Introduction: Digital Games as a Context for Cognitive Development, Learning, and Developmental Research

Abstract

The authors present reasons why developmental psychologists should care about children's and adolescents' digital game play. These reasons may be identified as: a) digital game play is an integral aspect of children's and adolescents' lives; b) digital game play contributes to learning and cognitive development; and c) developmental research has the potential to contribute to effective educational game design. The authors expand on these reasons with the goal of introducing or reintroducing to developmental psychologists a rich and very relevant context in which to examine children's and adolescents' applied cognitive development.

Digital Games as a Context for Children's Cognitive Development: Research Recommendations and Policy Considerations

“…Among the few studies that have examined the ramifications of digital game play for cognitive development during middle childhood or adolescence (see Blumberg & Fisch, ; Calvert, ), findings have shown enhanced executive functioning (Best, ; Flynn & Richert, ; Flynn, Richert, Staiano, Wartella, & Calvert, ; Staiano, Abraham, & Calvert, ), metacognition (VanDeventer & White, ), mental rotation skills (De Lisi & Wolford, ; Quaiser‐Pohl, Geiser, & Lehmann, ), basic mathematical understanding (Deater‐Deckard, El Mallah, Chang, Evans, & Norton, ; Fisch, Lesh, Motoki, Crespo, & Melfi, ), and problem‐solving ability more generally (Blumberg & Randall, ; Greenfield et al., ). Further, it is increasingly recognized that games may enhance some of the core cognitive abilities, such as selective attention, that underlie the ability to acquire academic content or skills (Franceschini et al., )—a process that has been dubbed “learning to learn” (Bavelier, Green, Pouget, & Schrater, ).…”

Edutainment, Games, and the Future of Education in a Digital World

“…The features that make games so attractive that the worldwide population spends over three billion hours a week playing them (McGonigal, ) are well identified and were outlined by Blumberg and Fisch (): curiosity, challenge, and fantasy (Malone, ); the interactivity provided by feedback loops influencing the unfolding of the game (Renkl & Atkinson, ); the sense of agency and mastery of one's outcomes that this interactivity allows (Qin, Rau, & Salvendy, ); the progression to higher levels of performance facilitated by feedback (Liao, Chen, Cheng, Chen, & Chan, ); the possibility to interact with game characters, other players, and to create an identity through avatars (Blascovich & Bailenson, ); and the feeling of immersion afforded by advanced digital technologies (Kickmeier‐Rust & Albert, ) that explain why gamers experience a sense of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, ).…”

“…The spring 2013 issue of this journal ( New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development , Vol. 139) focused on “why developmental psychologists should care about children's and adolescents’ digital game play” (Blumberg & Fisch, , p. 1). The focus of this article goes beyond developmental research, addressing the broader implications for educational policy and practice, as initially raised by Levine and Vaala ().…”

Digital Teaching Materials and Their Relationship with the Metacognitive Skills of Students in Primary Education

“…Addressing cognitive processes through digital activities or games may be done to promote reflection processes. Working on these aspects, as well as on the students' learning strategies, may aid metacognitive development [43,44]. Consideration should also be given to students' cognitive limitations when choosing the material to be used in the classroom.…”

“…Consideration should also be given to students' cognitive limitations when choosing the material to be used in the classroom. These restrictions depend on the students' development stage, as it may affect the understanding of and performance at the tasks the material [14,44]. In turn, the use of these digital materials in the classroom may provide teachers with support in the schooling processes that are most suited to their students, which will also guide the individual observations and assessments of student progress [41].…”