Some thoughts on Game Based Learning

My group had tried all the stations except the Wii Sports station. The station which left the most impression was the Wii Trauma Centre. It requires two players to operate on a patient who was attacked by a bear and in the next stage, a patient with stomach tumor. For this game, the more you play the better you will get the hang of it. This game is also collaborative in nature in which two players collaborate to perform the operation. It tests the coordination and the chemistry of the team and I think that it would make a good team bonding game. Overall, the "gaming" experience was fun and I had a totally new perspective on gaming. Gaming when utilised in a proper way can bring about more meaningful and experiential learning to the students.

I do agree with Dr Tan that most of the time, the games played would not be linked directly to the contents taught in the curriculum. It would be difficult to find a game that fits totally with the contents of the syllabus unless it is specially created for content related purposes (e.g. The World of Temasek which explores early Singapore history developed by Magma Studios). So, how can we utilise game based learning when it is not directly link to the content in the curriculum?

In this aspect, I agree with Fatma that game based learning can be used to teach students values. I think that game based learning can also be utilised to teach skills. For example, the Macdonald game which we played can be used to teach and inculcate economic and financial literacy. By playing the game, students would better appreciate the concepts of running an enterprise, bankruptcy, profit as they experience it themselves by playing the game. This is better than just giving them a lecture and handouts on what is brankruptcy, what is profit making and how to run a business. This traditional approach may bored them and they would not absorb a lot.

At the end of the day, we should not adopt game based learning for the sake of fun and entertainment in the classroom. It is also important to mitigate the negative aspect of gaming when used for education. More importantly, there should be some key take aways and these games should be beneficial to student learning. A sharing session with the students at the end of the lessons could help reinforce the key take aways.