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This article reports findings on a study of educational computer games used within various classroom situations. Employing an across-stage, mixed method model, the study examined whether educational computer games, in comparison to traditional paper-and-pencil drills, would be more effective in facilitating comprehensive math learning outcomes, and whether alternative classroom goal structures would enhance or reduce the effects of computer games. The findings indicated that computer games, compared with paper-and-pencil drills, were significantly more effective in promoting learning motivation but not significantly different in facilitating cognitive math test performance and metacognitive awareness. Additionally, this study established that alternative classroom goal structures mediated the effects of computer games on mathematical learning outcomes. Cooperative goal structure, as opposed to competitive and individualistic structures, significantly enhanced the effects of computer games on attitudes toward math learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although educational games have become quite popular in recent research, only a limited number of studies have focused on the effectiveness of these games. While numerous claims have been made about the effectiveness of games, the studies that examine educational effectiveness often contain flaws resulting in unclear conclusions. One possible solution for these shortcomings is to focus on separate game elements rather than on games as a whole. A second solution is to take into account students’ perceptions of instruction as they are likely to affect students’ interpretations and learning outcomes. This study investigated whether the addition of the gaming element ‘competition’ to a computer-based language learning environment is related to students’ motivation, perceptions and learning outcomes. Additionally, this study probed into the effect of instruction, i.e., the instruction of a gaming or learning environment, on students’ perceptions of the environment, their motivation and learning outcomes. 83 students participated in this study, all working in a game-based learning environment for learning business English conversation skills. The results demonstrate that competition is not significantly related to students’ learning gains and only partly related to students’ motivation. Moreover, the majority of students perceived the environment as a learning environment, even when they were instructed to be playing in a gaming environment. To conclude this paper, the practical and theoretical implications for the fields of instructional design and educational games research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The important but little understood problem that motivated this study was the lack of research on valid assessment methods to determine progress in higher-order learning in situations involving complex and ill-structured problems. Without a valid assessment method, little progress can occur in instructional design research with regard to designing effective learning environments to facilitate acquisition of expertise in complex, ill-structured knowledge domains. In this paper, we first present a method based on causal representations for assessing progress of learning in complex, ill-structured problem solving and discuss its theoretical framework. Then, we present an experimental study investigating its validity against adapted protocol analysis. This study explored the impact of a massively multiplayer online educational game, which was designed to support an interdisciplinary STEM education on ninth-grade students' complex, ill-structured problem solving skill acquisition. We identify conceptual similarities and differences between the two methods, present our comparative study and its results, and then discuss implications for diagnostics and applications. We conclude by determining how the two approaches could be used in conjunction for further research on complex and ill-structured problem solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an educational game in mathematics based on an apprenticeship model using a teachable agent, as well as an evaluative study of how the game affects (1) conceptual understanding and (2) attitudes towards mathematics. In addition, we discuss how collaborative and competitive affordances of the game may affect understanding and motivation. 19 students played the game in pairs once a week during math lessons for 7 weeks (the game-playing group) while another 19 students followed the regular curriculum (the control group). Math comprehension scores increased significantly for the game-playing group but not the control group ( p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in attitude change between the two groups. Post hoc analyses indicated that game-playing primarily affected students' confidence in explaining math to a peer, but not their enjoyment of doing so. Collaborative and competitive activities seem to carry a strong motivational influence for students to play the game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is intended to deepen our understanding of enactivism, an emergent theoretical paradigm, through empirical exploration of teacher undertakings as digital game creators. Specifically, it explores the affordances and constraints, two important enactivism concepts, of practicing teachers' experiences in designing and developing games for instructional purposes. This paper is guided by the following questions: what were the affordances perceived by the teachers in their design and building experience, and how did they enact to these affordances? What constraints presented challenges to teachers in the process? This is a case study focusing on capturing and interpreting teachers' experiences and thinking resulting from game creation and sharing. Data are collected from practicing teachers who enrolled in a graduate course. A significant finding of this study is that the game design and building experience afforded opportunities for teachers to re-conceptualize pedagogy and teaching practice. Implications for design and limitations of the study are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the effects an experimental English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program in Second Life (SL) had on Chinese student EFL learning. The study took an evaluative approach using quasi-experimental design with participants from one Chinese university and one American university in the southeastern United States. Results indicated significant