Shilan Ahmadian

Gee (2007) states that using a video game is valuable for engagement in learning, which in turn leads to learning when you master a domain associated with the video game. The present study argues that engagement in video games has the potential to develop critical literacy in lower secondary students. It presents data from lower secondary school (8th grade), where gaming-based activities were used to create engagement and develop students’ ability to critically evaluate the potential of the game for learning in the English subject. The study draws on multiple data sources collected during a two-week gaming-based project about Native Americans in two English classes. In the observed lessons, one class read a book about Native Americans before playing the game This Land is My Land, whilst the other group played the game before reading the book. Data include (a) classroom videos, (b) students’ screen recordings from playing the game, (c) students’ written reflections after playing the game, (d) teachers’ screen recordings during feedback conversations with the students, and (e) teacher surveys concerning the gaming-based project.Findings indicate that students to a certain extent developed a critical stance to the game. A main finding concern their experiences of being engaged in the game, with differences indicating more engagement among the students who read before playing the game, compared to those who played the game before reading the book. Another main finding concern gender differences, in that several girls expressed concerns about the lack of female characters in the game, while the majority of the boys did not mention the gender of the (male) characters at all and instead expressed their opinions about technical aspects of the game.