Learning Teamwork via Computer Games: A Phenomenological Approach

By the advent of video games as an inseparable part of technology and education, the impact of such games on enhancing the level of teamwork has reached an unprecedented attention. The uppermost objective of this study was to investigate the miscellany of aspects influential on the improvement of teamwork among Iranian Air Force freshmen cadets.

To this end, 50 freshmen cadets participated in this research by playing Counter Terrorist Game in groups of five (10 groups). They were randomly assigned to each of the groups, however, they all were chosen from among volunteers to play the game with no specific randomization (convenience sampling). Each group played four rounds of the game in two consecutive days (each day two rounds) competitively against the computer. After the second day, participants were in depth interviewed about their lived experiences of playing video games with their coursemates utilizing semi-structured questions concerning various aspects of teamwork.

The researchers also observed the participants playing games and employed field notes in order to record the phenomenon under study. The data collected were meticulously transcribed and analyzed and data-driven themes were obtained using NVivo qualitative data analysis software version 12.

By conducting this study, it was revealed that there are ten main themes or categories in the context of game playing that can potentially lead towards learning teamwork features. The themes are goal-setting, identity-formation, premeditation, interaction, implementation, leadership, esprit de corps, companionship, trait and tact.