The Lecture VS. the Game

Authors

  • David J. Fritzsche

Abstract

"Learning is obviously enhanced when the student can relate new concepts and words to his present inventory of knowledge and experience. The lecture presents many new concepts and words and normally attempts to relate them to previous discussions. Experience tells us, however, that despite our attempts to provide a well-rounded coverage of the course material in the traditional lecture or lecture discussion class setting, much of the information we present is never received by the student, or if it is received, the information is stored in temporary memory rather than in permanent memory. We are all familiar with the purging process that takes place in temporary memory following the examination. Thus our challenge as educators is twofold: (1) to increase the amount of information placed in student memory and (2) to increase the proportion of this information placed in permanent memory relative to temporary memory. My prescription for meeting this challenge is to get the student actively engaged in the learning process. I have been searching for ways to increase student activism in the learning process for several years. The ideal situation would appear to be to set up each student with a business of his own to run. The student would incorporate the principles learned in the classroom into the business setting. This guided, real life experience would force the student to discover relationships and techniques first hand which are alluded to in the classroom. Unfortunately, we do not enjoy the luxury of unlimited funding at RIT and thus cannot subsidize student run business. However, I am here to report upon what I believe to be a viable alternative which employs a computerized game as a substitute for the actual business enterprise. Of course, the use of the game is not new. However, I believe the way in which it is used is new, and rather exciting."

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Published

1974-03-13