Philosphy on Gaming in The Classroom

As a gamer and an aspiring teacher, I see many parallels between good game design and good teaching practices. In game design there is a concept called “show don’t tell”. Show don’t tell means exactly what it says; allow the player to learn the mechanics of the game naturally without dozens of texts boxes popping up explaining what to do. One of the most famous examples of show don’t tell is Super Metroid on the Super Nintendo. In Super Metroid you encounter several creatures that perform specific actions. For example, one creature bounces off the walls to reach a higher area. As the player, you see the creature do this and want to try for yourself. It is in that moment that you learn wall jumping without a single text box popping up to tell you what to do. 

 

            In teaching there is the idea of learning by doing. Teachers can lecture all day if they want to, but students will not truly being to learn until they are allowed to actually do an activity that gives them hands on experience. Combining creative writing with Minecraft is a perfect demonstration of how students can use video games to learn by doing. Students can be given 30 minutes to explore, create, and adventure in Minecraft. When the students finish playing, they will be given a writing assignment to discuss what they did during their time in Minecraft. From a student’s perspective, this type of lesson is incredibly engaging as it gives them the opportunity to write about a topic that they are truly passionate and care about. Also, no creativity is lost in the creative writing process because the students used creativity during their time playing Minecraft. For teachers as well as students, video games can open up the door to an exciting world of fun and engaging lessons that were simply impossible without the use of video games in the classroom.