From Mario to FIFA: what qualitative case study research suggests about games-based learning in a US classroom

Abstract

This article explores the impact of using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) videogames in a high school curriculum when developed through a connected learning frame by examining the influence that COTS videogames have on transforming students’ literacy learning in-school. However, it must be noted that transforming literacy in school is about more than bridging in- and out-of-school literacies; it concerns developing a deeper understanding of the meaning of literacy in today’s multimediated world, and the ways that these experiences are connected not only to media, but to traditional texts, peers, and guiding teachers, so that we can better grasp how to harness new learning styles and new ways of making meaning in contemporary classroom spaces. To understand how to capture in and out-of-school practices, we conducted a qualitative case study of two high school students enrolled in a reading intervention class that incorporated a COTS videogames curriculum. Data were analyzed via a constant comparison analysis. Findings indicated that the games-based curriculum created through a connected learning frame enabled students to engage in a constellation of connections among digital media, traditional texts, peers, and guiding teachers.

Keywords:

• games-based learning
• commercial-off-the-shelf videogames
• videogames
• literacy
• adolescent literacy

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Teri Lesesne and Karin Perry for their generous donation of more than 500 young adult titles for the classroom library. Additionally, the authors would like to thank the administrators of Eastside High School and Eastside Independent School District for inviting us into their school to try out this innovative new teaching method. The researchers also would like to thank the 27 young adults who shared their Spring 2013 semester with us and were willing to try a new approach to engaging in literacy activities and learning. Without the support of these people, this study would not have been possible.