the field, in particular the IN GAMES AND LEARNING 24 part of most children’s leisure lives and increasing interest in pleasurable increasingly an important part of our learning, learning through doing and BIBLIOGRAPHY 29 culture as a whole. We often, as adults, learning through collaboration, that END NOTES 34 watch in amazement as children dedicate games seem to offer. At the same time, hours to acting as football coaches, the review takes a measured tone in designers of empires, controllers of acknowledging some of the obstacles and robots, wizards and emperors. In the challenges to using games within our past, computer games have been current education system and within our dismissed as a distraction from more current models of learning. It goes on to ‘worthy’ activities, such as homework or propose some ways in which designers, playing outside. Today, however, researchers and educational policy researchers, teachers and designers of makers might draw on the growing body learning resources are beginning to ask of research in the field to create learning how this powerful new medium might be resources and environments that go used to support children’s learning. beyond a sugar-coating of ‘fun’ to the full Rather than shutting the door of the engagement that computer games seem school against the computer game, there to offer so many children today. is now increasing interest in asking whether computer games might be We are keen to receive feedback on offering a powerful new resource to the Futurelab reports and welcome support learning in the information age. comments at [email protected] This review is intended as a timely Keri Facer introduction to current thinking about the Director of Learning Research role of computer games in supporting Futurelab children’s learning inside and out of school. It highlights the key areas of 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY games, or game players, cannot be mapped onto one research discipline. AIMS Relevant areas of study include, but are not limited to computer science, education, psychology, youth and media This review provides: and cultural studies. As a result, aspects of investigation into games and game • a summary of the contemporary state of players can ‘straddle’ several different the computer and video gaming academic disciplines. industry, market and culture • an overview of the main developments in As games have become more complex in research into gaming and the terms of graphics, complexity, interaction educational relevance of video games, and narrative, so a variety of genres have and a summary of the literature come to dominate the market. There is, resulting from this research however, no standard categorisation • a basis for communication between the of such games; different stakeholders educational research community and in the games industry eg game outlets, the commercial sector on the subject of developers, academics, web review sites, the use of games technologies in the use a taxonomy appropriate to their own design of learning resources audience. Nonetheless the differences between genres, and even between games • a basis for discussion within educational within one genre, differentiate the way communities on the use of digital they are played, and their potential to games within educational settings. support learning. Thus attempts to generalise the effect of games or gaming may be unhelpful. attempts to CONTEXT generalise the Perhaps as a result of the diversity and Computer games are a growing part of our complexity of games themselves, and effect of games culture; the global market is worth billions the range of perspectives taken by or gaming may of dollars, related activities range from researchers, there are few hard and fast published magazines to spontaneous findings in the literature. In order to better be unhelpful internet communities, and the impact of understand games and game play, and games play on young people has attracted how they contribute to learning, it may significant interest from the popular be necessary to distinguish more clearly media. Three quarters of children play the nature of gaming and the nature of regularly – is this harmful or beneficial, learning and the learner. are they learning as they play, and if so what? This review considers the findings of research into the relationship between GAMES AND GAMERS games and players, and the theoretical and actual implications for learning. Researchers and commentators have attempted to understand the lure of The research evidence is complex, and computer games. This has been thinly spread. The study of computer characterised as a combination of fantasy, 2 REPORT 8 LITERATURE REVIEW IN GAMES AND LEARNING JOHN KIRRIEMUIR, CEANGAL & ANGELA MCFARLANE, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL challenge and curiosity, and a level of integrated into the curriculum. Reasons the experience engagement described as ‘flow’ where for this include: players become oblivious to distractions. of game play Concern has been expressed that this • it is difficult for teachers to identify seems to leads to a neglect of other activities, often quickly how a particular game is assumed to be automatically more worthy. relevant to some component of the be affecting Other authors see games play as statutory curriculum, as well as the learners’ inherently valuable, leading to a accuracy and appropriateness of the development of a range of skills and content within the game expectations competences that may transfer to other • the difficulty in persuading other school of learning social and work-related uses of digital stakeholders as to the potential/actual activities technologies. educational benefits of computer games The debate around violence and gaming • the lack of time available to teachers to is as yet unresolved. There are two familiarise themselves with the game, perspectives; that games increase and methods of producing the best aggression or that games provide a release results from its use for pent-up aggression. In all likelihood • the amount of irrelevant content or both are legitimate conclusions, and the functionality in a game which could not outcomes varies with game and player. be removed or ignored, thus wasting valuable lesson time. Gender is a common subject of games related research, focusing mainly on the Nonetheless, teachers and parents image of females within games, or the role recognised that games play can support of gender in influencing games play. There valuable skill development, such as: are few clear outcomes, but the proportion of gamers who are female seems to be • strategic thinking growing and this may be related to the • planning increase in social gaming through on and offline multiplayer options. • communication • application of numbers • negotiating skills GAMES AND EDUCATION • group decision-making Research into the use of mainstream • data-handling. games in education is relatively novel, but growing rapidly. Research is mainly Significantly the experience of game concerned with the development of related play seems to be affecting learners’ competences and literacies during game expectations of learning activities. play, or the role of games in the formation Preferred tasks are fast, active and of learning communities either while exploratory, with information supplied gaming or related to game play. in multiple forms in parallel. Traditional school-based learning may not meet Use of mainstream games in schools these demands. remains rare, and is unlikely to be 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DEVELOPING GAMES FOR EDUCATION learning. Yet much research evidence contradicts this, arguing that children do There are two key themes common to the enjoy learning when they have a sense of development of games for education, their own progression and where the namely: learning is relevant and appropriate. This focus on ‘fun’ and on ‘concealing the 1 The desire to harness the motivational learning’ within educational games may, in power of games in order to ‘making fact, be a red herring. Instead, it might be learning fun’. worth returning to some early analyses

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