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Many scientific concepts and theorems are often abstract and challenging to relate to real-life problems, making it difficult for students to grasp them. Therefore, some researchers have attempted to enhance students' understanding by employing a contextual learning approach, which allows students to apply scientific knowledge to real situations in their daily lives. The aim is to improve students' learning experiences by moving away from rote memorization. However, if a contextual gaming approach is offered without encouraging deep reflection, students may focus solely on the game itself and overlook the importance of fully understanding the knowledge and contemplating the meaningful relationships between scientific concepts. To address this issue, for this study we developed a Concept Mapping-based Digital Game-Based Learning for Complex Chemistry Problems (short for CM-DGBL-CCP) learning system to assist students in understanding complex chemistry problems. To verify the effects of the proposed approach, the experiment was conducted in a secondary school with two groups. The experimental group with 49 students adopted the CM-DGBL-CCP learning model, while the control group with 56 students utilized the traditional digital game-based learning for complex chemistry problems (T-DGBL-CCP) learning model. The experimental results revealed that there were no significant differences between the two groups of students in terms of learning achievement and cognitive load. However, the experimental group students outperformed the control group in areas such as problem-solving tendency, scientific self-efficacy, scientific learning strategies, and the ability to use deep-level strategies to solve problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic kick-started a new paradigm shift in the way and manner teaching and learning takes place on the global scale due to the lockdown that succeeded in shutting down school activities. As a result, most institutions turned to technology supported e-learning as against the traditional face-to-face teaching and learning in order to cover for lost time. This study therefore tested the effectiveness of game-based learning on students' performance in educational technology. Using a simple repeated measures design, 24 students participated in this study. Using an Educational Technology Achievement Test (ETAT), which was validated and pilot-tested to obtain data, the students were given two separate pre-tests before the commencement of the treatment as well as two different post-tests after the treatment. Data were computed using a mixed design repeated-measures ANOVA. Findings revealed that game-based learning significantly improved students' performance to a large extent (F (3, 69) = 170.960; p < 0.05) with an effect size (ηp2) of 0.881. The study has some implications for Nigerian teachers and researchers in Educational Technology and Science-related fields on the need to incorporate game-based learning given that it has what it takes to improve students' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative problem-solving (CPS) includes multiple socio-cognitive processes that can be challenging to investigate. Constructing arguments is a key practice at the intersection of CPS and science learning. To understand how students construct arguments and develop science knowledge during CPS, we focus on team synchrony—the extent of similarity of navigation actions between team members—in a game-based learning environment. Specifically, we examined the impact of team synchrony on students' argument construction and science knowledge acquisition in a science learning game, Alien Rescue. Using a mixed methods approach, we analyzed a range of in-game data and performance data of 69 teams from 146 sixth-grade students. Our results show that team synchrony enhanced students' science knowledge acquisition, whereas its effects on argumentation features were nuanced: (a) higher team synchrony groups were more productive in constructing backing compared to low team synchrony groups in conditions where their prior knowledge was high, and (b) there was no significant difference between the two groups in generating claims. We also identified two illustrative cases to show the observed relationship between team synchrony and complexity of arguments that students constructed as a team. Our study has implications for tracing learning processes through log and textual data to understand students' CPS process and performance, which consequently inform the design of scaffolds that support students' CPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have found positive effects of Game-Based Learning for mathematics. While most studies assume that this effect is explained by the presence of flow/immersion during games, this has not yet been established. The aim of the current study is to verify if immersion indeed is associated with mathematical skills improvement when using a Game-Based Learning intervention. This was tested among 59 Greek high school students, using authentic design. After having received a traditional education module, the students were tested and then engaged for four weeks in a desktop-based 3D Virtual Learning Environment where they could play mathematic minigames. They were subsequently re-tested to verify if they showed a significant increase in mathematical skills. The students showed an improvement in their mathematical skills (Cohen's d = 1.26), with significant results for functions, geometry, and thinking skills and methods. On the individual level, about half of the students showed a 10% increase in one of the domains (numbers & calculations, functions, geometry, thinking skills and methods, and algorithms and number theory). Immersion was found to be reflected by engagement and presence, but neither one of these aspects was associated with mathematical achievement after the intervention. It is concluded that Game-Based Learning is an effective approach to increasing mathematical skills, yet the underlying mechanisms are not yet understood. The authors discuss several alternative mechanisms based on the literature that can be verified in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents "The Mediterranean Forest," an interactive exhibit designed for the Science Museum of Valencia. The exhibit engages children aged 3–8 by bringing their animal drawings to life in a virtual world. The system allows children to select, paint, scan, and transform drawings into three-dimensional avatars. These virtual animals interact with each other in the environment and with the children in the room. The exhibit is a collaborative space, where users can manipulate the real world, that promotes learning by exploration. The proposed solution integrates various cutting-edge technologies, including a large Virtual Reality projection system with blending techniques, Kinect devices for the interactivity, cheoptics hologram technology for realistic 3D visuals, and AI-driven virtual avatars simulating different behaviors and reacting to the user's approach. The exhibit was evaluated through a study involving children, with feedback collected using a tailored questionnaire and the results indicated high levels of engagement and enjoyment among the children, with the majority expressing positive experiences. Some questions were not understandable for some children, which should be considered for future formal evaluation. The system's intuitiveness allowed children to navigate and interact with the virtual environment. The exhibit also demonstrates scalability, accommodating large groups of children effectively. Overall, "The Mediterranean Forest" successfully captivates children's attention, fostering creativity and imagination by transforming their drawings into a dynamic virtual world. This study underscores the benefits of using interactive technologies in museum settings to enhance children's learning experiences, encouraging further advancements in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflection plays a critical role in learning. Game-based learning environments have significant potential to elicit and support student reflection by prompting learners to think critically about their own learning processes and performance. Stealth assessment models, used for unobtrusively assessing student competencies from evidence of game interaction data and facilitating learning through adaptive feedback, can be enhanced by incorporating evidence from students' written reflections. We present a deep learning-based stealth assessment framework that predicts depth of student reflections and science content post-test scores during game-based learning. With the increasing adoption of AI techniques in decision-making processes, it is important to evaluate the fairness of these models. To address this concern, we investigate encoded bias in our stealth assessment model with respect to student gender and prior game-playing experience in deep learning-based stealth assessment models and examine the impact of debiasing on the models' predictive performance. We evaluate the predictive performance of the deep learning-based stealth assessment models and measure encoded bias with the Absolute Between-ROC Area (ABROCA) statistic using gameplay data from 119 students collected in a series of classroom studies with a reflection-enriched game-based learning environment for middle school microbiology, Crystal Island. