The Acquisition of 21^st-Century Skills Through Video Games: Minecraft Design Process Models and Their Web of Class Roles

Abstract

Background. Qian and Clark reported that little is known on the acquisition of 21st-century skills through video games and no educational model exists on how to best teach these skills in the classroom. Studies that explore educational models exhibited through video games like Minecraft contribute to the growing body of research in the field of game studies, game-based learning, and virtual environments. Aim. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the 21st-century design processes, skills, and behaviors of high school gamers in order to generate an educational model that illustrates how those classroom gamers attempted to critically think, create, communicate, and collaborate (Four Cs) in Minecraft. Method. The triangulated data collection included six qualitative case study interviews, observation data (with demographics) from thirteen participants, and visual artifacts from six classes grounded in social constructivist, social constructionist, and interpretivist theories. It should be noted that ninety-five students collaborated with the participants on the six Minecraft projects. Results. The data collection generated two educational Four Cs models that illustrate the participants’ leadership and design processes. Four 21st-century themes emerged from the research study: 1.) Leadership: Models for Design 2.) Navigating the 3D World, 3.) Think Outside-the-Box, and 4.) Real-world Connections. Conclusions. It can be concluded that Minecraft can help students learn to problem-solve, improve their research skills, be resourceful, multitask, and develop their social skills through teamwork (Four Cs). When students are given a task in Minecraft they will self-organize and student leaders will emerge. Minecraft challenged the participants to assess a problem, analyze it from another perspective, and find a creative solution collaboratively.

21st-Century Skills of Social Studies Students: Basis for a Proposed Training Program

“…Globally, students' 21 st -century skills have received extensive scholarly attention. Previous studies focused on the enhancement of these skills (Chu et al, 2021;Hewett et al, 2020;Kanbul, & Uzunboylu, 2017;Ridwan et al, 2017;Papanastasiou et al, 2019;Sanabria, & Arámburo-Lizárraga, 2017;Urbani et al, 2017), assessment of students' 21 st -century skills (Pellegrino, 2017;Siddiq et al, 2017), the relationship of 21 st -century skills and academic achievement (Ashraf, 2018), and important skills for the 21 st -century workforce (Rios et al, 2020;Short, & Keller-Bell, 2021).…”

Impact on the video game industry during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In recent years, teachers have integrated video games and virtual education as a way of fostering global empathy in children and young people, in other words, interest and curiosity to learn more about other countries and feel identified with their cultures [5] [6], as well as strengthening their skills and technical abilities [7]. Video games as a learning tool highlight the following typical characteristics of a 21st century video gamer: Being the strategist by fulfilling missions, being the creator by making his own game, being the communicator by building relationships and communities, being the hero by overcoming a great adventure, and be the creator of worlds and situations [8] [10]. However, there are video games that provide violent and socially resentful content, which is why it is important that parents accompany them in choosing and controlling the type of video game their allowed to play, especially amongst younglings [11] [12].…”

Öğrencilerin 21. Yüzyıl Beceri Düzeyleri ve Beceriler Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi

“…(Curtis, Comiskey, and Dempsey, 2016). In this study, it is aimed to reveal how these skills change each other by examining the level of relationship between 21st-century skills, which are thought to deeply affect students' future work lives (Hewett, Zeng, and Pletcher, 2020). Thus, by determining which skills are strong or weak, holistic approaches can be developed to develop these skills that are strong and weakly related.…”