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Videogames have long been lauded for their potential to increase engagement and enhance learning when used in classrooms. At the same time, how to best evaluate learning presents challenges, especially when the game does not have standardized assessments built-into it and when games are taken up in a wide variety of ways in quite diverse contexts....
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Citations
... Comparatively, research in the second strand involving students such as the one involving 32 classes of diverse learner population (n=795) using DGBL (Hebert, Jenson & Fong, 2018) showed positive learning outcome after engaging in Sprite's Quest: The Lost Feathers and Sprite's Quest Seedling Saga. Using multiple choice and short answer change scores in pre to post evaluation, the researchers showed that different length of play and how it was used in the classroom still produced good learning outcomes. ...
Digital Game Based Learning has been studied for its impact on learning in a fun way in the language classroom. Second language learners are said to benefit from the systemic environment of the game that even low proficient speakers are prompted to engage in the target language in a less stressful way. However much past research has adopted a survey stance rather than analysing the interactive patterns emerging from the utterances in real time in understanding second language acquisitions among L2 learners. Therefore, this research focused on two groups (n=8) of secondary school L2 students as they played two rounds of the Werewolf game each to identify the aspects of language that emerged. Findings revealed that their interactions featured negation, lexical borrowing, guessing, repetitions, persuasion and peer-tutoring, of which negation and negotiation were most prevalent. Interestingly, there were also elements of L2 culture. Implications of this study relate directly to the use of digital games for promoting the use of English in a non threatening environment for L2 learners and in furthering current understanding of aspects of second language acquisition among L2 learners.
... Dede, 2007;Romero et al., 2015;Steinkuehler, 2007). Research on the use of digital games in education supports their positive impact on student learning (Hébert et al., 2018;Jenson & de Castell, 2011;Jenson et al., 2016;Kirriemuir & Mcfarlane, 2007;Muehrer et al., 2012;Pivec & Pivec, 2008). However, little research has been conducted on the pedagogical practices teachers can employ for digital game-based learning (DGBL) (Hébert & Jenson, 2019) and on those, specifically, that support 21 st century learning. ...
In this paper, we present the findings of a research study, working with 12 educators in a large urban school board in Ontario using Minecraft for 21st century competency development. We identify a number of pedagogical moves teachers made to support 21st century learning through communication and collaboration, both in the classroom and in the game world, and three approaches to play, directed/guided, scaffolded, and open, that represented a three tiers of critical thinking and creativity/innovation. We argue that while an open, exploratory sandbox game such as Minecraft can meaningfully aid students in the development of 21st century competencies, it is in fact teachers’ decisions around how the game will be used in the classroom that determine whether or not 21st century competency development is supported.
... In a recent study of 32 assorted geography classrooms, Hébert et al. (2018) ascertained that the infusion of between one to twelve hours of digital gameplay resulted in increased student comprehension, supplemented by content-related worksheets, study guides, and guided notes. The deeper we delve into the 21 st century, the more learners elect to explore subject matter by way of digital simulations; yet the educational research community still possesses a rudimentary understanding of how learning through such interactive systems can enhance players' higher-order thinking. ...
Today, more than ever, the uninformed person misses out on the opportunity to be a part of history as it is being made and broaden their perspective of the world and its’ people. Even as far back as 1963, Criscuolo says that planned current-events pro- grams are an essential part of elementary education. Criscuolo’s words from 1963 ring true today when he says, “Probably never before in the history of our country, or of the world for that mat- ter, has the need for a thorough familiarity with the news been more urgent” (p. 427). Civic-mindedness is a habit that must be cultivated. Elementary school teachers can do this is by develop- ing regular, ongoing program instruction involving daily news and issues.
