Learning from Computer Games: A Research Review

Our keynote presentation described findings and recommendations drawn from empirical research on the effectiveness of computer games used for instruction. We have monitored this research for some time (Fletcher & Tobias, 2006; Tobias & Fletcher, 2007; Tobias & Fletcher, 2011a; Tobias, Fletcher, Dai, & Wind, 2011). Our presentation and this summary are based on these prior sources, especially the 95 page review, in Computer Games and Instruction (Tobias et al., 2011). The rationale for the most salient recommendations are summarized here and in Table 1. Space constraints prevented us from including the rationale for all recommendations here; interested readers may find these in the references listed in Table 1. Computer games are perhaps the most recent iteration of technological tools applied to improving learning from instruction. Findings indicate that games are very popular educational technology delivery systems (Tobias & Fletcher, 2011b). Research summarized here and in Tobias and Fletcher (2011a) suggests that educators and trainers may want to use games more often to deliver instruction.