First the game, then the book
Broadly understood the pop culture, including video games, can become a pretext to expand the student’s interests.
In 2015, a survey was conducted on the reading preferences of contemporary junior high school students. In a prepared questionnaire, carried out in 3 junior high schools. The questionnaire asked: “What prompted you to read the books?”. The respondents (16%) replied that the games they played were the main motivation.
Most often they mentioned such book titles as:
- Game of Thrones,
- The Witcher,
- Metro 2033,
- Assassin’s Creed,
- Divine Comedy,
- Heart of Darkness,
- The stories of H.P. Lovecraft.
The research conducted by the author of the article proved that high school students, who describe themselves as gamers, reach for books with pleasure and even fascination under the influence of computer games. Most of them are motivated by reading books, by the desire to understand unclear threads, omitted in the game, or they treat these threads as an extension of the game’s plot and an extension of the adventure.
Thanks to computer games, we can support the construction of knowledge by the student and show them the ways of penetrating literature into popular culture. Video games can be used to talk about ethics, stereotypes, the vision of the world, and solving bothering educational issues, related, for example, to the correct feeling of emotions or empathy.
However, it should be remembered that all materials should be introduced wisely, carefully selected, and adapted to the educational process. A computer game cannot replace the basic tools used in a lesson, it should be treated as a variety to traditional classes. Such activities will make a modern student perceive science as a fantastic adventure in a world close to him and not a monotonous walk in a prehistoric space.
Wdowińska Monika, Najpierw gra, potem książka” – gry wideo jako motywacja do czytania wśród młodzieży szkół średnich, 2018