... Given this limited adoption, there is an ongoing need for empirical research that examines the nuances and particular challenges of implementing games in a variety of classroom contexts (Annetta, 2008;Kebritchi, 2010;Linderoth, 2012;Young et al., 2012) beyond the small body of research that already exists in this area (see e.g. Tu¨zu¨n, 2007;(H ebert et al., 2018;;H ebert and Jenson, 2019). More specifically, teachers' experiences using digital games in their classrooms are often not taken up, including the barriers they face in optimizing DGBL. ...
In this article, we report on a study of 32 teachers and their implementation of a digital game designed to support the human and physical geography curriculum in grades 7 and 8 in the province of Ontario, Canada. The purpose of the paper is to analyze and robustly represent the experiences of teachers who participated in the study, most of whom had never before constructed an integrated learning experience utilizing a digital game with one of their classes. By centering teacher voices, which often do not appear in research on digital game-based learning (DGBL), we hope to provide insight into some of the real challenges of incorporating digital games into classrooms.
... The games also provide faster feedback on decisions than in real life [4]. Herbert et al. also found a development of geographic learning knowledge in pupils from interacting with geographical serious games [5]. ...
Applying geographical knowledge in new contexts is a creative and difficult task for school pupils. However, creating text adventures with the open-source tool Twine may be one way to apply geographic knowledge, but there is currently no research that confirms this. We attempted to determine how pupils in small groups constructed text adventures in geography lessons, focused on the topic "Tourism in Myanmar: threat or opportunity". We recorded the construction processes of 14 pupils audibly, organized into six teams, and analyzed their games. We found that the different text adventure construction activities between the groups had minimal differences. The groups predominantly asked questions and expressed ideas that used meta-conversation for organization and used agreements. These and other text adventure construction activities can help to specify a model of collaborative creativity. In addition, successful groups wrote geographical narratives with adverbs to emphasize the psychological proximity, rhetorical questions and feelings in their stories, and used more words than the others. The results suggest a focus of future research should be on developing a model for integrating geographical narrative skills into geography lessons and intensifying research about collaborative creativity.
... Moreover, commercial and serious games have differing (dis-)advantages. Though serious games are often in need of improvement, regarding the extent to which they entertain players, and thus, in motivation to play, there is empirical evidence for their content-related learning outcome [19]. In contrast, a study by McFarlane et al. [20] showed that mainstream games rather develop players' general abilities, such as competences in planning and sequencing, social skills in communicating and negotiating, and numeracy skills. ...
... There are a number of studies and teaching material on the general use of games in educational contexts, for example, to instruct mathematical [23], and programming knowledge [24]. There are also resources regarding games for teaching geographical knowledge [19,25,26]. These studies share a commonality in that game-based learning is regarded as a way to transmit pure knowledge or problem-solving skills to find the exact solution to a precise problem, e.g., the correct physical-geographical terminology. ...
... The games with the least second level parameters (0-9) to be managed are Age of Empires (AoE) II and Cities in Motion 2. Both center on one specific aspect to manage-AoE on military, Cities in Motion on public transport. Other games with a specific focus (Transport Fever-transport; Banished and Frostpunk-survival) and the two mobile games (SimCity BuildIt and Pocket City) also have a comparatively low number of parameters (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). The mobile games may include fewer parameters to be playable while on the move and to keep the small smartphone screens uncluttered. ...
The current socio-ecological challenges and phenomena that are major topics of geography education, like climate change and migration, are highly complex. Maturity in these contexts requires a networked way of thinking, and a systemic competence that is difficult to develop in geography classes alone. Digital games that simulate complex systems which include the pressing issues of today’s challenges may be a useful supplement to foster systems thinking. In this study, we develop a framework to assess the complexity of in-game systems. A subsequent analysis of a selection of current commercial strategy and simulation games shows how system complexity is designed differently in the various games. Based on these results, we make recommendations for the selection and use of different games in formal and informal learning contexts.
... 2). Yet most educational research using video games relates directly to the learning stemming from game-playing activities (Fong, Jenson, & Hebert, 2018;Gee, 2005;Homer, Plass, Raffaele, Ober, & Ali, 2018;Squire, 2011). ...