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of deep learning-based stealth assessment models and multiple debiasing techniques for deriving algorithmically fair stealth assessment models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In visual arts education, understanding abstract concepts and intricate symbolism is crucial for appreciating traditional art. However, traditional teaching methods often fail to facilitate students' grasp of these ideas, resulting in reduced engagement and inefficient learning. To overcome this, our study integrates Augmented Reality (AR) technology into a card game to enhance visual arts education. Using a quasi-experimental approach and a gamification model, we evaluated the influence of AR technology in the card game. Sixty Primary 6 students participated, divided into an experimental group (using an AR-based card game) and a control group (using a conventional card game). The study concluded that AR technology significantly improved student performance, flow state, and reduced cognitive load, highlighting its potential to enhance visual arts education. This study contributes to the ongoing research on Augmented Reality Game-Based Learning (AR-GBL) for visual arts education. It also guides art teachers in effectively integrating AR technology into authentic classroom teaching environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trend in history education is gradually emphasizing the development of historical thinking and collaborative problem-solving skills, which are expected to enhance the breadth and depth of learners' thinking. The integration of game-based learning with collaborative problem-solving activities designed for historical thinking is expected to help increase learners' motivation. Cognitive scaffolding can provide immediate guidance in educational games to facilitate proper understanding and discussion of historical knowledge among learners. In this study, we used the history educational game "Void Broken 2.0" embedded with cognitive scaffolding to guide students to use their historical thinking skills in collaborative problem-solving tasks, and analyzed the behavioral patterns of the learners in using cognitive scaffolding and discussing historical thinking. The participants in this study were 158 high school students divided into an experimental group (game-based learning) and a control group (reading-based learning). The results showed that the learning activities of both groups contributed to the learning effectiveness, and there was no significant difference between the groups. As the game progressed, students in the experimental group actively utilized the assistance of the cognitive scaffolding. The need for immediate access to the cognitive scaffold's prompts did not increase significantly as the game progressed, and students with high prior knowledge were willing to share their understanding and incorporate more diverse types of information into the discussion. Low prior knowledge students' need for immediate access to the cognitive scaffolding hints increased significantly as the game progressed, and they were more willing to work with their peers to find information related to chronological reasoning, engage in repetitive discussions, and explore possible clues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of propagating disinformation (a.k.a. fake news) on social media has increased significantly in the last few years. There are several initiatives around the world to combat this serious problem. Maybe the most promising ones involve training people to identify fake news. The use of digital educational games (DEG) to implement such initiatives has presented significant results. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, most of the existing DEG applied to this purpose are designed for English-written News articles, leaving an important gap for news written in other languages, such as Portuguese, for example. Faced with this scenario, this article presents JEDi, a DEG that trains students to identify fake news written in Portuguese. JEDi is a version of the known Trail Game where the players must traverse the board by correctly distinguishing real from false news. We raise the hypothesis that as the students play JEDi, they develop the ability to recognize disinformation. It is also important to highlight that JEDi collects detailed data from every match in order to provide longitudinal analyses of each player's performance. This paper reports the application of JEDi in three case studies. While the first study involved 43 students from high school, the second and the third were developed with 29 undergraduate and 33 graduate students, respectively. Quantitative and qualitative results obtained in the three studies point to JEDi's effectiveness as a fake news detection training instrument. Mining techniques such as association rule mining were employed in data analysis and revealed frequent information that occurred simultaneously in JEDi's database (e.g. some mined association rules showed that even students who considered themselves experts in identifying fake news could improve their skills by playing successive rounds of the game). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have incorporated concept maps into digital games to enable learners to make connections between subject concepts in the game. However, most learners do not associate spontaneously with the thematic concepts in the game but need to be facilitated by effective scaffolding mechanisms to reconceptualize the learning process and content. Therefore, this study proposed a knowledge check-based concept map-guided gaming strategy for chemistry learning for secondary-level learners. Specifically, the knowledge check-based concept map-guided gaming strategy was employed as a learning strategy while playing digital games. The knowledge check mechanismwas developed based on the notation of two-tier testing. Moreover, the learning environment was a self-developed chemical classification-based digital game, in which learners learned through concept mapping guided gaming tasks with factual and conceptual questions to confirm that they can actually learn content and conceptual understanding in the game. To understand the effects of the proposed strategy, a quasi-experimental design was adopted to measure compare two groups' learning achievement, problem-solving awareness, critical thinking tendency, and germane cognitive load of seventh-grade students using the knowledge check-based concept map-guided gaming strategy and the conventional concept map-guided gaming strategy. The results of the study showed that learners' learning achievement, problem-solving awareness, critical thinking tendency, and germane cognitive load in chemistry learning were effectively improved by the knowledge check-based concept map-guided gaming strategy. Furthermore, this study implies that teachers can adjust their teaching scaffolds and provide strategies according to learners' learning behaviors in digital game-based learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary science students still struggle to master scientific concepts and apply content-based knowledge. The instructional design behind the incorporation of innovative technology and the use of game-based learning (GBL) could be a key to increasing student acquisition of science knowledge. Using a mixed methods design, this study examined the effects of a scaffolded Game-based Learning (GBL) science unit using a virtual reality (VR) game component. The VR game focused on the scientific method, lab safety, and equipment, and purposefully embedded instructional scaffolds to support the needs of diverse learners. The quasi-experimental study (pre- and post-test design) investigated the acquisition of targeted science knowledge with student groups of differing motivation levels and under two different game modes (immersive and non-immersive). With a mixed methods embedded design, quantitative data (student pre- and post-tests) was analyzed first followed by qualitative data (classroom video observations and student focus groups). Statistical analysis revealed: (1) students demonstrate an overall improvement on the post-test of targeted science knowledge in a scaffolded GBL learning design, (2) students using the immersive VR mode showed greater improvement in targeted science knowledge than students using the non-immersive desktop game, and (3) students with low intrinsic motivation performed better in the immersive VR than the desktop version. Further examination of qualitative data uncovered the GBL curricular activities and scaffolds may have also contributed to students' science learning gains through reflection and discussion after gameplay experiences. The repeated multimodal learning opportunities and the opportunities to learn through whole-body movements were also found to be the potential reasons why the immersive VR group outperformed the non-immersive group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching soft skills like team dynamics and critical thinking in content-heavy higher education curriculum can be challenging. Employing educational escape rooms is a novel game-based learning strategy in various disciplines, including health sciences. Escape rooms