Student Post: Ryan Ansorge: Games in the Classroom

I can remember many times when games were used in classrooms during my years in primary school. Some were incredibly effective but some fell completely flat. Upon reflection, the ones that fell flat were the ones that did not have any component of fun and were obviously designed with educational goals in mind instead of the game itself. The ones that I had the most engagement with were ones that managed to combine both areas.

Physical games are also a valid option. For one class, we had to design a board game based on the material we were given in class, then we played the games in class. This was fantastic because it had a demonstration of knowledge and comprehension as well as a fun aspect that the students had agency in with their own creation.

I think for games to work as assessments in a classroom the game must be built around assessment. Many games not built around assessment follow predictable patterns where simple trial and error can yield results which will skew data. Attempting to manage every student's progress and decisions when interacting with the game is a nigh-impossible feat for only one classroom teacher.