ISTE 4 Module- Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

What are ways in which students can use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources?

My Triggering Event Question: How would gaming fit into the health and fitness curriculum?

Resource: Exploring the potential of computer and video games for health and physical education: A literature review (Papastergiou, 2009)

Link to article: http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.spu.edu/science/article/pii/S0360131509000840

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)’s Standard 4 set forth the following learning targets for students: “1) Use technology to help identify and define problems for investigation, 2) plan and manage projects with the help of digital graphic organizers, 3) utilize technology to collect and analyze data, identify possible solutions, and make informed decisions, and 4) explore and compare solutions with various technology tools” (ISTE, 2007). For this blog, I will focus on the third and fourth learning targets.

Yang and Chang (2013) concluded in their research article that, “There is great potential for DGA [Digital Game Authorship] as an extension of digital game-based learning for empowering learners in their construction of knowledge and the creation of authentic learning materials.” After reading how gaming enhanced biology and programming curriculum, I began to wonder how gaming would fit into my subject-specific content area. Which is why I posed the following question for my triggering event: How would gaming fit into the health and fitness curriculum? I chose Papastergiou (2009)'s literature review for the exploration of my triggering event question, because the study aimed to identify how gaming contributes to physical education and provide evidence on the educational effectiveness of gaming. In order to put together a literature review, 34 articles focusing on the examination of electronic games as potential educational tools for the health and fitness curriculum were utilized (Papastergiou, 2009). After each article was categorized and synthesized, the following potential benefits were noted: “(a) games can support interactive, experiential learning, which can improve players’ health-related self-efficacy and behaviors, (b) games are particularly motivational for young people, who may be difficult to influence through traditional HE interventions, (c) games can provide individualized feedback on health choices, (d) games can support progress at one’s own pace, (e) games can offer opportunities for social interaction and health-related social support both within the game and around it, which can enhance players’ motivation to improve health behaviors, (f) games can offer unlimited opportunities to re- hearse self-care skills, which may favor the transfer of those skills to real-life situations” (Papastergiou, 2009). Papastergiou (2009)’s literature review concluded that students’ fitness, motor skills and behaviors towards health and fitness improved. In regards to my teaching experiences, I can relate to each the findings of the literature review. For example, in my yoga core class, my students often times struggle with their balance and coordination in poses. I have found that through the use of dancing my students have the ability to improve on these areas. To implement a fun and innovative way of dance, I have given my students the opportunity to play Wii Dance on a shorted day. This gives students the opportunity to not only think about the curriculum in a different way, but also helps them to progress in their ability to perform poses. Additionally, after doing some research about games available for my yoga core class, I found that Nintendo’s Wii Fit has yoga practices.

Example of Yoga on Wii Fit 

Given the practicality of gaming in regards to my content area, I can answer my question by saying that gaming has the potential to fit into the health and fitness curriculum both effectively and realistically.

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). National educational technology standards for students. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-students.

Papastergiou, M. (2009). Exploring the potential of computer and video games for health and physical education: A literature review. Computers & Education, 53(3), 603-622.

Yang, Y. T. C., & Chang, C. H. (2013). Empowering students through digital game authorship: Enhancing concentration, critical thinking, and academic achievement. Computers & Education, 68, 334-344.