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James Paul Gee

What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Second Edition: Revised and Updated Edition Paperback – December 26, 2007

by James Paul Gee (Author)

136 ratings

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James Paul Gee begins his classic book with "I want to talk about video games--yes, even violent video games--and say some positive things about them." With this simple but explosive statement, one of America's most well-respected educators looks seriously at the good that can come from playing video games. In this revised edition, new games like World of WarCraft and Half Life 2 are evaluated and theories of cognitive development are expanded. Gee looks at major cognitive activities including how individuals develop a sense of identity, how we grasp meaning, how we evaluate and follow a command, pick a role model, and perceive the world.

Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publisher

St. Martin's Griffin
Publication date

December 26, 2007
Dimensions

6.31 x 0.69 x 9.35 inches
ISBN-10

1403984530
ISBN-13

978-1403984531
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Gee astutely points out that for video game makers, unlike schools, failing to engage children is not an option.” ―Terrence Hackett, The Chicago Tribune

“These games succeed because, according to Gee, they gradually present information that is actually needed to perform deeds.” ―Norman A. Lockman, USA Today

“James Paul Gee's What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy has been a transformative work. Gee might be described as the Johnny Appleseed of the serious games movement, planting seeds that are springing new growth everywhere we look. More than anyone else, he has forced educators, parents, policy makers, journalists, and foundations to question their assumptions and transform their practices. Gee combines the best contemporary scholarship in the learning scientists with a gamer's understanding of what is engaging about this emerging medium.” ―Henry Jenkins, author of Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide

About the Author

James Paul Gee has been featured in a variety of publications including Redbook, Child, Teacher, USA Today, Education Week, The Chicago Tribune, and more. He was formerly the Tashia Morgridge Professor of Reading at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is now the Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University. He is a founder of the Center for Games and Impact at ASU which orchestrated a national conversation on games and learning for the White House Office of Science and Technology. Described by The Chronicle of Higher Education as "a serious scholar who is taking a lead in an emerging field," he is the author of What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Griffin; 2nd edition (December 26, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1403984530
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1403984531
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.31 x 0.69 x 9.35 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #729,853 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #321 in Human-Computer Interaction (Books)
- #1,080 in Educational Psychology (Books)
- #1,127 in Education Reform & Policy

Customer Reviews:
136 ratings

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James Paul Gee

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James Paul Gee is the Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies and Regents’ Professor at Arizona State University. He is a member of the National Academy of Education. His books include: Sociolinguistics and Literacies (Fifth Edition 2015); Situated Language and Learning (2004); An Introduction to Discourse Analysis (Fourth Edition 2014); What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy (Second Edition 2007); How to Do Discourse Analysis (Second Edition 2014); The Anti-Education Era: Creating Smarter Students through Digital Media (2013); and Literacy and Education (2015). Prof. Gee has published widely in journals in linguistics, psychology, the social sciences, and education.

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4 star		16%
3 star		8%
2 star		3%
1 star		3%

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Ilya Grigorik

Principles of deep learning

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2013

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Good video games offer players strong identities; they make players think like scientists; they lower the consequences of failure; ... In short, good games provide an environment that is optimized for deep-learning. Best of all, all of these concepts are directly applicable to learning just about any skill - from how to traverse a virtual landscape, to basic science, math, and yes, even good social skills.

That's not to say that every video game on the shelf will meet the above criteria, but as James Gee points points out: many do. After all, if they don't, they're out of business. In the meantime, our educational system could really benefit from picking up a few of the techniques described in this book - ever wonder why so many "ADHD students" can't sit still in class, but then spend hours concentrated on a video game? Perhaps it's not the students, but rather the method of delivery and the content itself? The book offers 36 principles that are often found in great games, and which can help us build both better classrooms and computer games -- or, even better, classrooms with engaging computer games.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Stacey

An Eloquent Description of Learning that Happens in Video Games

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2011

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I do not play video games, however, after reading this book I now have a new respect for video games. Gee clearly and eloquently explains the kind of learning that is encouraged in well-designed video games.

This book is NOT a methods book. You will NOT learn techniques on how to design better games or better instruction. But you WILL learn how video games encourage deep learning (i.e., a deep understanding of the game and how to be successful) and develop critical thinking skills that players use to become successful at playing a specific game AND video games in general. You will learn that game designers deliberately develop deep learning and critical thinking skills, NOT to make players experts in zombies or war, but to set them up to be successful at playing the game and to have a great game playing experience. That gamers foster learning that develops self-esteem and self-efficacy through game play. Gee will also share his opinion of how the educational system might incorporate these elements in the classroom to foster critical thinking and deep learning of subject matter.

