CultusFor years, the use of video games has been a hot topic in education. Whether video games improve or impede critical thinking skills of students has been the source of much contention amongst educators throughout the United States. The statistics seem to indicate that video games are actually highly useful in education, and they may be one of the most effective ways to improve the educational system in the United States.
There are various aspects of learning that the use of video games is able to improve for students. For example, playing video games has been shown to improve the critical thinking skills of students in several ways. Students must be able to formulate a hypothesis about the way in which the world works, test that hypothesis and then repeat the process to succeed in playing a video game. Perhaps this could take the form of jumping over a hot lava pit in a Mario Brothers game or attempting to find the secret jewel hidden in a level of Zelda. Whatever the case, playing these video games challenges students to think on their feet and continuously come up with creative solutions for succeeding at the various levels.
The truth is that video games are very educational at heart, because they teach students how to independently engage in the learning process and learn from mistakes. It is likely that students will try other methods to succeed in a video game level if they are not successful the first time around. Students learn how to have persistence in developing new critical thinking patterns and also learn how to have patience. There is also an emotional aspect that comes into play with video games and that keeps students interested. This emotional involvement is highly valuable for teaching students how to commit to an endeavor and succeed at it.
Overall, the use of video games seems to have a positive impact on the educational development of students throughout the United States. By improving focus, memory retention and the visual learning process, students are able to enjoy tremendous benefits from the use of video games in education.
Source: Best Masters in Education
