Young begins this portion of his paper with a deceptively simple question: do video games, when used in K–12 classrooms, actually improve academic achievement? Not engagement, not vibes, not “the students were smiling,” but real test scores and measurable learning. They dig through more than 300 articles and only 39 of them actually connect video games to academic outcomes in a way that’s rigorous enough to study. That number alone says something: there’s tons of enthusiasm around games in education, but much less actual proof that they work the way people claim.
Young’s Findings
What they do find is uneven. Games show some promise in language learning, history, and physical education (especially games like Wii Fit). But when it comes to math and science, the evidence is weak, inconsistent, or just not there yet. It’s like the fields where games naturally slot into existing practices (talking, storytelling, moving your body) are getting somewhere, and the fields that are usually taught through abstract symbols and isolated facts are just awkwardly duct-taping minigames onto problem sets.
Intersection of Young with my own experiences
The language section especially reminded me of my own experience (which after reading some other posts, is definite NOT a unique one!) playing games in another language. Young talks about MMOs and virtual worlds as “exolingual environments” spaces where you have to use the target language if you want to get anything done. That immediately made me think of playing Pokemon Black 2 in French and gradually connecting item names, action verbs, and general dialogue with their meaning by repetition, context, and calling on previous knowledge, not by someone lecturing me about grammar. The article even mentions studies where students learn more from watching someone else play than from playing themselves, because their brains aren’t overloaded with trying not to die and can just focus on the language.
Are the correct questions being asked?
To that effect, I wanted to use this post as an opportunity to say that even though Young recognizes the success and shortcomings of games in education, I dont think enough attention is placed on the effect of games in building on a preexisting foundation. Even though they may not be the most efficient way to build a starting knowledge base in a subject, from my own experience, I am confident that they are probably among the most effective ways to move in the so called “middle area” of subject mastery. They won’t build a strong language or math foundation, and they wont make you an expert, but I believe they can be a critically helpful catalyst in moving through the intermediate.
Also, I just wanted to say thank you to the other people who wrote about this topic! It was great inspiration and made me want to do a blog post on this article!
