Playing games in the classroom sounds like fun, but does not always benefit the knowledge of all students. Throughout my life I have always loved going to school and learning new concepts, ideas, and facts. I didn’t need games in my classes to motivate me to learn because I was already motivated by the excitement of gaining new knowledge. Playing games in school sometimes made the experience less fun for me considering I am not a very creative person. I have always been more analytical than creative which made the use of games in my classes seem like a waste of time.
On the other hand, there are also many students who are not like me when it comes to school. Some people are not motivated to learn and need games implemented into the classroom to help with their learning process. During my New Literacy class at Canisius College this past Monday we spoke about the importance of allowing different ways to learn in your classroom that appeal to all types of students. For example, assigning a project that entails making their own game may not be beneficial for students like me which is why students should be given a choice. Forcing students to learn one way could ruin the learning experience for some people. Having options in your class is key for allowing all students to succeed and learn to their best ability.
When implementing games into the classroom it is important that the game is more about the learning aspect than the competition aspect. If the students are too focused on doing something faster or better than their classmates, they may not be retaining any information from the game. Along with enhancing the students knowledge, games can be used to promote teamwork and a sense of community in the classroom. Reward and point systems can also be used to motivate the students to participate in the games.
Although games may be useful in elementary and middle school, I do not believe they are as beneficial in a high school setting. Implementing games too often in high school classrooms can become boring for the students and distract from the content of the class. Class discussion may not be categorized as a game, but is a good way to keep high school students engaged and motivated. Using games can be great in high school classrooms when reviewing information for tests and quizzes because it allows the students to go over information they have previously learned in a different and exciting way.
Implementing games can be a great way to teach new information, but it must be done in a way that meets the needs of each student in your class. This touches on the idea of multimodality and how it’s important to use different modes of teaching depending on the students in your class. Overall, fun and games can help your students learn new information while keeping them entertained. They may even have so much fun that they don't realize they're learning!
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