Games & Learning (yeah, i'm going to totally explain this in a single blog post)

People (yes, i actually know people) often ask me why do you think games belong in classrooms?

To answer that question, we have to look at how we operationally define "learning"  (an operational definition is the most specific definition of the thing we're talking about as it relates to what we're specifically doing).  Learning has an awful lot of different meanings and definitions to a lot of people, but this is the definition that i have found to be the most useful for describing the cognitive task of learning.

Learning is the process by which an organism acquires or modifies existing knowledge, behaviors and preferences over time.  When I say someone has learned something, i mean that they have acquired enough process knowledge to demonstrate a skill they've seen other people perform (like a kid tying his shoes, or an athlete hitting that perfect jump shot).  It also describes the situation where a person has learned new knowledge about a specific topic and can explain it (like a young child with the letters of the alphabet, or that one kid who finally figures out how to iambic pentameter works).

This means that the learner has acquired basic capability with the skill or knowledge.  A young child learning about the alphabet is not going to be able to immediately recite the works of Shakespeare, nor would a child who's learning the basics of a musical performance be able to replicate virtuoso performance of Bethoven's 5th.  These are people who have just started their journey of skill development and are very new to the process.

Skills require instruction to develop in the beginning, and practice to grow over time.  Our definition of learning supports this idea, in that learning represents the modification of existing knowledge over time.  A child learns the individual letters to start, and then they learn to form them into small words, and then larger words as they gain more practice and more experience.  Learning as a process takes a lot of time and energy.  This is why kids are tired after school (this is a simplified explanation, as there are a lot of factors that go into a child being tired, but brain activity can burn a lot of energy, and until that energy is replaced, that tiny brain is operating at a deficit).

So what in the blue heaven does that have to do with games?

Well, we're going to pop through Jargonland for about three terms We'll need to cover Motivation, and the terms Intrinsic and Extrinsic.

Motivation is the reason that something does something else.  Is that monkey hungry?  That may be why he's trying to figure out how to open that cage to get to the bananas that someone has left sitting in plain sight.  Alternatively, understanding how extraordinarily upset your significant other is may explain why your clothes are on fire on the lawn.

Motivators come in two basic kinds, stemming from where they occur.  Intrinsic motivators are internal to the organism being motivated.  Hunger, curiosity, or a desire to learn are all intrinsic motivators, they come from inside the organism.  Extrinsic motivators are external, like money, social rewards, or sex.  Understanding the motivators that can drive other people to do specific things can be very useful in getting them moving on the Learning process.

So, what works best for Learning?  Well, the easy answer is both, and the more complex answer is also both.

Short answer, Pairing extrinsic motivators with intrinsic motivators is the best method of stimulating students to engage the learning experience to get the most out of it.

Longer answer.  A student can struggle with a subject, especially something that they don't like, or that they have problems with.  Their internal motivation to learn is depressed by their internal factors relating to that topic.  This can pair up with external motivations from social pressure and other factors ("You got an F on your last test?  YOU'RE GROUNDED") that can seriously impact their learning process.

Worse, these factors can snowball.  An unmotivated learner can take longer to pick up a concept, which slows their learning speed even further.  As they slip further behind their peers, these factors start to compound each other, and then it becomes a full blown learning crisis.

However, there's more to this than disaster snowballing and compound crises.  Extrinsic factors can help to motivate a student who is struggling with their intrinsic motivation.  A kind word, a gold star, a sticker, or a preferred activity with friends can all help a student push through that negative internal motivation to help them along the learning process.  Games (especially if you can find some very on topic games) can help you motivate your students that struggle.


Games change the environment that the student experiences (yeah, that sounds like crazy talk).  Taking a student out of the situation where he (or she) is staring at a worksheet, trying to figure out the answers to some simple addition problems in a limited amount of time, and putting them in a situation where they are rolling dice to see how far they get to move around a board while taking turns changes the environment for that task completely.

Are they still doing simple addition?  yes
Are they still learning?  yes
Are they engaging in a process that could help them manage their anxiety and social pressures while learning the task at hand?  yes

Games can help a student manage the negative motivational factors and replace them with positive ones.  They are still learning, (though in this case they are learning to replace motivators with more appropriate ones) and Games can help them with the learning process by presenting the information and experience in a different format.

The other way that i look at Learning is this definition

Learning is the acquisition of experiences over time that shape knowledge and behavior.

 So as an educator, having many different ways to present information and experience is better than trying to rely on a single method.