provide the opportunity for a group to work together as they solve puzzles within a limited time. The skills harnessed and developed within the game by participants are parallel to these soft skills. The present study sought to design a neuroscience-themed physical escape room for the purpose of soft skills development and obtain feedback from undergraduate biomedical or health science students following the completion of the room. Likert-type scale statements in the feedback survey regarding the enjoyability, teamwork development and critical thinking within the game scored positively. Unsurprisingly, the recurring positive theme in the qualitative responses collected revolved around how participants found the activity fun and how it encouraged them to think critically. The present findings suggest that this escape room can in a brief period encourage students to employ communication and teamwork skills and naturally comes with an element of fun, making the experience memorable and engaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although user-generated microgames, defined as very simple games made by non-professionals on open platforms, are popular and appear to have considerable advantages in facilitating learning, further exploration is needed to establish their potential in instructional practices. The present study investigates the design, participation and experience of teaching and learning facilitated by user-generated microgames on an open educational platform. Through an exploratory experiment research method, four elementary school teachers designed and implemented microgame-based learning utilising these very small games on GeoGebra Classroom attended by 129 students. Data were gathered from lesson plans, classroom activity records and self-reflection questionnaires. This study revealed that teachers designed learning with various user-generated microgames and debriefing methods respecting learning content, but they shared comparatively similar scenarios by inserting microgame-based learning into the middle of the main session. The completion rate for the debriefing activity is minimum although the total joining times overshoot the number of students. Teachers found that user-generated microgames are acceptable to orchestrate short serious gaming sessions even though they are limited to one player with basic interfaces. Notwithstanding several disadvantages of these microgames recognised by students, such as missing learning instructions and inadequate interfaces, they so far enjoy learning by playing the games. The most critical implication of this study is to provide sufficient instructions and additional time for microgaming sessions in elementary schools to ensure sustainable completion of the briefing, playing and debriefing activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has long been an increased focus on and investment in digital technology in schools to improve the quality of education. While digital tools have gained access to pedagogical spheres, physical activity has been overlooked, as pupils often engage in activities that require minimal bodily movement. In this article, we discuss pupils' experiences with learning through an augmented reality (AR)-based game application and explain how the application supports embodied learning. Digital tools, including gaming, can supplement traditional activities, motivate children to become physically active and enhance their learning experiences. Integrating technology and physical activity can create a more varied, meaningful, and dynamic school day, positively supporting pupils' learning processes. The AR game associated with this study facilitated physical activity and learning experiences through a mobile device application. The empirical material for the study includes interviews with pupils participating in an AR game in mathematics. The findings show that participating in an AR game promoted embodied learning and positively impacted pupils' motivation, engagement and learning processes. More specifically, AR facilitated learners' engagement in the learning process by fostering their active involvement through physical and social collaboration and by enhancing the pupils' joy of learning. Additionally, the pupils expressed that they enjoyed the application's variations and the experiences that followed working collaboratively with the tasks. Moreover, they commonly found the physical and collaborative components of the AR game exciting and academically motivating. Studies on AR games and technology focusing on the opportunities and pedagogical foundations for their use in education are relevant in these precarious times. Indeed, more knowledge is needed on the ways creative and flexible learning processes that transpire within a technological learning environment influence embodied learning, knowledge that is essential for designing teaching and learning in the technical future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate user perceptions and educational impact of gamified online role-play in teledentistry as well as to construct a conceptual framework highlighting how to design this interactive learning strategy, this research employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Participants were requested to complete self-perceived assessments toward confidence and awareness in teledentistry before and after participating in a gamified online role-play. They were also asked to complete a satisfaction questionnaire and participate in an in-depth interview to investigate their learning experience. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and framework analysis. There were 18 participants who completed self-perceived assessments and satisfaction questionnaire, in which 12 of them participated in a semi-structured interview. There were statistically significant increases in self-perceived confidence and awareness after participating in the gamified online role-play (P < 0.001). In addition, the participants were likely to be satisfied with this learning strategy, where usefulness was perceived as the most positive aspect with a score of 4.44 out of 5, followed by ease of use (4.40) and enjoyment (4.03). The conceptual framework constructed from the qualitative findings has revealed five key elements in designing a gamified online role-play, including learner profile, learning settings, pedagogical components, interactive functions, and educational impact. The gamified online role-play has demonstrated its potential in improving self-perceived confidence and awareness in teledentistry. The conceptual framework developed in this research could be considered to design and implement a gamified online role-play in dental education. This research provides valuable evidence on the educational impact of gamified online role-play in teledentistry and how it could be designed and implemented in dental education. This information would be supportive for dental instructors or educators who are considering to implement teledentistry training in their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Game-based learning, which includes non-digital and digital games, highlights the benefits of games in terms of players' learning and engagement. Whereas contemporary research focuses more on digital than non-digital game-based learning, more studies shall compare the effects between the two types of game-based learning and their integration. This study adopts a design research approach to designing and evaluating a board game and the board game integrated with its digital game for developing spatial reasoning abilities. The games were designed with the enactivist perspective on learning. A total of 94 fifth graders participated in four different experimental groups. It was found that the four experimental groups significantly enhanced their spatial reasoning abilities. The two groups of the digital game prior to the board game and prior to as well as posterior to the board game reported significantly more engagement than the other two groups. The results suggest that the board game integrated with the digital game as a warm-up activity is mostly conducive to enhancing spatial reasoning abilities and to facilitating more engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars in teacher education have observed that the dichotomy between teachers' professional and personal identities could restrain their pursuits of adopting innovative approaches in the classroom. At the same time, adopting new pedagogical approaches often contests teachers' professional identities and confidence. In this paper, we examine a graduate course on game-based learning, designed for professionals such as teachers and practitioners. While video games and game-based learning have gained attention from researchers and practitioners, they may pose challenges for many teachers. We observed that this course could provide opportunities for participants to construct their narratives in relation to gaming and learning over time. They may also reinterpret and extend their cultural worlds as part of their teacher identity. We conclude that enabling teachers to confront tensions and risks of adopting unfamiliar practices could help them transform their self-narratives. This study could inform design considerations to support teachers' adopting innovative pedagogies in future research and practices on professional