From the Playroom to the Classroom: Children’s Views of Video Game Play and Academic Learning

Abstract

Abstract— This article reviews research examining preadolescent and adolescent students’ views of video game and academic learning. This research contributes to discussions about how students’ engagement and approaches to problem-solving during video game play may transfer to the school setting. It highlights work from ongoing focus groups that, for example, shows that preadolescents and adolescents see both video game and school learning as providing venues for mastery and challenge. However, the locus of control for learning in the 2 venues varied: Preadolescents cited teachers as in control of their school learning and themselves as in control of their video game play. Regarding use of strategy, students saw seeking help from peers and family as appropriate problem-solving strategies for both video game and school learning. Notably, they cited trial-and-error strategies as relevant across both learning contexts, albeit far more often in reference to video game learning. The article concludes by considering ramifications of these findings for understanding transfer of learning from video game play to school learning.