Kafai & Burke (2015) Constructionist gaming: Understanding the benefits of making games for learning



The purpose of this article is to determine the educational benefits of allowing children to design games.

The article begins by synthesizing fifty-five studies regarding making games and learning. Through this synthesis it was found that most of these studies focused on using game making to teach coding and academic content but there were few studies regarding collaboration and identity in game making. The article then argues for the use of games for collaboration and identity. Making games helps to connect students to each other. It also brings up the issues of diversity and access.

This doesn’t really relate much to the other articles because it’s about game making and not about game playing although there are some connections to the article Design of Educational Multiplayer Videogames: A Vision from Collaborative Learning because they both advocate for the enhancement of collaboration through games.

The keywords for this article are: constructionist gaming, personal dimensions, social dimensions, cultural dimensions, connected gaming

Some useful articles were:

Abelson, H. & DiSessa, A. (1980). Turtle geometry: The computer as a medium for exploring mathematics. Cambridge, Ma: MIT Press.


Brennan, K., & Resnick, M. (2012, April). New frameworks for studying and assessing the development of computational thinking. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Retrieved from http://web.media.mit.edu/∼kbrennan/files/Brennan_Resnick_AERA2012_CT.pdf


Cassell, J. & Jenkins, H. (1998). (Eds.). From Barbie to Mortal Kombat. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.


Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.


Gee, J. P. (2008). “Learning and games.” In K. Salen (Ed.), The ecology of games: Connecting youth, games, and learning (pp. 21–40). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.


Girard, C., Ecalle, J., & Magant, A. (2012). Serious games as new educational tools: how effective are they? A meta-analysis of recent studies. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(3), 1–13.


Grover, S., & Pea, R. (2013). Computational thinking in K–12: A review of the state of the field. Educational Researcher, 42, 38–43.


Ito, M., Horst, H., Bittanti, M., Boyd, D., Herr-Stephenson, B., Lange, P., … Robinson, R. (2009). Living and learning with new media: Summary of findings from the digital youth project. Chicago, IL: John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.


Jenkins, H., Clinton, K., Purushotma, R., Robison, A., & Weigel, M. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: media education for the 21st century (White Paper). Chicago, IL: John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.


Kafai, Y. B. (1995). Minds in play: Computer game design as a context for children's learning. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.


Kafai, Y. B. (2006). Playing and making games for learning: Instructionist and constructionist perspectives for game studies. Games & Culture, 1, 36–40.


Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.


Margolis, J., Estrella, R., Goode, J., Holme, J. J., & Nao, K. (2008). Stuck in the shallow end. Education, race, and computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.


Margolis, J., & Fisher, A. (2002). Unlocking the clubhouse: Women in computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.


Papert, S. (1991). Situating constructionsim. In I. Harel & S. Papert (Eds.), Constructionism (pp. 1–12). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.


Piaget, J. (1951). Play, dreams, and imitation in childhood. New York, NY: Norton.


Provenzo, E. J. (1991). Video kids: Making sense of Nintendo. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.


Shaffer, D. (2007). How computer games help children learn. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan.


Squire, K. (2011). Video games and learning: Teaching and participatory culture in the digital age. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.


Taylor, R. P. (1980). The computer in schools: Tutors, tools, tutees. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.


Turkle, S., & Papert, S. (1991). Epistemological pluralism: Styles and voices within the computer culture. Signs, 16, 128–157.


Vogel, J. J., Vogel, D. S., Cannon-Bowers, J., Bowers, C. A., Muse, K., & Wright, M. (2013). Computer gaming and interactive simulations for learning: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 34, 229–243.


Warschauer, M., & Matuchniak, T. (2010). New technology and digital worlds: Analyzing evidence of the equity in access, use and outcomes. Review of Research in Education, 34, 179–225.


Williams, L., & Kessler, R. (2002). Pair programming illuminated. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.


Wing, J. M. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35.


Wouters, P., van Nimwegen, C., von Oostendorp, H., & van der Spek, E. D. (2013). A meta-analysis of the cognitive and motivational effects of serious games. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105, 249–265.


Young, M. F., Slota, S., Cutter, A. R., Jalette, G., Mullin, G., Lai, B., … Yukhymenko, M. (2012). Our princess is another castle: A review of trends in serious gaming for education. Review of Educational Research, 82, 61–89.

Some questions I have after reading this article are:

What classes would game making be useful for?

Is game making more beneficial than game playing?

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