learning. It is also important to acknowledge that the study had limited participant diversity and representativeness. There is the need for further exploration of teachers with different backgrounds and experiences in order to better understand the challenges and opportunities of adopting innovative pedagogies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the use of an innovative instructional approach called Productive Failure (PF) to design an educational game and its support. The study then examined the effects of two different types of instruction—PF vs. Direct Instruction (DI)—on learning genetics and relevant mathematical knowledge in a Game-Based Learning (GBL) environment. One hundred fifty-seven Year 10 students from two high schools participated in two quasi-experimental studies. The participants were divided into two treatment groups: one group learned targeted concepts using PF with GBL (PF-GBL), while the other group learned the same concepts using DI with GBL (DI-GBL). The results of the first study indicated that the PF-GBL group showed significantly higher learning gains than the DI-GBL group on explanatory genetics knowledge. In the second study, no group difference was found between the PF-GBL group and the DI-GBL group on learning genetics and relevant mathematical knowledge. Implications of findings, limitations, and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This perspective piece explores the transformative potential and associated challenges of large language models (LLMs) in education and how those challenges might be addressed utilizing playful and game-based learning. While providing many opportunities, the stochastic elements incorporated in how present LLMs process text, requires domain expertise for a critical evaluation and responsible use of the generated output. Yet, due to their low opportunity cost, LLMs in education may pose some risk of over-reliance, potentially and unintendedly limiting the development of such expertise. Education is thus faced with the challenge of preserving reliable expertise development while not losing out on emergent opportunities. To address this challenge, we first propose a playful approach focusing on skill practice and human judgment. Drawing from game-based learning research, we then go beyond this playful account by reflecting on the potential of well-designed games to foster a willingness to practice, and thus nurturing domain-specific expertise. We finally give some perspective on how a new pedagogy of learning with AI might utilize LLMs for learning by generating games and gamifying learning materials, leveraging the full potential of human-AI interaction in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the impact of interactive learning technologies, using gamification as an example, on students' motivation, engagement, and academic achievements. The study was conducted among 108 students from the Hangzhou College of Commerce in China. The following research findings were obtained: experimental group students performed better (18.93) than students in the control group (15.49); the Kahoot! game improved motivation (mean = 4.14, SD = 0.77) and engagement (mean = 3.54, SD = 1.05). The resulting data suggested the proposed model's effectiveness in teaching Chinese grammar with the game-based interactive learning technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A distinguishing feature of intelligent game-based learning environment is its capacity for assisting stealth assessment. Stealth assessment gathers data regarding student competency in an invisible way and enables drawing valid inferences with respect to student knowledge. Stealth assessment might radically extend the impact and scope of learning analytics. Stealth assessment describes the unobtrusive assessment of learner by using emergent data from the digital traces in electronic learning environment via machine learning technology. This study presents a new stealth assessment model using ensemble learning for inferring the student competency in a game-based learning (GBL) environments, named ELSAM-GBL technique. To perform automated and accurate stealth assessment, this study focuses on the design of ensemble learning model by the incorporation of three DL models, namely gated recurrent unit (GRU), sparse auto encoder (SAE), and vanilla recurrent neural network (RNN). At the same time, the hyperparameter tuning of the DL models takes place using the atomic orbital search (AOS) optimization algorithm, which helps in improving the ensemble learning process. To demonstrate the enhanced stealth assessment performance of the ELSAM-GBL technique, a comprehensive experimental analysis is conducted. The comparative study shows the enhanced performance of the presented ELSAM-GBL technique over other DL models in terms of different metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Games have been used as a learning tool for centuries. Gamification and game-based learning are becoming more prominent in educational settings for several reasons. When it comes to learning, being focused and immersed can massively improve a student's experience. The purpose of this study is to map the emerging trends of gamification and game-based learning (GBL) in the Vocational and Education Training (VET) sector. For this purpose, a Systematic Literature Review was conducted through the three most relevant scientific databases – Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and PubMed with Google Scholar as a supporting database. The obtained sample was further selected following the PRISMA guidelines with screening and eligibility processes conducted based on inclusion criteria that were defined with consideration to the research's aim. This review comprised seventeen studies. The findings revealed a growing interest in the Asian continents in research from 2020 onwards. Furthermore, most of the study is centred on vocational schools and colleges in the engineering and healthcare fields. According to the overview, the digital learning platform and simulation technology are the most promising tools used in the research. The findings support the conclusion that gamification and game-based learning can improve academic performance, engagement, and motivation in vocational education learners. As a result, this study suggests that more research is needed to determine the gamification strategies that are most suited for vocational education and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious games, board games, and well-designed commercial video games represent emerging technologies that have been utilized by instructors to help students develop systems thinking skills. In this paper, the author proposes an innovative pedagogical framework that can support educators using digital game-based learning in higher education. By following a series of steps and activities, university instructors can successfully integrate digital gameplay in their classrooms and align course content with gameplay objectives. Game-based environments for learning offer a glass box approach that can explain how and why these technologies can be suitable for teaching complex competencies like systems thinking skills in a variety of academic contexts. The glass box instructional approach can provide researchers with student data that can be used during gameplay to help students develop competencies and adapt instructional strategies that can tailor the game environment to improve student performance. Successfully implementing digital game-based learning in university classrooms requires a methodical instructional approach that can support both novice and expert technology using educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on past studies showing that mobile learning improves learning outcomes and differs within a domain (e.g., science), this meta-analysis models domain-specific differences (e.g., learning activities) that drive these differences in science performance. A systematic database search (i.e., Web of Science, JSTOR, ERIC, PsycINFO, ProQuest Dissertations, and ACM) identified controlled experiments. A meta-analysis determined the overall effect of mobile learning on 4,145 primary and secondary school students' science achievement, and tested for moderator effects across 57 effect sizes from 44 studies. Mobile learning increased science achievement (g =.857). Mobile learning's effect sizes were larger for (a) inquiry or game-based learning, than other learning activities; (b) biology, and progressively smaller for earth and space sciences, chemistry, and physics; (c) activities jointly led by students and teachers, followed by those led by students; and then those led by teachers; (d) collectivistic countries than individualistic ones; and (e) primary or middle school students. Intervention duration, device type, learning environment, and publication year showed no moderation effects. Hence, a comprehensive theory of mobile learning must include age, learning approach, subject area, user roles, and cultural values. These results also suggest that science educators using mobile learning might improve student learning by (a) integrating it with science inquiry or game-based learning, (b) starting with biology before other science topics, (c) using learning activities jointly led by students and teachers, (d) starting with primary or middle school, and (e) starting with students in countries with collectivist cultural values to help one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children always have a natural inclination to play, so the purpose of game-based learning is to establish a way for children to acquire knowledge while playing. This study is to discover the relationship between children's play preferences and learning performances toward a mathematics mobile game we designed. The tablet game we designed, "Lily's Closet", is a mathematics game that guides children aged 3-8 to learn "classification". To explore the preferences and learning performances of the games we designed for the preschool children, we put "Lili's Closet" on a children's tablet named Kizpad with over 200 games. We classify and analyze players' behavior data by Data Mining in our designed game to explore children's play behaviors and preferences. We sampled 6,924 children from Taiwan, aged 3-8 years old. In the results, we found that there is a significant difference in the number of ages and achievements in the game. The maturity of the child's age is positively correlated with the achievement of the game, but it is negatively correlated with the number of times of willing to play. As a result, we suggest that to assist learning, we should give children different levels of games according to their ages. The research hopes to resonate with readers and jointly explore the relationship between mobile games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object-based learning includes the active incorporation of historic artifacts into educational environments, which may yield meaningful learning experiences. However, gaining access to artifacts and coordinating object-based curricula with museum staff pose immense challenges to educators. Furthermore, digital representations of historic artifacts are often removed from authentic, culturally-situated surroundings. By providing a system-level overview of a game currently under development titled Kresy, this emerging technology report explains how video game affordances, particularly interactive narrative, may support object-based learning in digital environments. To support object-based learning and engagement with 20th-century Eastern European history, Kresy weaves story through evidence collection and inquiry mechanics. In presenting these design considerations, this report shows the viability of merging game- and object-based learning within an immersive virtual environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though game elements can increase motivation and engagement, they also might distract learners and thereby decrease performance and learning outcomes. In the current study, we investigated the effects of intrinsically integrated game elements on performance and learning outcomes. In a pre-post training study, 85 adult participants were randomly assigned either to the game-based or non-game-based training condition. Participants trained their fraction magnitude understanding with digital number line estimation tasks on five consecutive days (á 15–20 min). The learning outcomes were evaluated using a paper-based number line estimation task. While participants in both the game-based and non-game-based condition improved their fraction magnitude understanding from pretest to posttest, their improvement did not differ significantly. However, during the training, participants in the game-based condition responded more accurately but were slower than those in the non-game-based condition. The current results suggest that game elements might increase participants' cognitive engagement and change their priorities or strategies (i.e., accuracy over speed) during learning. Nevertheless, better training performance did not lead to superior learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamified learning is an instructional strategy that motivates students to learn, and the use of multiple representations assists learning by promoting students' thinking and advanced mathematical problem-solving skills. In particular, emergency distance learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may result in a lack of motivation and effectiveness in learning. This study designed an online gamified learning activity incorporating multi-representational scaffolding and compared the differences in the learning achievement and motivation for the gamified activity and general synchronous distance learning. In addition, for the group that conducted the gamified learning activity, we measured the participants' flow, anxiety, and emotion during the activity. A total of 36 high school students participated in the experiment. The results indicated that the gamified learning activity was not significantly effective in terms of enhancing learning achievement. In terms of learning motivation, a significant decrease in motivation was found for the group using general synchronous learning, while a significant increase in motivation was found for the group using synchronous gamified learning. This indicates that despite the negative impact of the pandemic on learning, gamified learning still enhances students' learning motivation. The results of flow, anxiety, and emotion showed that the participants had a positive and engaged experience. Participants provided feedback that the multi-representational scaffolding facilitates learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented reality (AR) technology is playing an important role in the preschool education. AR provides cost-effective learning systems which improve the attention skills of preschool children. In AR technology, the marker is used as an open-source computer tracking object to create AR applications that overlay virtual imagery on the physical world. Therefore, through augmented reality (AR) technology, learning materials, and knowledge can be visualized, and preschool children can learn interactively with the virtual model in an enjoyable manner and provide a stress-free teaching environment. This paper presents an ABCD AR Game for autistic children to learn the English alphabet innovatively. In the proposed system, a simple marker is used to recognize each character of the English alphabet to teach autistic children. After marker recognition, the ABCD AR-Game displays the corresponding image, helping students understand of English alphabets and their pronunciation, that provides multi-level gaming for reading, speaking, coloring, and writing under the teacher's and parent's supervision. The proposed system also provides game-based learning such as preview, question, read, self-recite, and test (PQRST) statistical method to optimize autistic children's reading and learning of English alphabets. For evaluations, seventy-two (72) autistic children, their parents, and ten teachers participated and were divided into two groups for the assessment. Evaluation results indicated that autistic children, parents, and teachers reacted positively to the ABCD AR-Game. These results showed that ABCD AR-Game enhances autistic children's learning and their motivation to learn about the English alphabet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational digital games can be an effective way to teach English grammatical material because they provide an interactive and engaging learning experience. The purpose of this study is to clarify how playing digital games affects students' motivation and performance in university-level English grammar classes. [The North-Eastern Federal Institute of MK Ammosova in Neryungri] used a quasi-experimental study, testing, respondent survey, and statistical data analysis method for this purpose. 114 Fourth-year students were the participants, and they were split into the experimental and control groups at random. Students in the experimental group were given a learning format that included the use of digital games designed to teach English grammar (Quizlet and Kahoot!). The traditional teaching strategies offered by the university curriculum were used with the students in the control group (written assignments, textbooks, presentations, and tests). The post-test revealed that the control group's results were nearly identical to those of the pre-test. The students in the experimental group performed better. The proportion of students scoring "poor" fell from 30 to 10%, while the proportion scoring "moderate" fell from 42 to 27%. The "good" score increased from 17 to 40%, and the "excellent" score increased from 11 to 23%. These results suggest that digital games are a more productive and effective tool for teaching English grammar than traditional games. Students were also highly motivated, as they found digital games to be both entertaining and effective for language acquisition. Academic performance did not significantly improve. Based on this, future research might create electives or courses that teach English grammar more successfully using gamification techniques. These results can also be used to guide future research in education, language acquisition, and modern technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using games in education has the potential to increase students' motivation and engagement in the learning process, gathering long-lasting practical knowledge. Expanding interest in implementing a game-based approach in computer science education highlights the need for a comprehensive