In this article, art education researchers from four universities share a multisite research project dealing with teaching digital game design to preservice art educators. The research project was initially designed in response to recent trends to develop 21st-century skills in education, digital media, and art/design education, as advocated by groups such as the Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory, the STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] to STEAM [science, technology, engineering, art, and math] Initiative, and competitions such as the STEM Video Game Challenge and Scholastic Arts. The authors describe the major findings from this collaborative research, focusing on preservice art teachers’ responses, challenges, and promises in introducing digital game design as art and curriculum, and make suggestions for further research and practical application.
... Recent studies in GBL have indicated learning gains in engagement, gameplay, and enjoyment of gameplay in addition to self-regulated learning and problem solving (Fong, Jenson, & Hebert, 2018;Taub, Azevedo, Bradbury, Millar, & Lester, 2018). Yet, the aforementioned researchers in each study acknowledge difficulty in assessing student learning from gameplay as a study limitation. ...
Well-designed video games provide exciting prospects for teaching, training, learning, and research. Moreover, immersive virtual reality (VR) environments offer flexibility to design learning and training scenarios that are authentic. Gameplay in immersive environments often requires players to test and refine new strategies when confronted with progressively more challenging scenarios where learning from failure is a function of game design. Over time, players hone their skills through internal game mechanics and interactions with the environment, such as feedback and pedagogical agents to support long-term learning. This is known as productive failure. However, there are still challenges in assessing learners’ targeted competencies, for example, problem-solving skills, during video gameplay. In this chapter, we examine how student interactions during gameplay can be assessed in immersive environments without disrupting the flow of gameplay. This type of assessment is known as stealth assessment. We also describe the challenges with assessing productive failure in game-based learning and implications for future research on assessment of learning in immersive environments.
... Two papers coming from the research topic of Serious Games are targeting exactly this idea: if and how games can be used for persuasion and learning (Jacobs, Jansz, & de la Hera Conde-Pumpido, 2017). While de la Hera Conde-Pumpido (2018) explores the impact of cancer games and shows the positive output beyond persuasion, Hébert, Jenson and Fong (2018) give insight in the complexity of measuring learning effects of games via one case study. ...
... "The Persuasive Roles of Digital Games: The Case of Cancer Games" (de la Hera Conde-Pumpido, 2018); "Challenges with Measuring Learning through Digital Game Play in K-12 Classrooms" (Hébert et al., 2018). ...
Playing host to articles written in different disciplines and perspectives on the shared subject of digital gaming, the current special issue means to galvanise interest in and recognition of the nascent field of games research. Despite being little more than 50 years old, the medium of digital games has seen a meteoric rise to economic and cultural prominence across the globe. A cultural shift accepting games as a worthwhile recreational activity (and more) is likewise resulting in shifting attentions within game studies. Games were seen as frivolous and even harmful, and research traditionally focused on the negative effects they were perceived to have while in the end coming up with very little reliable evidence to support this position. The current wave of games research exemplified in this issue is certainly wider: games are a cultural and often highly socialised medium that has changed the way we view the world. They are used in non-entertainment settings, helping to promote active learning in players of all ages. The medium also facilitates deeper psychological and philosophical theorizing, as researchers grapple with deeper questions on what games and play mean to each of us. Put simply: games research is not just fun and games.
After nationwide school closures due to COVID-19, virtual learning environments (VLE) have seen tremendous increase in usage. The current study identified teacher activities for orchestration using an Algebra VLE during school closures, and whether these activities were related to student achievement. In May 2020, we collected survey data on how 213 teachers were using a VLE for Algebra with 10,590 students, along with system logs and student achievement data. Results indicated that teachers made several changes to teacher strategies due to school closures, including allowing students more time to complete assignments. Multilevel modeling showed that teacher orchestration activities, particularly those related to regulation/management and awareness/assessment, were positively related to student achievement. We discussed the results and provided implications for practice (Q&A setting, assignment flexibility).
