Video games are a useful didactic tool for learning history and mathematics: a systematic review

Abstract

Video games have always been an object of leisure and entertainment for children and adults. Ignorance has led many people to view these types of games in a negative, violent or addictive way. The objective of this systematic review was to determine the use of video games in the field of education, specifically in mathematics and history, and to identify the benefits of playing video games on students’ academic performance. Method: a search was carried out in different databases: Pubmed, Web of Science, SciELO and Scopus, including studies published up to March 2021. Results: video games in the historical field improve learning, historical academic performance and their approach to students as well as motivation, fun and engagement, history comprehension and acquisition; and in mathematics, improve academic performance and math learning, problem solving, entertainment, fun and enjoyment, as well as the commitment and involvement of students in mathematics. Conclusions: most of the studies show the usefulness of video games during the learning process of history and mathematics for children. The implementation of video games at school increases the academic performance of students and improves their motivation. Therefore, the incorporation of video games as an educational tool is recommended.