How Video Games Enhance Learning: A Discussion of James Paul Gee’s Views in His Book What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy

Abstract

The function of video games for effective learning has long been under heated discussions and studies. James Paul Gee is one of the best well-known experts in the field of video games, and he studied video games from a new and comprehensive perspective. He believes that the theory of learning in good video games is relevant to the theories of learning in cognitive science. His book, What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy, presents 36 learning principles in video games, and discusses how video games enhance learning. This paper is a summary of the main view points of his book, and makes the conclusion that video games can enhance learning based on the theory of learning and basic needs of human beings. Some critical comments on Gee’s opinions are made.

Funded by: Beijing philosophy and social science planning project “The strategies to cultivate the creative thinking based on the game based learning” (No: 13JYB011). The corresponding author of the paper is Junjie Shang.