overview of the literature research. This scoping review aims to provide insight into current trends and identify research gaps and potential research topics concerning game-based learning in computer science. Using standard methodology for scoping review, we identified 113 articles from four digital libraries published between 2017 and 2021. Those articles were analyzed concerning the educational level, type of the game, computer science topic covered by the game, pedagogical strategies, and purpose for implementing this approach in different educational levels. The results show that the number of research articles has increased through the years, confirming the importance of implementing a game-based approach in computer science. Different kinds of games, using different technology, concerning different computer science topics are presented in the research. The obtained results indicate that there is no standardized game or standardized methodology that can be used for the creation of an educational game for computer science education. Analyzed articles mainly implement a game-based approach using learning by playing, and no significant focus is given to the effectiveness of learning by designing a game as a pedagogical strategy. Moreover, the approach is mainly implemented for developing computational thinking or programming skills, highlighting the need for its implementation in other topics beyond programming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational games are becoming increasingly prevalent. Recently, adaptive game-based learning to accommodate diverse learners has received considerable attention. The current study aims to explore the effect of adaptive scaffolding from a multidimensional engagement perspective. A total of 61 students from a Taiwan secondary school studied Newton's laws in a computer-based interactive game environment. The students were assigned to either a fixed scaffolding group or an adaptive scaffolding group to test the effect of adaptive scaffolding. The findings suggest that adaptive scaffolding can have a significant effect on students' learning performance and engagement. The study offers significant implications for the design and integration of adaptive scaffold to promote learning engagement in digital game-based learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) permeates every aspect of our daily lives and is no longer a subject reserved for a select few in higher education but is essential knowledge that our youth need for the future. Much is unknown about the level of AI knowledge that is age and developmentally appropriate for high school, let alone about how to teach AI to even younger learners. In this theoretical paper, we discuss the design of a game-based learning environment for high school AI education, drawing upon insights gained from a prior cognitive interview study at a STEM focused private high school. We argue that game-based learning is an excellent fit for AI education due to the commonality of problem solving in both game playing and AI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented Reality Game-Based Learning (ARGBL) is becoming increasingly relevant in Technology-Enhanced Learning. Games with AR characteristics, or even AR applications structured with rules and game elements, are proving to be effective and successful learning experiences. There is a need to include teachers in the design process. In this paper, two case studies are shown in order to validate a methodological approach for the co-design of ARGBL, in which 6 teachers participated. This is a co-design method that proposes a thorough, iterative process guided by design principles and mediated by dialogue among the stakeholders. Here, the process of co-design with teachers is analyzed and assessed using mixed-methods observations on the use of the produced ARGBL games with students on naturalistic environments. The validation process links the usefulness of the ensuing products with the use of the method and shows the benefits of using co-design methods to create ARGBL experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting a pretest–posttest experimental design with repeated measures, this study examined the effects of three types of game-based learning supports in the form of modeling on knowledge development that contributed to successful math problem solving and students' perceived game flow. Forty-one sixth-grade students participated in the study and played a 3D architecture game that aims to promote mathematical conceptual understanding and problem solving skills, and presented with different types of learning supports (i.e., conceptual knowledge only, procedural knowledge only, and the combination of the two). No significant effect of the types of supports was found on participants' perceived game flow. However, there was a significant impact of support type on participants' performance on two posttests. The results indicated that the learning support with procedural knowledge only, compared with the learning support with both conceptual and procedural knowledge as well as that with conceptual knowledge only, was significantly more effective in promoting students' knowledge acquisition related to mathematical problem solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates whether using My Math Academy, which provides personalized content and adaptive embedded assessments to support existing curricula, can improve learning outcomes and engagement for kindergarten and first grade students (N = 505 treatment, 481 control). Findings indicate that students using My Math Academy made significant learning gains in math relative to children who did not. More skills mastered in My Math Academy was associated with greater learning gains on the external assessment, with the greatest impacts among students with lower levels of math knowledge, where there was more room for growth and on the most difficult skills. Teachers surveyed found My Math Academy easy to use in their classrooms and recognized it as a valuable learning resource that supplemented their existing curricula to improve students' engagement, motivation, and confidence in learning math. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is little research about using information technologies in music education. The issue of comparing the approach to music education based on modern technologies with the traditional approach is of particular interest. Thus, the purpose of the study is to compare the effectiveness of music education based on modern technologies with the traditional approach to learning music. The study was conducted at Lishui Music School. The level of musical skills and abilities of music school students was assessed for the period of 1.5 years. The study involved children aged 5–6 years who had no prior musical experience. The control and study groups consisted of twenty-four children each. The children learned to play the piano and solfeggio. The study group trained in accordance with the New way of Music program. The control group followed the traditional curriculum. At the end of the study, there was an exam. The students performed program pieces corresponding to the study period. The expert committee evaluated the following performance parameters: the number of errors in the reproduction of the musical text, the performance rhythm, the artistic expressiveness of the performance, continuous and complete performance, the performance dynamics, mastery of strokes, as well as positioning of the body and hands during the performance. Except for the last parameter, the study group performed better than the control group. The results obtained justify further expanded studies of the New way of Music program to be subsequently widely introduced in music schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In higher education, many universities in Taiwan let college students learn excel in a self-directed way. The current axle of the Excel curriculum mainly relies on self-directed learning. In the study, we designed the digital game "Legendary Wizard Excel" and took a certified Excel textbook as the research tool. The game we designed integrated the role-play with cognitive scaffolding to help learners learn Excel skills, whereas the textbook we used was "Excel Expert" in the Microsoft Office Specialist. We compared the Learning Effectiveness, Flow Status, and Technology Acceptance Model with 187 college students between two tools, and found that: (1) The game reached a high Technology Acceptance Model; (2) Both groups of learners had significant improvements in learning effectiveness and were engaged in the activity; (3) On learning effectiveness, learners in game-based learning groups achieved higher than learners in textbook groups; (4) Learners in game-based learning groups engaged better in the activity than learners in textbook groups. Therefore, in the future, we looked forward to bringing our results to higher education levels and workplace training to enhance the Excel skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology-based education of children with special needs has become the focus of many research works in recent years. The wide range of different disabilities that are encompassed by the term "special needs", together with the educational requirements of the children affected, represent an enormous multidisciplinary