Teachers Gotta Game: #CSEdWeek Console Commitment
Teachers, here’s a new call to action.
Your quest. Your mission. Your… permission?
You should play more video games.
We know the video game stereotypes: glazed eyes and sullen kids, the steady drumbeat of gunfire and blast of siren behind drawn curtains. But here’s the reality: video games are a $200 Billion dollar industry, one that crushes even movie entertainment and is expected to keep growing (Wijman, 2019).
At Urban Arts, we’re all about games as education. We teach underrepresented students the art and technology of game development through computer science, coding, animation, music and storytelling. Students learn creative confidence and high-tech skills, as well as collaboration, leadership, and entrepreneurship. Along the way, Urban Arts is generating a diverse talent pipeline and real economic mobility.
That’s why we’re actively celebrating Computer Science Education Week this Dec. 4–10, an annual, community-led effort that inspires K-12 students to learn computer science. Do a quick search, and you can find numerous #CSEdWeek student activities that recognize ways students can learn by doing.
#CSEdWeek also lets us recognize ways teachers learn by doing. For some of us, that might be strategizing in Splatoon 3, chilling to Super Space Club, or creating alongside students in tools like Unity, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Unreal. Why? Because experiences in video games and game design can lead to our own deep learning as teachers.
If you’re teaching today, I know you’re a busy person; so I’m not saying you need to stay up all night conquering virtual realms — especially after you’ve already conquered grading. But I know several students actively working to reduce the stigma of games and highlight how games create a better world, and it’s worth your consideration.
Whether you want to play a best-seller or a game made by Urban Arts students (they’re fantastic!), here are a few reasons to pick up that joystick as soon as time allows:
Build Technical Know-How
I’ll say it… Playing games can make you smarter. At Urban Arts, we introduce ways of representing code through Visual Inquiry Activities: sharing either a clip or live play of a video game, followed by a set of open-ended questions to the class about the game and code behind it. In Urban Arts’ AP Computer Science Principles program Game On — which includes evidence-based curriculum where students create games with original art, music, and storytelling — this first taste of code leads to in-depth exploration of C#, Unity, and Visual Studio. To further prepare for the AP CSP exam, these students also complete a pseudocode worksheet during VIAs. It’s so effective I even find myself regularly analyzing and thinking through behind-the-scenes code while I play games.
Practice Creativity
Thinking creatively goes hand in hand with playing video games. Even the Harvard Business Review says games “have an important place in cultivating good strategists” (Reeves & Wittenburg, 2015). Studies from Michigan State University and Florida State University have shown that video games are tied to creativity. This is particularly relevant in “sandbox games” like Minecraft, or puzzle games like Dreamcatcher, created by Mabel Inoa Mejia, an Urban Arts alum and teaching assistant. Alyssa Froehlich from Filament Games writes that games “can transport us into worlds where the previously impossible is possible, and from there, into new creative heights” (2022). There’s also a great trajectory from consumer to creator in games — from playing games, to modding games, to creating your own.
Cultivate Inclusion
Luna Ramirez, a teacher from Thomas Edison CTE High School, shares: “I became a teacher to inspire students to believe that there was no barrier they could not overcome. Inspiring the next generation of computer scientists, no matter their gender, learning style, cultural or socio-economic background is satisfying within itself.” Luna has learned firsthand (spoiler alert: she’s a Game On teacher!) that video game pedagogy can help her reach students where they’re at. Because a large majority of youth play video games regularly (NPD Group, 2019), understanding video games as a teacher can help you provide culturally-responsive learning. In Game On, for example, we find the use of video games attracts and engages a diverse range of students in the computer science classroom.
Deepen Empathy
When I’ve given students creative and digital assignments, especially when they also involve complex technical work, I’ve often tried them out for myself. And… wow. I’ve been humbled. It’s an exercise in empathy and understanding to experience those highs and lows. I’ve had the same types of experiences playing games: struggling to learn, build, or successfully maneuver, and sharing struggles with others. Games are full of storytelling that can move you (who else cried during Halo 4?), visuals and sounds that awe you, and scenes that inspire you. And sometimes, they’re just plain fun.
Video games can help us see the world through others’ eyes–-to deepen our empathy.
So let’s try it, teachers. Let’s play some games.