If you don't play video games, this book will give you insight in to the kind of learning that is deliberately encouraged in video games.
If you DO play video games, you'll develop an understanding of why the games you play are designed that way.
If you design instruction (or video games) you'll now have a framework and a vocabulary you can use to design and discuss those elements that make learning engaging and effective.

14 people found this helpful

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Mia Kalish, Ph.D.

Analysis that fits my experience yet is future forward

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2017

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Gee has obviously practiced what he preaches and the results show the solidness of the megastructure that work has produced. Careful reading exposes both the theoretical and practical frameworks essential to “good” teaching and maybe better yet, the design of good games for learners of disciplines that are not well-taught in schools.

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AndreasPer

A great and timely book

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2018

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Being a baby-boomer I have been a skeptic of video games but recognizing at the same time that the lack of extensive manuals and the encouraging of exploration in order to learn, as exemplified in video games is much closer to real life than the top-down, linear learning view that manuals represent.
This books makes a great case for the principles of learning embedded in video games which are very very relevant in our knowledge intensive world.
It is no surprise that recently the corporate world is beginning to talk about "gamification" and "user experiences".
Highly recommended to anyone who cares about our education system!

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Taylor Ellwood

the 36 principles of learning found in video games

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2014

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This is an intriguing book that explores what video games can teach people about how we learn. The author develops 36 principles of learning which can be found in video games and shows through both personal experience and interviews with gamers how these principles work. In that process he also makes some interesting connections between identity, meaning and learning. What I found most useful about this book is how it got me to think about identity in a different way than I'd previously conceived it. Highly recommended to anyone who is interested in how we learn.

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Doc Hudson

A good start

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 3, 2014

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If you want a good introduction into video games and learning, this is a great place to start. It's intelligently written and accessible.

Amy Taylor

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 5, 2015

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Great book - very interesting

V. Schreiber

A different perspective on video games and learning

Reviewed in Germany on March 7, 2010

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Gee provides a rather narrow and previously unheard perspective on games: The strategies of learning they employ to help gamers understand how to play each game.

Surprisingly (at least to me), they - according to Gee - are very similar to the strategies that cognitive science and learnign science propose for active and critical learning. So, in the process of reading this book the reader gains not only insight in the functionality of video games, but also in modern learning theories:

How for instance good learning about physics not only focuses on content (like physical principles), but also on the "domain of physics" itself: Understanding specific values, language, and goals practiced within the scientific community. Or that learning about a certain domain (natural or human science, music, games..) forms the identity of a learner.

Certaing games (Gee labels them "good games") are very good at adressing these issues, and are therefore easy and fun to learn for the player, reward her at the right moment and so on.

In the book, Gee describes a whole of 36 of such principles of good learning and analyses modern games of different genres according to these principles. He focuses on complex games that allow the player to enter a virtual wold or tell a complex story. Examples from the text include The Sims, Half Life, Halo, Picmin, World Of Warcraft, Arcanum, Time Machine, Castle Wolfenstein... (just to list a few).

I found the book very interesting, especially from the perspective of producing educational and serious games. I also liked the structure of the book, where each principle is explained by different expamples from games or scientific studies. The text is easy to read, entertaining (when Gee talks about his own expieriences with games), and occasionally provocative (like, when he states that computergames are sometimes better at teaching than school teachers).

However, the reader will not (or only marginally) find topics like violence in games, gender roles or video game addiction covered.

About me: I studied digital media technology and design, have a lot of experience in playing video games and am reading the book primarily as theoretical background for creating an educational game.

3 people found this helpful

Maelen Moonsinger

Wake-up call

Reviewed in Canada on February 22, 2016

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Commonsensical in an area where a lot of teachers are suffering from severe cases of crano-rectal inversion. Helps them understand why the kid who can't finish a short story at school will then go home and show he has all the 800 written documents in Skyrim memorized.

S'cratchy the Khajiit: I'm more interesting that George Washington, teacher. That's not because Washington is boring. It's because you are.

Luisde

La ideas de Gee son frescas e interesantes

Reviewed in Spain on August 6, 2014

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Yo creo que es referente indispensable sobre el papel de los videojuegos en la educación. Gee no discute cómo usar los juegos en el aula sino que explica como los videojuegos son herramientas educativas que nos enseñan a resolver problemas difíciles.

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