challenge for the research community. In this article, we present a systematic literature review of technology-enhanced and game-based learning systems and methods applied on children with special needs. The article analyzes the state-of-the-art of the research in this field by selecting a group of primary studies and answering a set of research questions. Although there are some previous systematic reviews, it is still not clear what the best tools, games or academic subjects (with technology-enhanced, game-based learning) are, out of those that have obtained good results with children with special needs. The 18 articles selected (carefully filtered out of 614 contributions) have been used to reveal the most frequent disabilities, the different technologies used in the prototypes, the number of learning subjects, and the kind of learning games used. The article also summarizes research opportunities identified in the primary studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Society is continually evolving and the needs of current generations of students are changing, deriving from the ongoing digital evolution of the whole of society. Gamification tools are increasingly being implemented in education, since previous studies have demonstrated their usefulness to foster motivation, particularly in the case of engineering students. For that reason, there is a great need to continue providing empirical evidence of experiences proving the positive consequences of new active learning tools. In this work, a video-game (which would be catalogued as a serious game in the literature) was implemented in a subject traditionally perceived by the students as very complex, at the School of Engineering in Cádiz (Spain). The purpose of the video-game was to provide an entertaining way to review the theoretical concepts taught during the lessons. Since the video-game was successful, another one was developed with the same environment but the theoretical contents of another part of the subject. After implementing the first game, which was played by N = 311 students, 94% of them stated that the game increased their motivation in the subject, and also that the games were very easy to use, very helpful to review the subject and enjoyable. Also, the students who played the games obtained a higher performance compared to the rest (around + 36% higher passing rates). Last of all, a t-student analysis revealed that the mean differences between the exam scores obtained by students who played the games and the exam scores of those who did not play were significant for both games. The impact of gender was also investigated, showing that gender had a small influence on the rating given to the games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of previous research findings have shown that educational games can improve students' knowledge, proving that the joyful learning experience improves the learning process. However, it is not easy to make educative or learning activities interesting enough to stimulate the acquisition of career knowledge in lower grade elementary school students. This research was conducted to examine the effectiveness of quartet card game in increasing career knowledge in lower grade elementary school students (grades 1, 2, and 3). A quantitative approach and an experimental method were employed. The data were collected with career knowledge pretest and posttest with 254 lower grade elementary school students and were analyzed with a statistical t-test of the gain scores and variance analysis of the posttest gain scores from the three different methods. The results showed that of the three quartet card game methods examined, only two were significantly found effective (p <.05) in increasing the career knowledge in lower grade elementary school students; namely, the chain message method and the conventional method. The memory game method failed to increase the students' career knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on empirically analyzing the final products designed by 147 academics from 11 countries who participated in an international open education movement workshop by answering the research questions "What are the techno-pedagogical components of the products designed by the participants to encourage the open educational movement? and what practice of the open educational movement is being executed?" The article starts with a conceptual basis that describes the concepts of Active learning, Education 4.0, Complex Thinking and Open Education. It presents (1) the case study methodology on which this research is based, (2) two case studies on open education, (3) a game-based intervention proposal to support instructors in training university students in complex thinking skills based on Education 4.0 technologies and game-based learning principles, (4) and a discussion of the findings and opportunities for further work in the area. The findings of this study reveal that (A) the use of emerging and 4.0 technologies in initiatives of the open education movement continue to increase; (B) most of the open education initiatives designed by academics participating in the workshops were focused on the production of OER; and (C) inclusive access to education and continuing professional development of teachers is a constant concern addressed in open education initiatives. The results of this research suggest that training and development interventions implying the creation or design of open education initiatives should focus on encouraging all kinds of open education practices (i.e. use, production, dissemination and mobilization). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital games are considered relevant in higher education due to their ability to foster authentic, active and experiential learning opportunities that are of importance in engineering education. However, as a relatively new pedagogical tool, there is the need to understand the perceptions of engineering students as well as to identify factors that influence their adoption of games for learning. So far, only a few studies have investigated the perceptions of higher education students towards learning games and even fewer for engineering students. To bridge this research gap, the current study utilises a mixed-method research design to identify factors that influence the adoption of digital learning games by engineering students as well as their overall perceptions of the use of games for engineering education. Results from the analysed quantitative and qualitative data suggest that engineering students value fun and engagement as well as relevance to the curriculum as factors that would influence their intentions to use digital games for engineering education. Students also showed openness to the use of digital games for learning, but resistance to their use for assessment. These findings have implications for the design of games and classroom deployment of games, as these provide insights to game designers and educators on the factors to consider in the design and classroom deployment of games, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamification has been widely used to design better educational systems aiming to increase students' concentration, motivation, engagement, flow experience, and others positive experiences. With advances in research on gamification in education, over the past few years, many studies have highlighted the need to tailor the gamification design properties to match individual students' needs, characteristics and preferences. Thus, different studies have been conducted to personalize the gamification in education. However, the results are still contradictory and need to be better understood to advance this field. To provide a complete understanding of this research domain, we conducted a systematic literature review to summarize the results and discussions on studies that cover the field of tailored gamified education. Following a systematic process, we analysed 2108 studies and identified 19 studies to answer our research questions. The results indicate that most of the studies only consider students' gamer types to tailor the systems, and most of the experiments do not provide sufficient statistical evidence, especially regarding learning performance using tailored gamified systems. Based on the results, we also provided an agenda with different challenges, opportunities, and research directions to improve the literature on tailored gamification in education. Our study contributes to the field of gamification design in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current literature indicates the significance of embodied scaffoldings in enhancing the effectiveness of interactive learning technologies for STEM conceptual learning and relevant cognitive skill development. However, there is limited research on pedagogical approaches for integrating mixed embodied scaffoldings in learning with interactive technologies. This study addressed this gap by exploring the impact of delivery sequence (concreteness fading or introduction) on conceptual learning with an educational game and examining how students’ prior proficiency influences the impact. We adopted a between-subject quasi-experimental design, where two classes of fourth graders (n = 123, Mage = 10.07, SDage = 0.55) were randomly assigned to receive scaffoldings either in a concreteness fading