Computer games in the classroom: Educational success depends on the
teacher

Date:
March 3, 2022
Source:
University of Cologne
Summary:
Future teachers see educational potential in computer games,
study shows.

Teacher training should therefore address their potential in
the classroom.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Future teachers see educational potential in computer games, study shows.

Teacher training should therefore address their potential in the
classroom.


==========================================================================
New study results by a research team at the University of Cologne
show that future teachers increasingly want to use computer games in
the classroom. The study identifies particularly relevant aspects that
should be addressed in teacher training programmes in order to support
this intention. The study results have been published under the title
'Teaching with digital games: How intentions to adopt digital game-based learning are related to personal characteristics of pre-service teachers'
in the British Journal of Educational Technology.

Computer games play a major role in the lives and media use of children
and adolescents people. However, current school teaching rarely takes
this medium into account. The future generation of teachers currently
being trained at universities could change this. 'In our current study,
we focused on the teachers of tomorrow and how they can be better prepared
to employ computer games in the classroom because computer games have
great potential for teaching', said Marco Ru"th from the University of Cologne's Psychology Department.

In previous studies, the authors had already shown that as a learning
tool in the classroom, computer games can support students' skills
development. They also found that after using computer games in class,
students can reflect critically and constructively on their experiences
with the medium. Based on this, the researchers surveyed 402 teacher
trainees from German-speaking universities online about their intention to integrate computer games as learning tools and as an object of reflection
in their future school lessons.

The team examined 21 personal characteristics, including perceived effectiveness of computer games, knowledge about computer games,
and fear of using computer games in the classroom. 'Above all, the
perceived effectiveness of computer games and perceived connections
of computer games to curricula play a central role in the intention
of teacher trainees to actually want to use them in school lessons,'
Professor Kai Kaspar explained.

The current survey also revealed differences between the scenarios
in which computer games are used: 'If teacher trainees want to use
computer games to promote the competencies of students, they pay
particular attention to their own fear of using computer games and the
extent to which people important to them think they should use computer
games,' explained Marco Ru"th. 'If, on the other hand, they want to use computer games for media-critical discussions, the focus was instead
on the effort involved for them.' Since computer games are currently
rarely included as a relevant medium in teacher training programmes, the researchers recommend that, above all, insights into the effectiveness
of computer games and their relevance to curricula should be included
in teacher training programmes. Likewise, teacher trainees should be
aware of potential pitfalls in practical implementation and be able to
deal with them ,so that teaching competencies with computer games are
promoted in the long term. 'This would require not only adjustments
to the curriculum of the teacher training programme, but also further
support services and research findings so that teachers in their later
school practice know exactly when and how they can use computer games effectively in the classroom,' said Professor Kaspar.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Cologne. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Marco Ru"th, Adrian Birke, Kai Kaspar. Teaching with digital
games: How
intentions to adopt digital game‐based learning are related
to personal characteristics of pre‐service teachers. British
Journal of Educational Technology, 2022; DOI: 10.1111/bjet.13201 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220303112210.htm

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