Constructionist Gaming: Understanding the Benefits of Making Games for Learning

TLDR

Interest in video games for education has grown, yet the role of children creating their own games—promoting technical skills and social connection while addressing access and diversity gaps—has been largely overlooked. This article reviews 55 studies on game making and learning and argues for a more inclusive constructionist perspective in serious gaming. The authors reviewed and synthesized 55 studies from the past decade on game making and learning. The review revealed that most studies emphasize coding and academic content, with few addressing collaboration or identity, yet game making also enhances technical skills and social connection, mitigating access and diversity issues.

Abstract

There has been considerable interest in examining the educational potential of playing video games. One crucial element, however, has traditionally been left out of these discussions-namely, children's learning through making their own games. In this article, we review and synthesize 55 studies from the last decade on making games and learning. We found that the majority of studies focused on teaching coding and academic content through game making, and that few studies explicitly examined the roles of collaboration and identity in the game making process. We argue that future discussions of serious gaming ought to be more inclusive of constructionist approaches to realize the full potential of serious gaming. Making games, we contend, not only more genuinely introduces children to a range of technical skills but also better connects them to each other, addressing the persistent issues of access and diversity present in traditional digital gaming cultures.