Do We Need More Games in Education? | Jakub Valach | TEDxPrague British Intl School Youth

Key Concepts

• Gamification vs. Using Games for Education
• Effective Student Motivation and Engagement
• Game Design Principles in Educational Games
• Simulation and Modeling in Games
• Intuitive Understanding vs. Knowledge Memorization
• Accessibility and Real-World Application in Games

Gamification vs. Using Games in Education

The speaker begins by addressing the perceived dichotomy between learning and fun, highlighting common complaints about traditional education, such as lack of motivation and dry presentation of material. The core argument is that games can be effectively used in education, presenting two primary methods:

• Gamification: Incorporating game elements into non-game environments to increase engagement. Examples include Duolingo's streaks, friend features, leaderboards, and rewards; Snapchat's Snapstreaks; Audible badges; and Starbucks' loyalty program.
• Using Games Directly: Employing existing games to achieve learning objectives. The speaker uses the example of using Dungeons and Dragons to develop students' English language skills in a safe and engaging environment. This approach is considered more easily applicable to language-based subjects due to the natural byproduct of speaking skills.

Limitations of Traditional Educational Games

While acknowledging the merit of games used in classrooms (e.g., history bingo, math games like the pirate game, science blockbusters), the speaker identifies two main issues:

1. Decreasing Use with Age: The older students get, the less games are used in education. The speaker argues this isn't necessarily due to increasing difficulty of the subject matter, but rather the poor game design of many educational games.
2. Poor Game Design: Most educational games are not inherently fun and rely solely on their educational label. As students mature, they become more discerning and less tolerant of poorly designed games, leading to the abandonment of games in education. The speaker uses the analogy of stopping at the "cheering machine" and not developing computers to illustrate the absurdity of giving up on games in education.

Examples of Effective Educational Games

The speaker presents three games as examples of how to create engaging and educational experiences for older audiences:

1. Daybreak: A collaborative board game where players act as governments combating climate change. Players work to reach "draw down" (net-zero emissions). The game models the complexities of climate change, including global crises, dependence on dirty energy, and various ways to lose. It effectively simulates climate change consequences and potential solutions.
2. Kerbal Space Program: A video game where players oversee a space program, launching missions to the moon and other planets. The game features a semi-realistic physics engine that simulates orbital mechanics and challenges faced by aerospace engineers. The game is popular among NASA engineers and space industry professionals.
3. Model United Nations (MUN) Conferences: Participants act as delegates to a UN committee, collaborating to draft resolutions on real-world issues. MUN develops public speaking, debating, collaboration, and understanding of international relations. The organizers carefully consider which aspects of the UN to include, exclude, and simplify to balance enjoyability, accessibility, and realism.

Game Design Principles for Effective Educational Games

The speaker defines a game as a play-based activity requiring active engagement, with an artificial rules framework, often with a specific goal and representing a low-stakes environment. The commonalities among the successful educational games are:

1. Emphasis on Being Good Games First: Daybreak, Kerbal Space Program, and MUN prioritize strong game mechanics, in-depth systems, and overall game design to attract players, rather than relying solely on their educational label.
2. Simulation of Educational Aspects: The educational aspect is an inherent feature of the game, not simply tacked on. The games use carefully selected mechanics to mirror real-life content effectively.
3. Prioritization of Intuitive Understanding: The games focus on building an intuitive understanding within the player, rather than rote memorization of knowledge. Daybreak aims to help players gain a nuanced understanding of climate change through experimentation.
4. Accessibility and Real-World Connection: The games make inaccessible or out-of-reach experiences accessible to the player. They allow players to try new things and bring theoretical content back to the real world in an enjoyable, meaningful, and intuitive way.

Conclusion

The speaker concludes that thorough game design can model a range of situations, making games useful in presenting complex issues in an approachable manner. While not a panacea, games represent a valuable teaching resource that is currently underutilized. Instead of simply gamifying education with simple mechanics, the focus should be on creating good games that also happen to be educational.