The Learning Potential of Minecraft: A Qualitative Study into the Opinion of Players

Abstract

The current study focussed on the learning potential of the video game Minecraft as perceived by the young people who play Minecraft. All ten participants were between 14 and 18 years old and took part in a semi-structured interview with the aim to better understand the learning experience as perceived by the Minecraft players. All participants mentioned becoming more creative by playing Minecraft, although the processes which led to this development remained unclear. The same is true for the first component of creativity that was studied (imaginative thinking). The other component, the development of a venturesome personality, was not mentioned by the participants as something they believe to have learned while playing Minecraft. The current study emphasises the potential to use Minecraft in regular education for developing creativity, spatial perception and English.