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Article title

The potential of made-for-school history-oriented videogames in the classroom: The case of Mission US

Summary

Kessner and Harris highlight the promise and pitfalls of made-for-school history-oriented video games and offer practical guidance for teachers interested in doing games well in the classroom.

Abstract

This study examines the potential of Mission US, a history-oriented videogame, to foster historical thinking and reasoning skills in K-12 students. Historical thinking, which involves reasoning like historians, is a critical component of disciplinary literacy in history education. The game offers students interactive experiences by placing them in historical scenarios like the American Revolutionary War, the Great Depression, and the Civil Rights Movement, allowing them to engage in historical perspective-taking, cause and consequence analysis, and use of primary source evidence. Through a combination of content analysis and discourse analysis of gameplay, the study assessed how effectively the game mechanics support students in practicing historical thinking. Findings suggest Mission US provides limited but meaningful opportunities for deep engagement in historical thinking. The game includes numerous historical facts and scenarios but often falls short of requiring complex analysis or impactful decision-making. While mechanics such as dialogue selection and map navigation encourage perspective-taking, many interactions remain surface-level. The study concludes that the game, when used in conjunction with broader educational strategies, can enhance students' historical thinking skills but is less effective as a stand-alone teaching tool. The research highlights the importance of teacher involvement in guiding students through the game's content. Effective integration of the game into classrooms should include guided play sessions, collaborative learning, and reflective activities that bridge the gap between gameplay and real-world historical analysis. This study emphasizes the need for supplementary resources and careful handling of sensitive historical topics to fully realize the educational potential of history-oriented videogames.

Research questions

1. What do video games offer in terms of higher order thinking skills in history education? 
2. What are the potential pitfalls of using video games in the history classroom? 
3. What can teachers do to capitalize on the affordances of history-oriented video games while avoiding their potential pitfalls?

What the research adds to the discussion

Could video games be places for students to practice historical thinking skills? For decades, the terms historical thinking and historical reasoning have been cited by scholars, educators, and policymakers as goals for history learning that expand beyond mere knowledge of historical facts. Definitions of historical thinking vary (Lévesque & Clark, 2018), but they generally involve discussions of the cognitive processes involved in historical work. For example, the National Council for the Social Studies’ College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework (2013) described historical thinking as a “process of chronological reasoning, which means wrestling with issues of causality, connections, significance, and context with the goal of developing credible explanations of historical events and developments based on reasoned interpretation of evidence” (p. 45). Within these conceptions of historical thinking, some scholars have identified sets of historical thinking skills and understandings to guide teachers and students in historical work. For example, the Centre for the Study of Historical Consciousness (n.d.) identified six “historical thinking concepts,” including “take historical perspectives” and “understand the ethical dimension of historical interpretations” (see ); similarly, van Drie and van Boxtel (2007) described a historical reasoning framework with six components, including “contextualization” and “using sources” (p. 89). Taken together, these skills represent critical elements of literacy in history and are an important aim of ambitious history teaching (Blevins et al., 2020; Wineburg, 2001). Skills such as analyzing evidence, considering perspectives, and developing historical arguments are included in many standards documents throughout North America and Europe, as well as national curricular documents such as the C3 Framework. Video games, with their potential for engagement and perspective-taking (Dishon & Kafai, 2020), may be worthwhile spaces to engage students in such historical thinking work (McCall, 2022).