sequence (n = 63), moving from concrete to abstract, or a concreteness introduction sequence (n = 60), moving from abstract to concrete, as they learned with a math geometric game. Results revealed that the introduction sequence was more effective than the fading sequence in promoting spatial abilities (mental folding and mental rotation) and flow experience immediately after the intervention. Nevertheless, the two sequences demonstrated similar effects on students’ conceptual understanding (retention knowledge and transfer knowledge) and spatial abilities in the delayed posttest. Considering students’ prior proficiency, it was found that those with lower proficiency exhibited greater retention knowledge gain than those with higher proficiency regardless of sequence design and test time. However, students with higher proficiency showed greater mental rotation gain for the delayed posttest regardless of sequence design. The findings generated important implications for designing an effective interactive learning environment and developing appropriate integrations of embodied scaffoldings in a more targeted manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review, utilizing the PRISMA framework, analyzes 248 international and 143 Iranian articles to provide an overview of studies on games in education. It examines five key themes: common terminology, methodology, type of study, variables studied, and technologies used, presenting findings in the same order of priority. Internationally, the term “serious games” is more prevalent, particularly among European scholars, while in the Americas and Asia, generic terms like “digital games” are more common. In contrast, Iranian research predominantly uses the term “computer games”. Methodologically, both international and Iranian studies primarily employ quantitative approaches, with questionnaires as the common data collection tool. However, international studies are more likely to employ experimental and quasi-experimental designs in explanatory-type research, while Iranian studies often use correlational designs to explore relationships between variables without intervention. In examining variables, both sets of literature frequently assess cognitive outcomes such as learning and motivation, with international studies showing a broader use of varied assessment tools. Technology-wise, international research shows a prevalent use of computer-based platforms and a rising interest in mobile technologies, reflecting a similar trend in Iranian studies but with a noticeable lag in adopting newer technologies. The findings of this study serve as a benchmark for scholars in various regions studying the use of games in education. Additionally, they provide new insights into how linguistic and cultural differences may influence scientific discussions. The paper concludes with key suggestions for future studies to improve research practices in the field and increase the generalizability of findings across contextual and regional boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Video games are a medium most students are familiar with; thus, they can be used as educational tools to meet the needs of twenty-first-century students. Given the popularity of video games with teenagers, they can be incorporated as educational tools in the science classroom. However, the affordances of using Minecraft Education (Minecraft Edu)—as a game-based learning (GBL) tool—for learning atomic structure in junior high school have not been researched. The purpose of this article was to explore the affordances of Minecraft Edu for learning atomic structure in junior high school by exploring students' experiences of using Minecraft Edu as a learning tool. The main research question was: what are the affordances of Minecraft Edu for learning atomic structure in junior high school? A qualitative research approach underpinned by an interpretivist paradigm was adopted for this research since the purpose of this research was to explore students' experiences. The research was conducted with a class of 20 grade 8 students who were observed and interviewed at a South African well-resourced private school. An intervention aligned with the national curriculum for state schools was designed and implemented. It was underpinned by GBL as well as social, cognitive and radical constructivist perspectives. Methodological and source triangulation were used to ensure trustworthiness. Merriam's (Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation, Jossey-Bass, 2009) constant comparative method was used to analyse data. Findings indicated that students were motivated, interested and challenged to think critically while collaborating and that the abstractness of atomic structure was alleviated. Although not all the features of the crafting stations of Minecraft Edu might promote active, deep learning of abstract concepts, it is evident that it holds some affordances for making atomic structure less abstract for students. It needs to be further investigated which features of the crafting stations of Minecraft Edu are conducive to deep learning, as well as the extent to which they are. Future research could also focus on designing an online Minecraft-based intervention as opposed to a face-to-face intervention as well as using Minecraft Edu in learning other curriculum topics across all grades and diverse learning contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies on game-based learning provide limited and mixed results in the transfer of skills learned during game play to contexts outside of the game. This study tested the effects of playing a blocked-based programming educational game implemented with in-game cognitive supports on students' ability to learn and apply computational thinking (CT) skills in near and far transfer tasks. With 79 students randomly assigned to one of two conditions, the control group received basic game supports and the treatment group received cognitive supports in addition to the basic game supports. After two hours of total gameplay over the course of four days, both groups performed equally well, and students' CT skills were improved significantly at the near transfer level but not at the far transfer level. Students in the control condition performed significantly better on far transfer compared to the students in the treatment condition. Regression analyses indicated that the overall use of the cognitive supports was infrequent, but the amount of time spent voluntarily using cognitive supports with help on goal setting and worked examples predicted far transfer performance. How students use the cognitive supports (subverting the use of cognitive support to conscientiously learn the computational skill by using them more as game cheat sheets) might explain these findings. Design implications and directions for future research on facilitating learning transfer with in-game supports are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers' attitudes and beliefs play an important role in their integration of digital games in the classroom thus the transformative potential of game-based learning. In this study, we adapt the Technology Acceptance Model to examine elementary teachers' acceptance of a digital mathematics game and investigate antecedents to their intention to use the game to teach mathematics. The hypothesized extension of Technology Acceptance Model includes redefined factors in the context of game use during mathematics instructions (perceived ease of use, attitude towards game use, perceived usefulness for mathematical learning), a social factor (environmental support), and specified outcome factors depending on orientations (game-driven intention, mathematics-driven intention). Using survey data from 304 elementary teachers in the USA, the findings confirm associations within the adapted model, including direct links from attitudes and environmental support towards intentions to use the digital game and indirect links from perceived ease of use and usefulness. Implications for acceptance theories and teaching practices to use digital games are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrative as a game design feature constantly yields mixed results for learning in the literature. The purpose of this exploratory mixed-methods case study was to examine design heuristics and implications governing the role of narratives in a digital game-based learning (DGBL) environment for math problem solving. We collected data via observation, semi-structured interviewing, and video recording with twenty-seven college students with diverse demographic backgrounds. Video logging resulted in 2276 behavioral events for quantitative analysis. The study indicated: (1) 11 narrative-governed actions for game-based math problem solving; (2) the positive correlations between narrative usage and successful game-based math problem solving; and (3) the gender effects: girls are supported by game narratives designed with intrinsic integration (i.e., object-oriented narrative) for math problem solving more than boys. The study findings highlighted the critical role of game narratives in a sandbox DGBL environment for math problem solving as well as gender-inclusive design of narratives. A set of data-driven design heuristics and implications for the game narrative in DGBL were delineated and suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]