Today, more students than ever are engaging with the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programs that schools are requesting for educational purposes. The inclusion of BYOD has lead to an unprecedented level of connectivity, and as a result, questions as to whether gaming has a legitimate role in the classroom. Considering the popularity of gaming however, further investigation is needed as to whether these platforms have a place in the process of inquiry-based learning.
The idea of using gaming to enhance inquiry-based learning processes has been around for a while, but has been historically a difficult strategy to measure (Girard, Ecalle, & Magnant, 2013). However, since gaining traction over the past few years, evidence suggests that gaming does have a place in the classroom as a tool to enhance inquiry-based learning.
Srisawasdi and Panjaburee (2014) found that the implementation of contextual online gaming contributed to increased science conceptual understanding. Results showed that students who learned with the game showed higher levels of intrinsic motivation, self-determination, and self-efficacy compared to those who learned with the conventional teaching approach.
Similarly, a study by Chee (2016) found that an inquiry-based online learning program effectively fostered a classroom culture of inquiry, with the intervention class outperforming the control class on measures of separation effectiveness and conceptual understanding of chemistry.
So based on this, which online games are the most effective in supporting inquiry-based learning? Kinsley (2011) conducted an investigation of four popular gaming sites that claim to provide genuine learning experiences. The results of the study are shown below:
- Cool Math for Kids: 13 of the 25 games on the site were found to ask relevant learning questions and also encourage higher-level thinking.
- Quarked- Adventures in the Subatomic Universe: This site was identified as having 3 games out of 12 that were deemed as being conducive to inquiry-based learning.
- Funbrain: Based on findings from the study, 4 out of 25 games were considered to meet the learning criteria.
- Sheppard Software: Scoring the lowest, 3 out of 25 games on this site met the criteria of the study.
The findings from Kinsley (2011) show that there are websites out there that do deliver on their claims, by providing games that are engaging and contain educational substance.
Separate from the study by Kinsley (2011), ClassCraft provides a list of games that could assist with inquiry-based teaching and learning across a range of subjects. Also worth mentioning is the platform Kahoot!, which despite focussing predominantly on social constructs, displays some elements of inquiry-based learning. Perhaps these games could be included in your classroom?