What Could Video Games Teach Schools?
Games possess certain qualities that might be useful in structured school/classroom settings
Society often succumbs to the temptation to view video games as mindless, culturally bankrupt wastes-of-time. The data around video games and their adoption paints quite a different picture. Video games possess qualities that are increasingly being understood — and leveraged — in other contexts. One prominent example is healthcare, where video games are making an increasingly significant contribution. But what about education? I’m not talking so much about educational games, per se. I’m referring to the ways in which video games might be able to influence the school environment itself.
A PLACE TO FAIL
It is, of course, possible to fail in both school and video games. The difference is to what extent they punish you for failing. In Super Mario Bros., for example, you can restart the level once you die. It’s an inconvenience, but it provides the chance to try again. It’s a system that doesn’t penalize you for trying — rather, it uses minor punishments to encourage improvement.
In post-secondary education, failure is far more punishing. Flunking the important exams limit your future or, in the worst case, straight up boots you out of the system. In fact, high-stakes testing actively discourages students from experimenting. The fear of failure causes students to resort to inefficient study strategies like memorization.
To illustrate how ridiculous our current testing culture is, imagine if Super Smash Bros. was designed the same way as schools. When you lose too many matches, the game corrupts itself (but not before sending a signal to Nintendo to blacklist you from every retailer). In that scenario, who will take the risk to try to leverage (or go up against) especially challenging fighters? The instinct will be to remain safe and, arguably, less ambitious or experimental.
In this way, video games provide safe spaces for failure. Nobody will scold us if we need multiple attempts to complete a level or beat a boss. Rather, the experience is generally geared to encourage learning, growth, and experimentation — and the player is typically rewarded for putting in that effort.
AUTONOMY
This is an essential point for preteens and teenagers alike. Research shows lower perceived independence in school correlates with worse grades and less engagement. Unfortunately, schools often do not meet this need.
Schools exercise rigid control over students’ time and the subjects they engage with. The hierarchy of subjects is identical in most systems worldwide: language, science, and math are at the top. Arts, sports, and other topics are typically deprioritized (especially after primary school).
Video games, on the other hand, provide a plethora of options for players — as evidenced by the abundance of open-world games. In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you can complete shrines, help villagers, find Korok seeds, and then maybe save Zelda when you get around to it. Alternatively, you can immediately dive into the fight with Ganon (the final boss).
I’ve completed Breath of the Wild in both of the aforementioned ways. I’m not usually one to replay games, but there are countless opportunities in Hyrule. I felt I’d be doing myself a disservice by not exploring these options. I was curious.
Autonomy and curiosity go hand-in-hand.
BRIGHT AND COLORFUL
Video games know how to push your buttons. Developers understand how to leverage audiovisual design to draw players’ attention. Even more importantly, they know that people love stories.
Think about what a video game would be like without any graphics at all. It would likely be a tedious experience where you simply have to go through the motions of pushing the right button at the right time. But controlling a little Italian plumber who stomps on armies of turtles is rather more enjoyable.
In my experience with the education system, at least, there seems to be little interest in retaining students’ attention. Those students who struggle to pay attention in class may be labelled as “bad students”, and might even be diagnosed with ADHD.
For years, I’ve tried to understand why I can’t engage with school materials. I blamed myself for being uninspired or just dim. Only later did it occur to me that school material is typically presented in the most uninspiring, flat, boring ways. I no longer blame myself for not being able to sit and listen to a teacher regurgitate facts at me for hours on end.
I’m not suggesting at all that classrooms need neon signs, interpretive dance, and fireworks displays to hold my attention. What I am saying is that schools and educators should understand that it is their responsibility to make education engaging.
SCHOOL IS IMPORTANT, BUT IT NEEDS AN UPGRADE
I want to be clear here that I’m not suggesting video games over school as a method for formal education. Games can teach us many lessons, but they absolutely cannot replace professional education.
However, school systems in many parts of the world are deeply flawed, both in their practical and philosophical approach to education and student engagement. There are, of course, individual schools and educators who are continually pushing to innovate and improve the system. I just hope that the system at large will consider its responsibility to engage students with the mateiral.
