A new study has found that playing video games could potentially help young learners in developing the communications and mental adaptability skills that are usually required to succeed at university. Just recently, a trial conducted by the experts from the University of Glasgow in assessing the effects of playing video games on young people concludes that gaming can help young people develop the desired higher education skills. Known as "graduate attributes," study lead author Matthew Barr, a lecturer in Information Studies said that their data shows that playing video games have improved student's general performance. From one's communication skills, resourcefulness and adaptability, video games are now seen to having a role to play in higher education.
Following Albert Posso's analysis of high school students across Australia taking the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (Pisa), it shows that those students who play online video games obtain higher scores on Pisa tests, all other things being equal. Posso, from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, have also revealed that the cause of the association between game playing and academic success is not clear from the research. In addition, experts have also claimed that children who are gifted at maths, science and reading are more likely to play online games.
Meanwhile, in Barr's research, it was said that students in the Arts and Humanities were randomly assigned to either an intervention or a control group. As it turns out, the intervention group played specified video games under controlled conditions over an eight-week period which has showed improvements in communication, adaptability, and resourcefulness scales compared to the control group. Concurrently, the findings seemed to have supported the hypothesis that playing video games can improve self -reported graduate skills.
Furthermore, Matthew Barr adds that graduate attributes are those generic skills like problem solving, communication, resourcefulness or adaptability, which are primarily thought to be desirable in graduates, particularly where employability is concerned. Hence, he claims that playing commercial video games can have a positive effect on adult learners, suggesting that video games may have a role to play in higher education. However, the researchers have highly emphasized that in terms of time management, it is still up to the students' responsibility.