Skip to main content

Games and Learning Publishing Council New Survey


Via: Cooney Center Bits - Teachers and Digital Games Survey

The Games and Learning Publishing Council (GLPC), a project of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, recently conducted a survey of 694 U.S. K-8th grade classroom teachers to find out if, when, and how they use digital games in the classroom.

Building on its first national survey of teachers who use games (2011), this year’s survey makes recommendations for future Serious Games development for both industry and educational leaders. The overall goal of this research, led by Lori Takeuchi, is to connect the documented experiences of teachers with other research about video games and learning.

This summer, the GLPC is sharing some of the highlights of the forthcoming report about teachers’ experience using games in the classroom.

So far, it has revealed that a majority of the teachers surveyed use games in the classroom at least once a week (55%) and another quarter have kids play games at least once a month.


Teachers were also asked whether they found games to be useful in assessing student knowledge. The survey found that about 43% of teachers who use games in the classroom use the built-in assessments that come with these games. And of those teachers who use the in-game assessments, the majority use what they learn to modify their lessons, choosing to emphasize areas where students struggled and condensing material that they already understand.

Learn more about the survey results here and here, and look for the full report and analysis, to be published this fall.

About The Games and Learning Publishing Council

With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center launched in 2011 the Games and Learning Publishing Council (GLPC), a multi-sector alliance convened with field leaders and key investors in game-based learning. 

The GLPC aims to understand the market dynamics and areas of innovation within the game-based education field. It will do so by promoting innovations that are ready for scaling within the GBL field, to develop and disseminate analytical tools, briefs and reports to help “raise the sector,” and to engage policymakers, developers and investors to wisely deploy digital games to advance common core knowledge, and 21st century skills.

Building upon products developed in 2011-2012, the GLPC has conducted the second National Teacher Survey to better understand the factors driving teachers to use games in the classroom as well as the barriers preventing those teachers who do not use games in the classroom.