Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010270355 | QA135.6 D53 2011 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
On Order
Summary
Summary
Stanford mathematician and NPR Math Guy Keith Devlin explains why, fun aside, video games are the ideal medium to teach middle-school math. Aimed primarily at teachers and education researchers, but also of interest to game developers who want to produce videogames for mathematics education, Mathematics Education for a New Era: Video Games as a Medium for Learning describes exactly what is involved in designing and producing successful math educational videogames that foster the innovative mathematical thinking skills necessary for success in a global economy.
Read the author's monthly MAA column Devlin's Angle
Author Notes
Dr. Keith Devlin is a senior researcher and the executive director of the Human Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute (HSTAR) at Stanford University. He is also a cofounder of the Stanford Media X research network and a regular contributor to NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday. His current research focuses on the use of different media to teach and communicate mathematics to diverse audiences. He also works on the design of information/reasoning systems for intelligence analysis.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
Mathematics education and ways to improve the process continue to be topics of interest to many policy makers, educators, and parents. Video games, unlike math, enjoy burgeoning popularity with children, as evidenced by estimates that over 90 percent of children play such games. In Mathematics Education for a New Era, Devlin (Stanford Univ.) examines how video games can be used to reinvigorate, reimagine, and reconceptualize mathematics instruction. The book, which is intended chiefly for educators, explores the central goals of mathematics instruction, key features of gaming, and how the two might be combined to improve student performance. Well-written and accessible, with a few illustrations, the book delineates characteristics that teachers might look for when examining games, types of mathematics ideally suited for such an environment, and advantages that such a transformation might have, specifically a self-paced learning environment and motivation for reluctant learners. Devlin includes a collection of resources, both Web and print based, for those interested in further exploring the topic. A strong complement to James Paul Gee's What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy (CH, Feb'04, 41-3564). Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. S. T. Schroth Knox College
