Why Does Game Based Learning Work?

The idea of game based learning, also known as GBL, has been in the news a lot lately and you may be wondering if it’s more than just hype. Kids learning from games? The same games that were in the news not to long ago as possibly increasing violent tendencies, and definitely taking time away from homework and studying?

Well, like anything else in life, there tend to be positive and negative aspects to games. Some games are overly violent, and many games are more appealing than homework without offering anything more than a distraction. However, plenty of games also encourage critical thinking, problem solving, and long term strategizing, among other skills. But so do textbooks and worksheets – why are games getting so much attention?

Games work well as learning tools because they tap into certain techniques that actually line up well with what we know about teaching and learning. There are several learning theories that  explain why games are natural learning environment – I’ll discuss a few of the main ones here.

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