Minecraft as an Educational Tool Before, During, and After the Pandemic: A Case Study Research Project

This study aims to explore the educational potential of Minecraft as a learning environment that supports active teaching methods, especially in remote contexts. It presents the experience of remote laboratory teaching within the MineClass project conducted from 2018 to 2021, addressing the challenges posed by the reduction of in-person and online collaborative activities during the pandemic. The research combines case studies, qualitative and quantitative surveys, and interviews with teachers and students who experienced the educational use of Minecraft before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The results presented here are based on questionnaires administered to a sample of teachers (n = 237) and students (n = 2,264) to investigate the advantages and limitations of the educational use of the game and differences in terms of student satisfaction, perceived self-efficacy, peer collaboration, school level, and gender of participants. The results reveal that many teachers continued to use Minecraft for distance learning even after the conclusion of the project. Teachers reported a positive impact of the experimentation in terms of student engagement, interest, enthusiasm, and knowledge and skills acquisition. Students provided very positive feedback on overcoming social isolation through immersive learning, with increased motivation, engagement, and the development of cross-cutting competencies.