Digital Games: A Context for Cognitive Development: New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, Number 139

In the United States and in many other countries around the world, digital games have become an integral part of children’s lives. Discussions of research on youth and digital games often focus solely on negative effects (e.g., of violent video games), but this is far from the whole story. As natural problem–solving activities, digital games provide a rich context for applied cognition. This volume explores topics such as the benefits of digital games for children and adolescents’ cognitive skills, the nature of their learning from educational media, the influence of developmental factors on their interactions with digital games, and the use of developmental research and established educational practice to create effective educational games that they will play.

1. Introduction: Digital Games as a Context for Cognitive 1 Development, Learning, and Developmental Research Fran C. Blumberg, Shalom M. Fisch This introductory chapter outlines reasons why developmental psychologists should care about children’s and adolescents’ learning in the context of digital games and previews each of the chapters composing the volume. 2. The Challenge of Audience Reception: A Developmental 11 Model for Educational Game Engagement John L. Sherry The author presents a model for research and development of educational games based on uses and gratifications theory from communication science and on developmental science and cognitive science findings. 3. Engagement States and Learning from Educational Games 21 Kirby Deater–Deckard, Mido Chang, Michael E. Evans The authors present an innovative and comprehensive model of engagement states experienced during learning and apply that model to research on educational game development. 4. Applying Developmental Theory and Research to the 31 Creation of Educational Games Glenda Revelle An overview is presented of key theoretical observations and research based insight regarding children’s development, including discussion of practical implications for game design. 5 . The Impact of Recreational Video Game Play on Children’s 41 and Adolescents’ Cognition Fran C. Blumberg, Elizabeth A. Altschuler, Debby E. Almonte, Maxwell I. Mileaf This chapter reviews research concerning the cognitive benefits of video game play among children and adolescents and their impressions of video games as learning tools. 6. Electronic Gaming and the Obesity Crisis 51 Sandra L. Calvert, Amanda E. Staiano, Bradley J. Bond The authors examine the positive contributions of digital game play to combating the current pediatric obesity crisis. 7. Cross–Platform Learning: On the Nature of Children’s 59 Learning from Multiple Media Platforms Shalom M. Fisch This author surveys recent studies examining cross–platform learning (i.e., learning from combined use of several media platforms) and how such learning compares to learning from one medium. 8. Commentary—Games for Learning: Vast Wasteland or a 71 Digital Promise? Michael H. Levine, Sarah E. Vaala This chapter reviews benefi ts of digital game play research and development for improving educational attainment among the nation’s youth, and identifies some directions for future research. INDEX 83