BGSU Classroom Technology E-Mag Spring 2018 | Page 14

Video Games in the Classroom

Erin Ziems

Much of our lives in today’s world is entwined with technology. Children, from a young age, are exposed to devices and use them not only for communication but as sources of fun. These digital sources of entertainment are known as video games.

Video games are excellent tools to be used in the classroom. Research has found that student motivation and engagement increases when video games are used in a lesson. Further, with proper supporting assignments and good scaffolding of lessons, video games can be an effective teaching strategy. However, there was a lack of research that dealt specifically with student achievement and video games - that is, their impact upon student achievement.

Research

My research focused mainly on using video games in the classroom, in comparison to using more traditional hands-on lab activities. I started by gathering pre-test data in order to have a baseline data, then taught my students the cell structure and function unit. All my students participated in learning the same content, and I utilized the same activities for both groups with the exception of labs. One group did the hands-on lab activities, while the other played video games.