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Motivating the Demotivated Classroom: Gaming as a Motivational Medium for Students with Intellectual Disability and their Educators
Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the usage of serious games as a motivational medium at the educational experience of users with intellectual disabilities on one hand, and their educator on the other.Digital games have been reported to stimulate the students’ interest, while motivating them to deploy control, curiosity, and imagination (Malone, 1981). Many studies suggested the use of digital games as an educational medium, and proved that digital games can enhance motivation and learning since the user is more than willing to test his/her knowledge, apply them while gaming and learn and assimilate new information while playing and having fun (Malone, 1980). The question addressed in this chapter is whether or not digital games are able to engage the Special Educational Needs (SEN) classroom both in terms of students with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) and their educator.Findings from the educational literature and experimental observations, as well as case studies from field studies will be presented and discussed, in order to demonstrate how games are able to constitute a powerful educational and motivational medium in a SEN classroom.
... While players with disabilities are not a new area of research within video game studies, there has been a tendency to focus on the use of video games as educational or therapeutic resources. These studies range from how video games can be used to facilitate physical therapy and rehabilitation sessions (Martins, Carvalho, & Soares, 2012;Rinne et al., 2016;Rowland et al., 2016), address attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders (Santo et al., 2012), train people in the use of prosthetics (Smith, Dombrowski, Buyssens, & Barclay, 2018), as well as function as educational resources for people with intellectual or learning disabilities (Delgado & González, 2012;Israel, Wang, & Marino, 2016;Saridaki, Mourlas, Saridaki, & Mourlas, 2011). While video game research has traditionally focused on younger audiences, there is also growing attention on older players and the use of games as therapeutic resources for aging. ...
Video games are an expanding area of popular culture spanning traditional age, gender and socioeconomic divides and appealing to a diverse market. People with disability represent a significant but under researched gaming demographic (Beeston et al., 2018). While this group represent a large portion of the gaming population, inaccessible interfaces and consoles may prevent people with disability from playing games. Despite this, research dating back to 2008 suggests 92% of gamers with disability continue to play games despite these obstacles. This paper aims to put the topic of gamers with disabilities on the agenda for Open Literacies.
The paper brings into dialogue research and conceptions of disability and digital media (especially the work of Gerard Goggin, Meryl Alper, Katie Ellis and Elizabeth Ellcessor) with accounts of gamers with disability, and how we might understand digital access as a cultural practice (for instance, the work of Foley & Ferri). This theoretical synthesis leads us to draw attention to the alternative ways in which games can be played and the impacts this has for the disability community.
A secondary aim of the paper is to consider the contexts in which disability appears in gaming in popular culture and everyday life. For example, therapeutic and educational contexts dominate while recreation is considered less important. The paper concludes with reflections about the ways disabled gamers engage in open literacy to bring accessibility to the forefront and change the rules of the game.
... Research has also shown that video games are particularly effective in engaging students with low self efficacy and low motivation ( (Brown et al, 2008), and functional skills (Brown et al, 2011a). However until recently, digital games have been predominantly used in the classroom for users with cognitive impairments as a reward and as a tool for external motivation (Fitros, 2005, Saridaki et al 2011. ...
Studies within our research group have shown that Digital Games
Based Learning (DGBL) can have a positive effect on some of the core development
needs of people with intellectual disabilities and associated sensory impairments.
Of current interest is the expansion of DGBL activities on mobile
platforms. The RECALL Project describes the development and evaluation of a
novel route learning system for people with disabilities using location based
services (on the Android OS). Research has shown that route guidance systems
suppress cognitive map development, and for a target audience described as
having ‘poor spatial skills’, systems that develop route learning rather than
guidance are required. Two studies are reported here. The first demonstrates
that there were less navigational errors made, and less help required, in the
more independent usage of the system, than in the earlier training stages. The
second focuses on more qualitative evaluation of soft skills and personal development
via the use of the system, and of the gamified version of the software.
It looks specifically at how a playful approach can aid the understanding
of map based representations.
It has been argued that playing video games can be useful for learning management skills, but how true is it? How much can we learn about complex decision-making by playing simple video games? This paper looks at a previously published claim that the Pac-Man video game can be useful for understanding how to implement Total Quality Management (TQM). Articulating the study as action research by having the author playing a single game of Pac-Man each day, over a period of several years, while also trying to implement TQM in public administration, the paper argues that video gaming can be helpful for developing intuitive management skills. However, it is noticed that the systematic and longitudinal dedication to one particular game frames the world in a manner that can make it easy to forget that the game-model in use is only one of possibly many models. It is also noticed that the skill at Pac-Man gameplay influences the TQM implementation experience; only after having mastered the game does it become useful. Until then it can cause frustration.
