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Using simulations and games in education has risen sharply in the last decade, together with studies reporting on their learning effects. This article has three objectives: (a) to present the main features of simulations and games used for educational purposes as well as their hybrid forms; (b) to discuss how gamification can be employed to facilitate a transition from simulations to games; and (c) to outline some major findings and challenges underlined in the recent literature on the educational use of simulations and games with a focus on inquiry-based learning in science education.

The present study addresses the effectiveness of an educational mathematics game for improving proportional reasoning in students from prevocational education. Though in theory game-based learning is promising, research shows that results are ambiguous and that we should look into ways to support game-based learning. The current study explored two factors (i.e., collaboration and competition) that have been associated with motivational and cognitive effects, and have potential to optimize game-based learning. In a fully crossed design, four conditions were examined: collaboration and competition, collaboration control, competition control, and control. It was found that, over all, gameplay did improve students' proportional reasoning skills but that learning effects did not differ between conditions. However, when students' ability levels were taken into account, an interaction between collaboration and competition was found. For below-average students, the effect of collaboration was modified by competition, showing a negative effect of competition on domain knowledge gains in a collaborative learning situation. In contrast, for above-average students, the data demonstrated a trend that suggests a positive effect of competition on domain knowledge gain in a collaborative learning situation. This study explored game-based mathematics learning for prevocational education (age 11-15).Two factors were investigated: competition and collaboration.An interaction between collaboration and competition, modified by ability level was found.For below-average students competition negatively affected collaborative learning.For above average students competition positively affected collaborative learning.

In this paper we investigate the potential of surprise on learning with prevocational students in the domain of proportional reasoning. Surprise involves an emotional reaction, but it also serves a cognitive goal as it directs attention to explain why the surprising event occurred and to learn for the future. Experiment 1 - comparing a surprise condition with a control condition - found no differences, but the results suggested that surprise may be beneficial for higher level students. In Experiment 2 we combined Expectancy strength (Strong vs. Weak) with Surprise (Present vs. Absent) using higher level students. We found a marginal effect of surprise on learning indicating that students who experienced surprises learned more than students who were not exposed to these surprises but we found a stronger positive effect of surprise when we included existing proportional reasoning skill as factor. These results provide evidence that narrative techniques such as surprise can be used for the purpose of learning.

In this contribution, we present a game-based learning environment for 12–16-year-old vocational students in which they can practice proportional reasoning problems. The learning content and goals, as well as the specific game features are discussed. We can conclude that developing a serious game implies many choices and decisions led by theoretical foundations, as well as by practical limitations and pragmatic considerations.

Any activity seems to go without effort when you’re doing something you like and that gives you fun. Games encompass fun. As a result the hypothesis arises that using games for learning should make learning fun and thus make it easier. Nowadays, the most widespread, influential, and profitable game formats are computer games (Squire, 2003).