| Edited by Diane McGrath, Kansas State
University |
formerly Journal of Research on Computing in Education
JRTE, Volume 32, Number 1, Fall
1999
Cognition and Recreational
Computer
Games: Implications for Educational Technology
Hitendra Pillay, Joanne Brownlee, and Lynn
Wilss
Queensland University of Technology
Abstract
Contemporary research has indicated that students
enjoy
playing computer games. As a consequence,
recreational computer
games are becoming an increasingly significant
part of students’
lives. At the same time, use of educational
software in
schools is increasing. It has been proposed that
playing
recreational computer games may facilitate
cognitive processes
such as forming complex mental representations and
making
inferences. In this study, a qualitative approach
was adopted
to determine the cognitive processes students
engaged in
while playing recreational computer games. This
was conducted
with a view to determining the validity of
incorporating
computer game features into educational software.
Twenty-one
high school students participated. Results
indicated that
players practiced complex cognitive processes such
as interpreting
explicit and implicit information, inductive
reasoning,
metacognitive analysis, and problem solving.
Contributors
Dr. Hitendra Pillay is a senior lecturer and
deputy director
of the Centre for Cognitive Processes in Learning
at Queensland
University of Technology. His current research
focuses on
cognition and technology and learning in the
workplace.
Joanne Brownlee is an associate lecturer in the
School of
Learning and Development at Queensland University
of Technology.
Her research focuses on teacher education,
epistemological
beliefs, and constructivism. Lynn Wilss is a
senior research
assistant in the Center for Cognitive Processes in
Learning.
(Address: Dr. Hitendra Pillay, School of Learning
and Development,
Queensland University of Technology, Locked Bag
No. 2, Red
Hill Q4059, Australia;
h.pillay@qut.edu.au.)
A PDF file of the full article is available. Contact: jrte@iste.org. Please specifiy Volume
and Issue number.
Copyright © 1999, ISTE (International Society for
Technology in Education). All rights reserved.
| cognitive processes, computer games, graphical
problem solving, learning, reasoning. |
|
