Video Gaming for Higher Order Thinking

I plan to evaluate the potential of video games to foster engagement and improved performance on assessments (particularly of higher-order thinking skills) among secondary school students and to determine what software exists, is in development, or could be developed that would facilitate the use of gaming to that end. I plan to evaluate the potential of computer-based games to foster engagement and improved performance on assessments, particularly of higher-order thinking skills, among secondary school students and to determine what software exists, is in development, or could be developed that would facilitate the use of gaming to that end. This problem seems to lend itself to a quantitative design. Questions can be divided into quasi-experimental and non-experimental categories. I. Quasi-Experimental Questions: These questions are best answered through an experimental design, but true experimental groups cannot be easily assigned in the school setting intended for this study. A. Do students demonstrate more engagement (on-task behavior) when learning activities are game-based? (Difference Question: This is an observable behavior that can be monitored and documented during game-based and more traditional lessons.) B. Do students taught through game-based learning experiences outperform those taught through more traditional instructional methods? (Difference Question: Assessments of experimental and control groups’ performances can be compared .) II. Non-Experimental: Some of my questions could be answered by either experimental or non-experimental study. Others are best addressed through survey. A. Ex Post Facto: Past studies may help to answer these questions: 1. Do students demonstrate more engagement (on-task behavior) when learning activities are game-based? (Difference Question) 2. Do students taught through game-based learning experiences outperform those taught through more traditional instructional methods? (Difference Question) B. Survey: 1. What are students’ feelings about, perceptions of, gaming in the classroom? (Descriptive Research Question) 2. What are teachers’ feelings about, perceptions of and anticipated problems with implementing gaming in the classroom? (Descriptive Research Question) I am finding that this problem is pretty complex. In any experimental approach, there will be many variables to account for. As I conduct research, I hope to find that some of my questions are addressed adequately in the literature, so that I might narrow the focus of my study. One question that I expect might be answered almost entirely through a review of related literature and similar investigation (How would I categorize a search on Amazon, eBay, or at Best Buy? Would such investigations inform my review of related literature?) is: What software exists, is in development, or could be developed to facilitate student engagement and performance? I also need to research assessment designs that can measure higher-order thinking skills such as application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Again, I hope that I can narrow the scope of my problem through my investigation of related literature, in order to focus on a single question in the final design. I am now beginning to question whether I will be able to find any educational game software that focuses on the higher-order thinking skills that interest me. Computers are not truly thinking machines, so most computer learning software is rote focused. I hope I am not painting myself into a corner with this topic. I can envision a game that would fit this bill, but there are few that I know of, none of which fit into the "educational" genre. This begs the question, would students using entertainment game software for learning demonstrate greater motivation and performance on higher-order thinking assessments than peers taught an equivalent lesson without gaming software? Although many entertainment video games may lack intellectually challenging content, and others may contain content that is inappropriate for a school setting, there are others (For example: strategy games, construction games, simulations) that may have great merit as teaching tools. I am very interested in any insights and advice anyone may have, particularly regarding focusing my topic.