This paper compares two new freely available software plugins for MS PowerPoint and Word documents that we have developed at the ZHAW with similar tools with respect to important accessibility criteria. Our plugins [1, 2, 3] allow the analysis of accessibility issues and consequently the generation of fully accessible PDF documents. The document authors using these plugins require no specific accessibility knowledge. The plugins are based on a flexible software architecture concept [1] that allows the automatic generation of fully accessible PDF documents originating from various authoring tools, such as Adobe InDesign [5], Word or PowerPoint [6, 7]. Other available plugins, on the other hand, need accessibility knowledge in order to use them properly and effectively.
The purpose of this paper is to present a series of observations made by researchers and educators on the integration of serious games in the educational experience of users with intellectual disabilities (ID). Data were gathered from four different studies and different games were used, in order to identify a successful model of games based learning application.
Moreover, results that highlight the motivational importance of playful integration towards the promotion of self determination in students with ID, will be presented. According to the authors’ findings, special education can be benefited from the successful integration of digital games in the educational scenario, creating a safe and personalized educational environment for the students, as well as a valuable motivational tool for the educator - especially when the educator takes a threefold role, able to support a hybrid model of digital and non digital play.
Trying to assist the educational efforts of special education teachers, the authors will present the results of a series of case studies and applications, the role of the educator, as well as practical considerations that resulted in the sketch of a model of playful game-based learning integration.
The history of motivational research in education is traced through chapters on motivation in the
Encyclopedia of Educational Research from 1941 to 1990. Discussion of the drive concept, the motivation–learning distinction, the role of individual differences, and the emergence of cognitive concerns and the self are examined. Great shifts are documented, and current as well as future trends are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Adulthood brings with it responsibilities for making choices and decisions about one's own life. Individuals with Down syndrome, their parents and communities, have begun to expect at least some of these responsibilities will be met by the person with Down syndrome. This will require a range of skills in managing one's own behaviour and these skills will need to be acquired in childhood. The Down Syndrome Research Program has begun a number of investigations into two important aspects of self-regulation - the capacity to delay gratification and mastery motivation. This paper describes the importance of these skills and habits of behaviour to those with Down syndrome and discusses the research to date.
In the literature concerning Greek special education teachers, there is little evidence regarding the perceived levels of burnout, job satisfaction, and job‐related stress factors. The present study focused on the above issues. A sample of 127 Greek special education teachers at the primary school level was tested with the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Employee Satisfaction Inventory, and the Inventory of Job‐related Stress Factors (an instrument created for this study). Results indicated that Greek special education teachers reported average to low levels of burnout. They reported moderately high levels of satisfaction with their job, the principal, and the school organisation as a whole; they also reported average satisfaction with work conditions and low satisfaction with prospects of promotion and pay. Four factors were identified on the job‐related stress factors: teaching in a multi‐category classroom, programme organisation and implementation, assessment of students, and collaborations with other special education experts and parents. The special education teachers perceived none of these issues as particularly overwhelming. Moreover, few significant effects of age, gender, and family status were identified. The above results are consistent with other studies that have focused on Greek regular education teachers, which have indicated that, in general, this group do not experience high levels of occupational stress.
Playing action video games enhances several different aspects of visual processing; however, the mechanisms underlying this improvement remain unclear. Here we show that playing action video games can alter fundamental characteristics of the visual system, such as the spatial resolution of visual processing across the visual field. To determine the spatial resolution of visual processing, we measured the smallest distance a distractor could be from a target without compromising target identification. This approach exploits the fact that visual processing is hindered as distractors are brought close to the target, a phenomenon known as crowding. Compared with nonplayers, action-video-game players could tolerate smaller target-distractor distances. Thus, the spatial resolution of visual processing is enhanced in this population. Critically, similar effects were observed in non-video-game players who were trained on an action video game; this result verifies a causative relationship between video-game play and augmented spatial resolution.
I: Background.- 1. An Introduction.- 2. Conceptualizations of Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination.- II: Self-Determination Theory.- 3. Cognitive Evaluation Theory: Perceived Causality and Perceived Competence.- 4. Cognitive Evaluation Theory: Interpersonal Communication and Intrapersonal Regulation.- 5. Toward an Organismic Integration Theory: Motivation and Development.- 6. Causality Orientations Theory: Personality Influences on Motivation.- III: Alternative Approaches.- 7. Operant and Attributional Theories.- 8. Information-Processing Theories.- IV: Applications and Implications.- 9. Education.- 10. Psychotherapy.- 11. Work.- 12. Sports.- References.- Author Index.
