University of Milan-Bicocca, video gaming in the classroom improves student learning

Videogames and school learning. Two realities that in common feeling might seem to be in antithesis but that now two scientific studies conducted under the guidance of Marcello Sarini, a computer science researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Milan-Bicocca, instead place in strong correlation. In the two papers, reported in the article 'Video Games in Schools: Putting Flow State in Context', published in the international journal 'Information' (https://doi.org/10.3390/info16100922), it is pointed out that 'video games in the classroom, through the achievement of an environmental flow state, promote a positive learning climate and also foster shared well-being', as Sarini, first author of the article, explains.

"The positive value of video games, even in a school context, comes through what in psychology is defined as the flow state, a gratifying experience in itself, which leads to complete absorption and concentration, with positive repercussions on the emotional aspect," Sarini adds. After having explored in the past the use of video games as a creative tool in a therapeutic process with Francesco Bocci, an Adlerian psychotherapist and creator of the Video Game Therapy approach, the Milan-Bicocca researcher shifted the focus of his research to the school environment, aiming to assess how video game sessions in the classroom can lead to a favourable learning climate for those who play, thanks also to the achievement of a state of flow during the games. Two schools were involved: the Spada institute in Sovere (Bergamo) with four second classes for a total of 86 students, plus the Galileo Galilei high school and the Sarrocchi institute in Siena, with three classes, all thirds, two from the high school and one from the technical institute specialising in IT, for a total of 56 students.

"The study involved filling out some questionnaires with measurement scales, completing an exercise in a maximum time (ten minutes), a 20-minute game session, completing another exercise of comparable difficulty to the previous one (again with ten minutes available), and filling out a final questionnaire," continues the Milan-Bicocca researcher. Commercial-type video games were used. In the Sovere study, 'Sonic Dash', a free action and platform game. In the Siena study, in addition to "Sonic Dash", a video game of a different genre was used, "Life is Strange", a narrative adventure in which a high school student discovers she has the ability to rewind time and can change her choices.
"In both studies, although not to the detriment of the quality and correctness of the answers, the resolution times of the exercises after the game session decreased significantly," notes Sarini. In Sovere, whereas before playing the game the children needed an average of 48 seconds and 31 hundredths to complete an arithmetic exercise, after playing it took 27 seconds and 59 hundredths, a drop of about 21 seconds. In Siena, on average, the time to complete a literature exercise was reduced from 104 seconds and 47 hundredths to 87 seconds, a difference of 17 and a half seconds.

Other data were collected during the research project: for example, in the Sovere study, not only the individual flow state was investigated, but also the environmental one, which has to do with performing the same activity individually while sharing the same space, in this case the classroom. "Particular patterns emerged for each of the classes involved, even though they were homogeneous in terms of age, gender, weight and height, arithmetic grade point averages and prior knowledge of the game", which will be the subject of future analysis. Another data measured, using a special sensor, was the carbon dioxide emission, with significantly different results from class to class.
Both studies also investigated whether video games of different genres could show more specific patterns with respect to environmental flow and the emotions felt and shared collectively. "'Sonic Dash', which favours a more reactive and competitive mode over the more narrative game, tends to significantly decrease perceived emotional synchrony, i.e. the ability of the students involved to feel the same emotions at the same time in the video game," the researcher points out.
The conclusion of the two studies looks forward. "Based on these observations, it is possible to think, in the future, that educators and teachers will be able to modulate game experiences to foster states compatible with the type of educational experience they want to facilitate, moment by moment".