Gaming in the HS Classroom: An interview with Jennifer Field

I recently conducted an interview with Jennifer Field, who is the head of the English Department at Stephen F. Austin High School in Sugarland, TX, about how she uses gaming in her classroom:

JP: Hi Jennifer, tell us about yourself!

Jennifer: I’m 32 and I’ve been teaching for 10 years now. I got my BA from Texas A&M and my MLA from Houston Baptist University

JP: How long have you been gaming, and how often do you game currently?

Jennifer Field

Jennifer: I’ve been gaming since my brother got an Atari for Christmas in the early 80’s. I fondly remember Pong. Depending on what I have to take home to grade or work on, I average about one to two hours 3 to 4 days a week, and usually on the weekends.

JP: Favorite console?

Jennifer: XBOX 360!

JP: You are a teacher who uses gaming as a tool during lessons. Can you give some background on how you do it/your methods?

Jennifer: You have to be able to connect books, themes, and other literary elements to current events and situations that students will understand. From my experience, the current generation of students play games more then they watch movies. I’ve found that by connecting those games to the literature that we read and to the elements that we teach, the students understand and apply themselves more.

JP: Do you have an specific examples of using video games in a lesson?

Jennifer: One example is my teaching method for the Journey of the Hero.  I teach British Literature, and almost everything those classes study follows this “Journey”. I used to use Star Wars as a modern example of the Journey (since Star Wars is “based” on the Journey), but not all of my students have seen the original Star Wars movies. Instead, during discussions on the different parts of the journey, I connect Journey elements to the different games that students are playing. Students don’t realize just how much literature affects the games they play, because the teaching community isn’t making these valuable connections for them.

JP: Can you share some game titles you use in classes?

Jennifer: I frequently use Gears of War, Halo, Too Human, and Mass Effect during our Journey discussions. The students then take the next step and make literary connections to other games as well! It’s great to see students connecting Beowulf’s journey to a game’s plot device, or in the middle of a lesson realize Beowulf’s “worth” by connecting it to a familiar story line from a game.

JP: Do you have any plans to expand the use of games in the classroom?

Jennifer: I’m currently planning to use clips from Bioshock to incorporate propaganda and dystopian themes into my next novel unit on Brave New World. If I taught Ayn Rand, I would have a field day, but it’s not on our approved list for Seniors.

JP: How do students feel about having a “gaming” teacher? I know in the library field, avid readers love librarians who are avid readers, and gamers love other librarians who game.

Jennifer: I’ve found that when students know you are a gamer, they feel more free to talk about games with you and they are more excited to participate in class, so there is a bigger personal connection than you get in a traditional educational lecture setting. I’ve even had students that will notice literary things in games and bring them to my attention (JP’s note: an example of students as content providers and creators, vs students as “blank slates to be lectured to”) . For instance, the achievement The Merchant of Venice in Assassins Creed II. I had a kid who actually realized that it was an allusion to Shakespeare!

JP: How do parents and school administration feel about gaming as a classroom tool? Do you encounter problems over content?

Jennifer: I don’t really think they have thought about it much. It isn’t a media that has made its way into the classroom, at least not at the High School level. I do remember reading a few years ago about a school that was using Dance Dance Revolution in their classrooms to combat obesity and get the students active.

I’d love to see games used in school, but I think there are so many questions raised that administrations will be wary of it for a while.

It also depends on the parents. Some parents are all for getting their child to learn no matter the method, while some may not want their children gaming in school. This creates a fine line for implementing it in the classroom.

JP: You have definitely showed us that gaming connects with your students and is a tool that makes learning easier for them. What do you think we can do as teachers and librarians to change the perception that “games are toys for kids?”

Jennifer: Educating the parents, school boards, and administration is the key. I think it would start with a study on the effects of gaming in the classroom. Taking one class and using games and showing the growth of the student’s abilities as it relates to the curriculum standards of the state, and then compare it to a traditional classroom.

JP: In the library world we call that “advocacy”. Speaking of gaming advocacy, would you be interested in sharing gaming-in-the-classroom tips, tricks, or lesson plans with the readers of 8bitlibrary.com?

Jennifer: Sure!

Don't you wish YOU had her as a teacher for High School English?!

JP: Great, I am totally looking forward to that! Any closing words on the connection between literacy & gaming?

Jennifer: Games tell a story, which is literature just in a different media. I believe strongly that teachers have to adapt to the current times to effectively help their students learn. As teachers we are taught to teach to all different learning types; visual, auditory, etc.  Because of this, gaming becomes a tool that hits all the learning styles of our different students.

JP: Thanks so much for sharing! See you on Xbox Live ;)

Jennifer: :-)

IF YOU ARE a teacher who uses console games in the classroom, please get in touch with one of us here at 8bitlibrary.com! We want to share your stories and experiences with others!