Commercial Video Games as Preparation for Future Learning

To examine the learning benefits on traditional school content of recreational play of commercial games, 102 community-college participants were randomly assigned to play Call of Duty 2, Civilization IV, or no game at home for at least 15 hours over 5 weeks. All participants then took a short multiple-choice test about World War II history; heard a 20-minute lecture about World War II; and then took another multiple-choice test about World War II history. Results (using an intention-to-treat analysis) showed no differences on the pre-lecture test but a positive effect (Cohen’s d = .27) of gameplay on the post-lecture test, suggesting that recreational gameplay had prepared participants to learn from the lecture. These findings suggest a new role for games in learning contexts, in which the games—instead of carrying the educational load alone—provide compelling experiences that are coupled with the powerful explanatory structures of a formal curriculum.