20th November 2015 1:00
By Blue Tutors
As private tutors, we are constantly looking for new ways to engage our students and help them learn. Unrestricted by the limitations of school teaching requirements, we are able to look for creative and innovative ways to help our students. I was interested to learn this week that students at Hull University have created a version of the virtual world-building game Minecraft designed to help children learn chemistry. The game, which is played by millions of children all over the world, has been modified to allow children to explore molecular structures as they complete the game’s objective of constructing landscapes. Is gaming something that tutors should be embracing to help their students?
Generally speaking, tutors are wary of computer games, aware that many students spend a large number of hours gaming to the extent that it can interfere with their studies. There is nothing more disheartening than working with a student who is exhausted because they were up half the night playing Grand Theft Auto. But whilst delinquency game GTA might not be the best candidate for helping students learn, the team at Hull University have a good point. We aren’t going to be as successful as possible in engaging students if we ignore the things they are interested in and fail to harness the methods they use to learn. Many computer games involve a considerable amount of skill, and merging elements of that with core subjects may be an excellent way to help students.
Those working on the Minecraft project said that the game could be adapted to explore the structure of buildings, molecules and even anatomy. Pilot studies on school students were apparently very successful, with kids immediately responding to the format and engaging with the information. The game also integrated puzzles and quizzes, which pupils must solve as they go along. Naturally, we shouldn’t respond to students’ love of computer games by translating everything we teach that way. However, as the Hull team have shown, it is fruitful to engage with students’ interests, and develop innovative ways of engaging with them.