Oklahoma State University study: creating computer games fosters critical and creative thinking skills

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Computer games have a broad appeal that transcends gender, culture, age and socio-economic status. New research from Oklahoma State University published in the International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing suggests creating computer games, rather than just playing them, could boost students’ critical and creative thinking skills, as well as broaden their participation in computing.

Principle investigator Nik Dalal, along with Parth Dalal, Subhash Kak, Pavlo Antonenko and Susan Stansberry, outline a case for using rapid computer game creation as an innovative teaching method that could ultimately help bridge the digital divide between those people lacking computer skills and access and those with them.

“We are looking at how this concept can be used to impart crucial thinking skills in an educational curriculum,” said Dalal, who also is a professor of management science and information systems at OSU. “We also are investigating how this concept can create a social and humanistic effect to help us bridge the digital divide.”

The project is collaborative, involving faculty and students from the Spears School of Business, the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education. The researchers’ goal is to create curriculum using a program called Rapid Computer Game Creation (RCGC) to teach technology, creative thinking and development to all levels of computer users.

“At this stage, we have looked at how this approach is being used at schools and colleges all over the United States,” Dalal said. “We are proposing to take this idea to develop a teaching model that can be taken to developing countries.”

Dalal said that by utilizing a teaching model that integrates computer game creation, students will not only have fun, but also they will  increase their knowledge in areas such as high-level programming, storytelling, creating plots, and selecting music, art and graphics.