main effects between a control group and the SL group on EFL measures, as well as significant gains in total score and several subcomponents between pre-test and post test. Further analysis using a post study survey, students' blog posting, and interview transcripts revealed that the SL_EFL Program had a positive impact on students' EFL learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, many researchers have been engaged in the development of educational computer games; however, previous studies have indicated that, without supportive models that take individual students' learning needs or difficulties into consideration, students might only show temporary interest during the learning process, and their learning performance is often not as good as expected. Learning styles have been recognized as being an important human factor affecting students' learning performance. Previous studies have shown that, by taking learning styles into account, learning systems can be of greater benefit to students owing to the provision of personalized learning content presentation that matches the information perceiving and processing styles of individuals. In this paper, a personalized game-based learning approach is proposed based on the sequential/global dimension of the learning style proposed by Felder and Silverman. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a role-playing game has been implemented based on the approach; moreover, an experiment has been conducted on an elementary school natural science course. From the experimental results, it is found that the personalized educational computer game not only promotes learning motivation, but also improves the learning achievements of the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the addition of an anthropomorphic interface agent to a learning system generally has little direct impact on learning, it potentially has a huge impact on learner motivation. As such agents become increasingly ubiquitous on the Internet, in virtual worlds, and as interfaces for learning and gaming systems, it is important to design them to optimally impact motivation. The focus of this paper is on the design of agents and avatars (one's self-representation as a visual agent) for enhancing motivational and affective outcomes, such as improving self-efficacy, engagement and satisfaction, moderating frustration, and/or improving stereotypes. Together with motivational messages and dialogue (which are not discussed here), the agent's appearance is the most important design feature as it dictates the learner's perception of the agent as a virtual social model, in the Bandurian sense. The message delivery, through a human-like voice with appropriate and relevant emotional expressions, is also a key motivational design feature. More research is needed to determine the specifics with respect to the ideal agent voice and the role of other nonverbal communication (e.g., deictic gestures) that may contribute to the agent's role as an embodied motivator, particularly in the long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This implementation study explores middle school, high school and community college student experiences in Globaloria, an educational pilot program of game design offered in schools within the U.S. state of West Virginia, supported by a non-profit organization based in New York City called the World Wide Workshop Foundation. This study reports on student engagement, meaning making and critique of the program, in their own words. The study's data source was a mid-program student feedback survey implemented in Pilot Year 2 (2008/2009) of the 5 year design-based research initiative, in which the researchers posed a set of open-ended questions in an online survey questionnaire answered by 199 students. Responses were analyzed using inductive textual analysis. While the initial purpose for data collection was to elicit actionable program improvements as part of a design-based research process, several themes emergent in the data tie into recent debates in the education literature around discovery-based learning. In this paper, we draw linkages from the categories of findings that emerged in student feedback to this literature, and identify new scholarly research questions that can be addressed in the ongoing pilot, the investigation of which might contribute new empirical insights related to recent critiques of discovery based learning, self-determination theory, and the productive failure phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the use of mixed methods for analyzing users’ avatar-related activities in a virtual world. Server logs recorded keystroke-level activity for 595 participants over a six-month period in Whyville.net, an informal science website. Participants also completed surveys and participated in interviews regarding their experiences. Additionally, the study included online ethnographic observations of Whyville and offline observations of a subset of 88 users in classroom and after-school settings during their participation. A mixed-methods analysis identified a major user emphasis on avatar appearance and customization that was invariant across user typologies. Implications for the use of mixed methods in online environments are discussed with regard to three challenges resolved during the study: (1) appropriate reduction of the vast quantity of data, (2) integrated analysis of online and offline events, and (3) interactions between qualitative and quantitative data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past two decades, the popularity of computer and video games has prompted games to become a source of study for educational researchers and instructional designers investigating how various aspects of game design might be appropriated, borrowed, and re-purposed for the design of educational materials. The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of how the structure in massively multiple online role-playing games (MMORPGs) might inform the design of interactive learning and game-based learning environments by looking at the elements which support intrinsic motivation. Specifically, this analysis presents (a) an overview of the two primary elements in MMORPGs game design: character design and narrative environment, (b) a discussion of intrinsic motivation in character role-playing, (c) a discussion of intrinsic motivational supports and cognitive support of the narrative structure of small quests, and (d) a discussion of how the narrative structure of MMORPGs might foster learning in various types of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]