Schools, Learning, and Computer Games

Okay, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it, but I'm probably the only person you know who spent two -- that's right, two -- years in kindergarten. Yes, I was held back in pre-school. Not too many people have that claim to fame. In retrospect, I don't know that I wouldn't have minded staying around another year (or two) had David Williamson Shaffer been my pre-school teacher.

You see Shaffer, who is an assistant professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison departments of educational psychology and curriculum and instruction, is a believer in computer games as a teaching tool. According to Shaffer, K-12 education is structured around rote learning and test passing -- at the expense of critical thinking and problem solving.

"We've believed for 150 years to learn basic facts their first year, then do something more sophisticated, but computers allow us to do this before we master the basics," says Shaffer, who is the author of How Computer Games Help Children Learn. "Kids should learn these basic things just in time and on-demand. You need these skills, but you also need to learn them in a way that tells you why." One of the best ways to build these skills, Shaffer goes on to say, is through the real or imaginary simulation of computer games. Computer games let people live in those simulations and innovatively solve problems, preferably in an interactive, collaborative fashion.

The better computer games, Shaffer explains, foster collaboration, innovation, and creativity, and are the best way to get children ready for the constant cultural and technological churn society is bound to experience.

Not to mention getting them out of kindergarten in a timely fashion.

-- Jonathan Erickson
jerickson@ddj.com

Posted by Jon Erickson at 02:51 PM  Permalink