Educational research places emphasis on the fact that individuals who have experienced repeated failures may develop an attribution profile characterized by a bias towards primarily external causes. The aim of this study is to compare the attribution style of adolescents with Down's syndrome with that of normal children and adolescents matched for mental and chronological age; three groups consisting of 10 participants each were employed, an experimental group and two control groups were employed. The experimental group were Down's syndrome adolescents. Participants in the first control group were matched to the experimental groups for mental age, and those in the second for chronological age. All of the 30 participants were given an attribution test consisting of 14 items, illustrative of everyday or school‐related events in which the main character experienced either success or failure. The participants were asked to attribute the character's performance to one of five causes: ability, effort, help, luck or task difficulty. The results show that adolescents with Down's syndrome tend to attribute performance to external help. Their attribution style would seem to be very similar to that of the control participants matched for mental age.
This paper provides an introduction to empowered participation of users with disabilities in research and development (R&D). It is based on the experiences of the European project FORTUNE (Bühler, 2000). Introductory experiences about the state of the art of disabled user involvement in European R & D are reported. The value of participation of users with disabilities is discussed. An overview of the FORTUNE curriculum and training is provided. The FORTUNE concept of user participation in projects is introduced as a reference model for participation of users with disabilities, followed by a scheme of criteria for the assessment of user participation as a practical tool. A brief overview of methodologies for user participation and potential organizational frameworks is presented.
The prospectives of game-based learning to support collaborative and interactive learning among students, undergoing higher studies, are discussed. One of the significant objectives of digital game-based learning is to address new ways of ICT-based instructional design and to provide learners with an opportunity of acquiring skills and competencies that are required in their professional careers. Some specific educational fields where game-based learning can be applied effectively include interdisciplinary topics, such as critical thinking, group communication, debate, and decision making. Game-based learning has the potential to enable learners to apply factual knowledge, learn on demand, gain experiences in the virtual world, which can form their behavioral patterns and influence their memory. Game-based learning also needs to be motivating for a learner to repeat learning stages with a game context.
The study evaluates the progress of eight children aged 3-5 years with autism attending a specialist teaching unit in their development of reading skills in two conditions: computer instructed learning and book based learning. The authors developed a direct observation schedule to monitor autistic behaviours using computerized techniques. The children were matched by age, severity of autistic symptomatology and number of spoken words. They were initially randomly allocated to the computer or book condition and crossed over at 10 weeks. All of the children spent more time on task in the computer condition than in the book condition. By the end of the study after computer assisted learning, five of the eight children could reliably identify at least three words. It was found that children with autism spent more time on reading material when they accessed it through a computer and were less resistant to its use.
As video-game playing has become a ubiquitous activity in today's society, it is worth considering its potential consequences on perceptual and motor skills. It is well known that exposing an organism to an altered visual environment often results in modification of the visual system of the organism. The field of perceptual learning provides many examples of training-induced increases in performance. But perceptual learning, when it occurs, tends to be specific to the trained task; that is, generalization to new tasks is rarely found. Here we show, by contrast, that action-video-game playing is capable of altering a range of visual skills. Four experiments establish changes in different aspects of visual attention in habitual video-game players as compared with non-video-game players. In a fifth experiment, non-players trained on an action video game show marked improvement from their pre-training abilities, thereby establishing the role of playing in this effect.
To assess the effectiveness of a computer-based virtual reality (VR) game in teaching five children diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) fire safety skills and to generalize these skills to a real world simulation.
Children participated in a study by using a multiple baseline, multiple probe design. Before the game, no child could correctly describe what actions to take during a home fire. A computerized game allowed them to learn the recommended safety steps in a virtual world. Skill learning and real-world generalization were tested immediately after the intervention and at 1-week post-test.
All children reached 100% accuracy on the computer intervention, defined as successfully completing each of the safety steps. At the 1-week follow-up, all the children were able to perform the steps correctly in a real world simulation.
The results suggest that this method of intervention warrants further study as an educational delivery system for children with FAS.
Virtual environments have a role to play in facilitating the acquisition of living skills in people with intellectual disabilities, improving their cognitive skills and providing them with entertainment. However, the currently recommended devices to allow navigation in and interaction with the environments are difficult to use. Using a methodology established in an earlier study, the study aims to systematically document the performance of users with the currently recommended devices in order to (i) inform the design of a usable control device or devices and (ii) act as a baseline against which they can be evaluated. 40 people with severe intellectual disabilities aged 21-67 years used four environments with an equal number of sessions with the different devices being evaluated. Results indicate that when forward movement is provided by the software using the mouse for both navigation and interaction allows better performance both initially and after exposure than using the fire button on the joystick. When the user had to initiate forward movement with the navigation device, the joystick allowed better performance than the arrows on the keyboard. Preventing slippage of the joystick base would make its use much easier and it is suggested that separate devices are retained for navigation and interaction.