Inquiry-based Instruction: Not All Fun and Games

Abstract

This study seeks to examine the role of play in learning in order to define how games may be used as an effective tool for instruction in an inquiry-based classroom. Given the multitude of games that are available that purport to be educational, an effective means of choosing games for the classroom is explored. The connection between the use of inquiry-based instruction and games is investigated with an eye toward developing criteria for assessing games for use in the classroom. Numerous online games were evaluated from four different websites to determine the usefulness of these criteria for discriminating between games that were purely drill and games that involved inquiry-based instruction.