It’s amazing how books and essays can change our long held perceptions about life, and in some cases, teaching strategies. That’s exactly what Gee’s chapter two of What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy has done for me: modified my close-minded perceptions of how to teach today’s youth.
If I had a nickel for every time my mother said to me, “Jessica, put away your video games and do your homework!” I’d have…um…no money at all. I was never a student who ran to the video game console after school instead of doing my homework. I would be in my room working diligently on math, science, reading, etc. I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. After Gee’s chapter, though, I am beginning to think that I was at a disadvantage when compared to those students who did run home and play video games.
Gee mentions in this chapter of his book that if a student can cite Newton’s law, but not be able to actively demonstrate it, then that child has not been critically active in the learning process. What is an “active learner”, you ask? Gee defines it as “experiencing the world in new ways, forming new affiliations, and preparation for future learning”(24). Through video games, he proposes, students will be able to become active participants in their learning communities. This is not to say, however, that current instruction in schools is all lecture with no social interactive and active learning. He is simply saying that there are alternative methods to teaching in which students can reflect on past actions and situate them appropriately, learn patterns and combinations, and understand the importance of not resorting to ritualized methods of game play.
I think that incorporating such a method of instruction not considered academic (like Math Blaster) into the curriculum will take a considerable amount of time, if it happens at all. Gee’s research, though, is very convincing and thoughtful, and I believe it’s only a matter of time before parents say “game on!” to this semiotic domain, both in the classroom and in the home.
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