This month’s Features
Using computer games to
help people with learning
difficulties
Interactive computer games have the potential to
help young people with learning difficulties master
everyday tasks and motivate them to learn, according
to new research from Nottingham Trent University.
PhD researcher, Rachael Folds,
from the University’s School
of Education, has studied how
repetitive use of interactive
mimetic digital games (IMDG),
such as those on the Nintendo
Wii and Xbox Kinect, could help
to improve certain skills.
The research was carried out
with Loughborough College students
who are undertaking specialist
training programmes that assist in
the transition from Special Schools
into further education courses. The
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participants were aged 16-24 and
have intellectual disabilities ranging
from Down’s syndrome to autism
spectrum disorder (ASD).
During the study the students
undertook pre and post test ‘realworld’ activities. The first part of the
project – tennis - involved 24 students
hitting ten forehand and backhand
balls and serving ten balls. They were
then asked to carry out the same
task on a Wii tennis game at regular
intervals over five weeks. The second
stage - bowling - asked 18 students to
knock down as many pins as possible
with five balls and this was then
replicated over five weeks on an Xbox
Kinect bowling game. After playing
the computer games, the students
repeated the real-world exercise and
their results were compared.
Both the cycles showed significant
statistical improvements in their
abilities in various activities. During
the five week Wii trial, 75% of the
group experienced an increase in
their computer game scores and the
final test showed that the students’
real-life tennis skill level has improved
by an average of 53%.
The second stage of the project
showed even more significant
findings, 94% got higher scores in
week five than they did in the first
week playing the computer game and
the average increase in their bowling
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This month’s Features
real-world skills was 143% after
interacting with the game.
This research aimed to ascertain
two main points, firstly, whether
the use of these types of games
can improve task association and,
secondly, are the students motivated
by them? By utilising questionnaires
and focus groups to ascertain the
participants’ views, they willingly
engaged in the study and were keen
to offer their views.
When the students were questioned
following the project, it was discovered
that their enjoyment level of the
real-world activity increased after the
intervention of the Kinect bowling
game. 73.3% rated their enjoyment
as high on the enjoyment scale in the
pre-test activity compared with 94.1%
in the post-test activity, demonstrating
that they enjoyed the task more after
learning the required skills with the
game.
In addition, 92% of the students
said they would like to play computer
games to learn in college in the future
and the same number thought that
IMDG help them to learn better than
e-learning UPDATE n www.teachingtimes.com
traditional methods associated with
traditional teaching. 93% commented
that the games had elements that
encouraged their interest, 87% said
they had learnt some things that were
surprising or unexpected using the
game and 100% of the participants
stated that after playing each game,
they were confident that they could
pass a test on what they had learnt.
The research and resulting
analysis determined that the students
were motivated by the learning
embedded in the game and that they
preferred this type of instruction to
more traditional methods employed
in the classroom. They felt that
the IMDG games were effective in
keeping their attention and were
relevant to learning the task given
to them. They were confident in
both what they were doing and the
transference of new skills to a realworld environment, as well as feeling
a sense of satisfaction in what they
had learnt.
Rachael Folds said: “The initial
results from this small sample suggest
that interactive games teach the
students movements which they can
improve upon and mimic in everyday
life. Although they were playing
tennis and bowling in the trial, games
which teach them how to do things
like bake a cake or change a tyre
could potentially be very beneficial.
“Most educators would agree that
learner motivation is an important
variable and therefore an aspect
that cannot be overlooked when
developing or utilising tools within
a learning environment. Learning
can be defined quite simply as a
goal driven task, where students are
given, or work towards a goal, such
as learning the periodic table. The
students really enjoyed taking part in
this project and found it a rewarding
and enriching learning experience,
they were very motivated to learn
using this method.
“It has been stated for many
years that students require a learning
environment that is more focussed
on game based learning and I feel
that this research underlines that
sentiment and indicates that it is
also applicable to students with
intellectual disabilities. The outcomes
were certainly very interesting and I
think this is an area which warrants
further research so we can build on
how we best teach children with
special educational needs.”
Anita Smith, from Loughborough
College, said: “Loughborough
College staff have found that the
digital games based learning project
has been a positive motivator for the
learners that have taken part. One
student, when asked about their
accomplishments at college in the
last year, stated that “learning with
the Xbox Kinect has helped my
achievement this year”.
“Our students often have
difficulties in focusing their attention
and this project has enabled them
improve their motivation and
concentration on learning. We
are looking forward to expanding
the research in collaboration with
Rachael by actively involving more
students in 2011-2012, as well as
developing the learners’ skills using
digital game based learning in the
future.”
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