Why Gaming?

Perhaps a better question than "Why game?" would be
"What do we want to accomplish as teachers with our students?"

Virtually every instructor would reply that they want to have successful students who are engaged and who are applying and transferring the knowledge they acquire in the classroom.

Today's students are digital natives and they expect the same kinds of power-performanced learning in the classroom that they engage in culturally. Additionally, employers are seeking specific skills from the workforce, skills that traditional lecture-based classes are not developing.

While gaming is not the only answer to the current crisis in learning it certainly is one viable methodology that instructors can utilize to bridge the disconnect that exists between students' lives and the classroom.

Educational games involve students immediately in highly difficult tasks that are intrinsically motivating, require the acquisition of new knowledge and skills, and reinforce through a supportive environment and self-reflection.

CEGH games are based on the pedagogies of constructivist problems-based, collaborative learning theories and structures. The games encourage students to create complex schemas to difficult problems by constructing their own knowledge in reaction to direct and sensory inputs from authentic experiences.