Chris Harris & Joe Ardezzone

Research Question

Do people who play strategy and puzzle video games display a higher cognitive function than those who do not play video games?

Background

There is a basis for this study. Researchers at the University in Padua in Italy, studied the effect of action video games on children with dyslexia. They found that “The reading improvements after the AVG[action video games] training were characterized by the increased reading speed without a cost in accuracy…AVG training improves … also lexical recognition” (Franceschini, Sandro, et al. 2013). This study shows that video games can be used to train the mind and cause an increase in cognitive function.

Video games over the years have changed, even significantly within the past decade alone. As gaming systems have changed, the games that are played on them have changed as well. Some important additions, such as interactive gaming, has created some unexpected positive impacts. As Anton Petrov says in his piece, “Using Minecraft in Education”, “The social and cognitive benefits of these games in studies to date are quite impressive and vary from a general increase in helping behavior and students becoming more supportive in class” (Petrov, 2014). As Petrov explains, the overall increase in interactive gaming has actually created a dramatic increase in cooperative teamwork, that games from even ten years ago couldn’t help to teach. In the classroom specifically, this has led to an unexpected increase in group work that other methods could not teach. This group work subsequently also can lead to better understanding of material taught in class, and also greater openness and acceptance of others, which overall can make a more well-rounded person.

One of the many other effects video games has, on students of all ages, is that it allows the gamers to interact directly with various objects of the game. As a 2005 research paper claims, “This means that students are able to actually experience and experiment with the things that they are learning rather than simply being told them as facts or equations” (Shaffer, Squire, et al. 2005). This is known as kinesthetic learning, and this type of learning is something that many students say is their preferred style of learning, rather than by seeing or hearing information. To actually touch and manipulate the objects yourself gives students a greater understanding of the object they are learning about.

While we have looked at individual situations and academic subjects, the positive results of playing video games has also proven to be applicable to just the basic standardized tests that all students take, and in the case of testing that was done by this source, specifically in the country of Australia. According to Alberto Posso of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, “Children who play online video games tend to do better in academic science, math, and reading tests, according to an analysis of data from over 12,000 high school students in Australia” (Gibbs, 2016). This testing shows that the results are not only applicable to a select group of students in specific areas of academia; but rather, this theory is applicable to, in this case, a large group of students that are in the same peer group. This further can lead you to believe that video games, and the many aspects of it, can help to bring out knowledge and deepen lesson understanding for students.

Methodology

We propose to test subjects by giving them a series of riddles and puzzles to solve. This study will focus on high school students aged 15-18 in Staten Island High Schools. In order to choose participants, a survey detailing video game activity would be distributed to the high school students. Those whom indicated a high amount of time playing strategy or puzzle games, such as the Total War series or Sid Meier’s Civilization, would be selected. Also, students who spent no time gaming would be selected as a control group. The two groups would then be given a test full of riddles and puzzles to solve. These would include games like sudoku, math problems, and memory challenges. Then, the tests from both groups could be analyzed to determine if there is a difference in performance, as well as if any of those differences are statistically significant.

Sources

Franceschini, Sandro, et al. “Action Video Games Make Dyslexic Children Read Better.” Current Biology, vol. 23, no. 6, 2013, pp. 462–466.

Gibbs, Samuel. “Positive link between videogames and academic performance, study suggests.” The Guardian, 8 Aug. 2016.

Petrov, Anton. “Using Minecraft in Education: A Qualitative Study on Benefits and Challenges of Game-Based Education.” Ontario Institute of Studies in Education. University of Toronto, pp.16, Apr. 2014.

Shaffer, David W., Squire, Kurt R., et al. “Video Games and the Future of Learning.” Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 87, no. 2, Oct. 2005, pp. 104-111