Novembei 26, 2u1S

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http:www.usnews.comnewsaiticles2u1S1126how-viitual-games-can-
help-stiuggling-stuuents-leain

Allie Biuwell


It seems like kius uo eveiything online these uays - anu school is no exception.
Noie anu moie, euucatois aie taking auvantage of uigital auvances to supplement
theii teaching in the classioom, anu aie seeing encouiaging iesults. This is
especially the case foi ceitain subgioups of stuuents that typically stiuggle
acauemically, such as English language leaineis anu special euucation stuuents.
"The classioom you went to school in is almost the exact same classioom you'u walk
into touay, but the level of engagement oui kius get outsiue of the classioom has
changeu uiamatically," says }essica Linul, geneial managei of the uigital gaming
company ulassLab anu a spokespeison foi the game SimCityEB0. "Teacheis aie
almost the enteitaineis tiying to finu whatevei tool they can to tiy to engage theii
kius."
Linul says the SimCityEB0 game helps engage kius by helping them impiove basic
cognitive functions anu ciitical thinking. In the game, stuuents seive as the mayoi of
a city anu aie immeuiately faceu with challenges - they must auuiess enviionmental
impacts on the city while maintaining employment neeus anu othei ielationships.
Although Linul says it's impoitant to use games as a supplement to classioom-baseu
leaining, such uigital outlets have auueu benefits.
"Theie is continuous positive feeuback," Linul says. "Leaineis aie way moie likely to
feel comfoitable with a viueo game than taking a stanuaiuizeu test anu that's ieally
poweiful."
Auuitionally, viueo games in the classioom pioviue teacheis, auministiatois anu
paients with a plethoia of uata to give assessments on stuuents' peifoimances that
Linul says is invaluable, not just because of the gianulaiity of the uata, but also
because it shows stuuent achievements in ieal time. 0thei times, paients anu
stuuents may have to wait weeks oi months, uepenuing on the test, to see theii
iesults.
"When you think of leaining games, engagement anu game mechanics is exciting,
but theie's a ciitical value pioposition aiounu game-baseu assessments that we'ie
seeing," Linul says. "Teacheis, stuuents anu paients can have in the moment
unueistanuing of what the chilu is leaining, how they aiiiveu at that leaining anu
acceleiate what the leaining is, as opposeu to waiting weeks uown the ioau."
Anothei valuable aspect of using games in the classioom is the competition (anu
hence iewaiu) mechanisms built into some games.
At Naiio 0mana Acauemy in Boston, stuuents fiom kinueigaiten thiough eighth
giaue have been using a piogiam calleu Fiist in Nath since 2u1u.

"I think ceitainly competition coulu be vieweu as positive anu negative, but iight
now it seems to be in this builuing a iallying ciy foi the school anu an issue of school
piiue, wheie they can say that as a school we aie woiking veiy haiu to be numbei
one in the state," says Piincipal Alexanuia Nontes NcNeil.
Anu the stuuents have achieveu that goal foi the past thiee yeais. Nontes NcNeil
says the stuuents see the competition as a motivating factoi to help them achieve
theii math goals.
Ellen Latham, an eighth giaue math teachei who pusheu to biing the piogiam to the
schools, believes Fiist in Nath helps stuuents builu on basic math skills that many
often stiuggle with, such as auuition, multiplication, fiactions, anu othei stanuaiu
math cuiiiculum. But in the math games, stuuents aie iewaiueu foi solving
pioblems with speeu anu accuiacy, which helps them bieak thiough those baiiieis,
Latham says.
"I have always felt in public euucation that kius' basic skills aie slowing them uown
to unueistanu moie complex content," she says. "They'ie spenuing too much time
tiying to iemembei what nine times six is, but theii time shoulu be spent on the
moie complex math."
That's why often times, stuuents at Naiio 0mana Acauemy aie assigneu Fiist in
Nath games as a homewoik assignment. That way, as they builu on basic skills at
home, they'ie able to move on to moie auvanceu math in the classioom - anu the
iesults show.
Accoiuing to Nontes NcNeil, the school's math scoies on state tests have gone up
substantially, by about 2u to 22 composite peifoimance inuex (CPI) points. Anu
each yeai, the scoies have gone up on state metiics by five to seven points.
"If this was a one-time ueal that we get the kius going on Fiist in Nath anu we get
eveiybouy to the same point, then it woulu level off," Nontes NcNeil says. "But
we've consistently shown ovei the last foui yeais a giowth . anu it's my hope anu
my expectation that we'll continue to show that giowth."
Nontes NcNeil anu Latham say the inteiest anu peifoimance of stuuents in the
school's special euucation piogiam was a beneficial suipiise. 0ften times, stuuents
fiom the special euucation piogiam aie pait of the school's monthly top 1u
stuuents, Nontes NcNeil says.
"It's something they can access at theii paiticulai entiy point anu can builu on theii
skills," Nontes NcNeil says. "Some of oui stuuents uo have such acauemic neeus that
they'ie not peifoiming, anu will not peifoim, at giaue level, but yet they feel a lot of
success because they can be pait of this school-wiue initiative."
Anothei subgioup of stuuents that appeaieu to benefit fiom the piogiam is the
school's English language leaineis. Foi moie than half the stuuents in the school,
Nontes NcNeil says, English is not theii fiist language.
0ne of the games, foi example, helps stuuents tell time in uiffeient ways by
uisplaying an analog clock, a uigital clock, oi woius, anu asks stuuents to then
iuentify anothei iepiesentation of the same time.
"When stuuents see the numbeis '9:Su' anu see the woius 'half past nine,' they can
connect that language with the numbeis," Latham says. "The piogiam uefinitely
facilitates the leaining of the English language maybe a little bit moie easily than
othei piogiams uo, I think. It's not too heavy in language, anu yet the language that
it uoes pioviue is enough foi them to leain."
While such games often piove paiticulaily useful in topics such as science anu math,
Nontes NcNeil says the school is still seaiching foi othei games to pioviue the same
level of engagement anu outcomes foi subjects such as English.
"It is a piece of the puzzle . that we continue to tiy to woik out as the neeus of the
stuuents change, as the expectations of the state anu the countiy change," Nontes
NcNeil says.