Using Video Games to Jumpstart Student-Centered Research and Inquiry in the General Education Humanities Classroom

Authors

Melissa Ridley Elmes, Lindenwood UniversityFollow

Abstract

This article discusses preliminary results of a study of the author’s use of gaming to facilitate research-based writing assignments in her classes, focusing specifically on a 200-level general education introductory literature course, The Medieval World, taught in Spring 2023 at a U.S. midwestern private university. The purpose of the study was to determine whether approaching topic selection for the research-based writing assignment in a general education literature course through gaming could result in more student buy-in and thus, greater student retention, better student work, and a more successful learning experience and outcome for such an assignment than does a traditional academic approach to this work. The preliminary findings show that this approach did lead to more and higher quality engagement and a generally positive experience with the research-based written assignment for this class, as reported by students via survey and reflection and verified by the professor’s observations of the quantity and quality of those students’ work.

Recommended Citation

Ridley Elmes, Melissa (2023) "Using Video Games to Jumpstart Student-Centered Research and Inquiry in the General Education Humanities Classroom," International Journal of Emerging and Disruptive Innovation in Education : VISIONARIUM: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.62608/2831-3550.1011
Available at: https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/ijedie/vol1/iss1/6

Date

30 June 2023

Comments

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