Why The Game Show Format Is Effective For Teaching

Researchers and trainers agree: Game shows are a great way to reinforce learning.

Playing games reinforces learning. This is a bold statement that some may dismiss as frivolous, but countless researchers and corporate trainers have the studies and experience to prove that games are one of the most powerful and successful ways to reinforce learning in adults.

"The idea of embedding academic learning in an entertaining format is centuries old, because it works," says Eric Jensen in his book The Learning Brain (Turning Point Publishing, 1995). "Creative presentations afford the opportunity for students to reach social, artistic and emotional goals. But more important is the fact that in these contexts, learning becomes more enjoyable. Learners exercise choice and creativity, and there is minimum negative pressure."

Just like children, adults enjoy playing games. They like to laugh, and they remember information that is tied to strong emotions. When a game is introduced into a serious classroom environment, participants relax, they get excited, they compete and, most importantly, they remember the event and the information tied to it.

"I can recall every question and answer in the game we won," says Canada Airlines flight attendant Marnie Wilkinson about a Game Show training session she played recently in an annual review course.

"When the questions came up, I'd think 'Oh I remember that,' and BANG!, I'd be hitting the button on the Game Show system to get the points." Her instructor, Sam Elfassy, decided the game was a much better way to end the course and reinforce the learning than a traditional written exam. "When new information is transferred in an appealing way, it stays with you," he says. "If your emotions are engaged, you learn more."

"The content of the course — Handling of Dangerous Goods — was pretty boring," Wilkinson adds, "but putting it in a game format made it more fun." She still chides colleagues in passing about beating them at the game.

Entertained students learn more.

Why does the information we learn from games stay with us? Because our emotions rule us. "Positive emotions allow the brain to make better perceptual maps," says Jensen. "That means that when we are feeling positive, we are able to sort out our experiences better and recall them with more clarity."

"Gameshows engage students in just the right way," says Elfassy, program developer of the Air Crew training department for Canadian Air Lines in Toronto "It's visual and audio, and it's exciting and fun to play. Whereas exams are devoid of any engaging elements and increase the stress levels of the students."

Melody Davidson, training manager for McDonald's Corp. in Seattle agrees. "It's far more effective to do experiential learning," she says. Davidson uses gameshows in nine training seminars to reinforce 'nuts and bolts' information like the temperature of the fry vats and garbage collection schedules. "Tests may prove this kind of information transfer, but gameshows are more fun. It's a 'do and learn' opportunity that lets students reach conclusions on their own."

Davidson sets up the Jeopardy-style game in a multi-tiered format so that winners compete against each other, and the best ones go to the national convention, where they have playoffs for "Top of the Arch" employee awards.

Stress relief reinforces learning.

When training is intensive, games are an immediate way to lower the stress level of students — quite the opposite of looming exams. "Laughter can lower stress and boost alertness," says Dr. Norman Cousins in the book Anatomy of an Illness.

Carla Kaufman, applications knowledge specialist for Lawson Software in St. Paul takes advantage of that. She uses gameshows in the classroom to liven up students during a heavy two week applications training course. "By the middle of the second week, everyone is tired and a little overwhelmed," she says. "They are stressing about exams and presentations that they have to do. "When we start the game, everyone instantly relaxes and has fun. It's like going to happy hour."

She uses the gameshow to review application knowledge in many of these workshops. "Playing the game shows the students what they did and didn't learn," she says. "It's a much better way to reinforce the lessons of the past few days than to have me stand up and summarize the material."

"A gameshow is a stress-free and fun way to learn that doesn't diminish the importance of the subject matter," adds Elfassy. "If they are always under stress, the information never reaches their thinking brains." By using gameshows instead of traditional quizzes, the stress is removed and learning is maximized, he says.

Teamwork is reinforced.

In most cases, trainers group students in teams of two to three people for each player position, and questions and answers are projected on a large screen. It's very physical, which boosts learning, according to Dr. Max Vercruyssen of the University of Southern California, who studies how the body's posture affects knowledge-gathering. His research shows that, on average, standing increases the heart rate by ten beats per minute. That sends more blood to the brain, which activates the central nervous system to increase neural firing. "Psychologically," he says, "standing up also creates more attention arousal, and the brain learns more."

Dr. Jon Ebbert, chief medical resident of the Rochester, MN-based Mayo Clinic, witnessed the result of that increased brain activity when his residents compete in bi-monthly challenges, like "Name That Congenital Abnormality," a Jeopardy-style game that reinforces medical knowledge. "It's is a different way to learn," says Ebbert. "It's an informal learning environment. The residents let their guards down, which makes them more receptive to new ideas, and they are more willing to challenge themselves."

Residents gather on three teams, each with a single buzzer, and compete to respond with "quick and dirty facts" that they need to know on the job, he says. "It's a great way to train emergency medical personnel because it tests for information they need to know on a reflex level. "The fast paced question and answer format forces residents to respond instantly with answers.

"It's a matter of pride to win the game when you are part of a team," says McDonald's Davidson. "Students don't want to look bad, and they don't want to let their teammates down. It gives them an incentive to work harder." "And," adds Kaufman, "it's amazing how a little friendly competition gets even the quiet ones to speak right up."

Teachers see what's being missed.

Students aren't the only ones who benefit from games in the classroom. Teachers use it to figure out what parts of their course content need adjusting and what topics need to be reviewed.

"It helps me figure out what students are learning and what they are missing," says Davidson. "I go back and tweak the course content if there are certain questions that are regularly missed."

The combined evidence proves that gameshows increase learning retention and improve the overall attitude about training among students who use the game in class. Attendance goes up, and people talk about the training long after it's over.

"I have people who come to class excited to play Jeopardy because they heard about it from someone else who's taken the training," says Davidson. You'll never get that kind of excitement about an end-of-class exam.