Videogames as STEM Gatekeepers

Williams mentioned an interesting theory that I would like to use this post to further explore. That theory is that video games can often serve as a kind of introduction to STEM disciplines for children. The Granic reading points to multiple different area’s, both cognitive and motivational, that support this theory. One finding in Granic is the improved spatial reasoning abilities demonstrated by children who play specifically shooter type video games. Spatial reasoning is one of the hardest to develop and most critical skills in STEM disciplines. Formula’s are often useless if a person does not have the physical intuition to discern where and when those formula are applicable. This is why labs are incorporated into physics and chemistry classes. Professors are not expecting students to discover something new or groundbreaking, but instead trying to imbue students with physical intuition. However, labs fail in that they are often very boring and seem like mechanical exercises which don’t inspire students to process and make connections between mathematical and physical descriptions of situations. Games can bridge this gap. I went to a talk last year by a product manager at Udacity who used to teach highschool physics. He replaced physical labs in his class with labs completed within the video game “Portal 2”. He said that his students engagement with labs was much higher after the switch. I think that this is a space in which video games could do a great service to education.