Video gaming helps learners become better employees

It’s been nearly 40 years since the Fairchild Channel F gaming console (later eclipsed by the Atari console) established today’s ever popular gaming industry. Yet players, ages 13-plus, show no signs of lightening their game play in the 21st century. In fact, a recent Nielsen study shows more than 80% of individuals ages 13 and over surveyed said they play video games on today’s three most popular gaming consoles: Microsoft X360, Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii. The study also shows gaming consoles also gained popularity in serving as media for other interactive activities, including watching movies on demand and listening to downloaded music.

Video gaming’s allure is gaining prominence among educators, who find that entering video gaming into a curriculum helps engage both young and adult learners alike.

“Educators are increasingly recognizing the impact of entertainment software and utilizing games as a teaching device in a growing number of classrooms and business settings. In doing so, they are embracing the cultural and technological shifts of the 21st century and expanding the use of a favorite leisure activity, computer and video games, into a critical and still-emerging educational resource,” states The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) on the topic.

Play time imparts knowledge

Key research by various organizations, including the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), find video games in the classroom can impart onto students better cognitive skills, new knowledge, complex critical thinking and “hands-on” technical skills. In essence, video games become “more than just play” as the ESA states, but help build the foundation for today’s learners to become tomorrow’s workers.

“People acquire new knowledge and complex skills from game play, suggesting gaming could help address one of the nation’s most pressing needs — strengthening our system of education and preparing workers for 21st century jobs,” states the FAS’s most recent report on the topic, “Summit on Educational Games,” which brought together more than 100 experts on the topic.

Specifically, the FAS reports that educational games (as opposed to games designed purely for entertainment) offer multiple attributes helpful in the learning environment. These include, among others:

• Contextual bridging (i.e. closing the gap between what is learned in theory and its use).
• Motivation and goal orientation, even after failure.
• Providing learners with cues, hints and partial solutions to keep them progressing through learning.
• Personalization of learning.

Further the FSA recommends educators employ the medium as a learning tool since it challenges and rewards students based on their activity, just as a work environment would, and ultimately teaches them knowledge retention. This is opposed to the traditional memory-driven teach and test method that some critics suggest may not necessarily help students retain the knowledge for a lifetime.

“Students remember only 10% of what they read; 20% of what they hear; 30%, if they see visuals related to what they are hearing; 50%, if they watch someone do something while explaining it; but almost 90%, if they do the job themselves, even if only as a simulation,” states the FSA.

From the classroom to the workplace

This FSA conclusions also supported video gaming’s role in the classroom because the tool cultivates decision-making and higher-order thinking skills valued by employers. Through skillful integration, the FSA notes video games can simulate workplace training and/or provide the practical and theoretical skills necessary for employees to be successful.

In essence, the summit participants’ believe video game play helps develop skills employers often seek in higher-wage employees. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Adaptation to Rapid Change
• Strategic Thinking
• Rapid Information Acquisition
• Ability to Assess Time, Cost and Resources Required
• Solution Development
• Plan Development/Execution
• Negotiation and Influencing

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