如何设计科学、有效、有趣的教育游戏 ——学习科学跨学科视角下的数学游戏设计研究

近年来,教育技术的发展为创新学习方式带来了前所未有的机遇.针对游戏化学习研究领域的核心问题——如何设计科学、有效、有趣的教育游戏,以学习科学的跨学科为视角设计了数学游戏《分数跑跑跑》.在认知内容设计方面,依据认知神经科学、教育学、心理学等领域的相关研究成果展开设计,为学习者提供科学的认知支持;同时以实践需求作为设计导向,确保游戏使用的有效性.在保障科学性和有效性的基础上,借助游戏元素充分调动学习者情绪动机状态.经检验,《分数跑跑跑》能够显著提高小学四年级学生的分数概念性知识水平.     

游戏化学习有力促进减负提质

近年来,关注学生学习体验的“游戏化学习”逐渐成为新的研究和实践热点。所谓游戏化学习,是指采用游戏的要素和机制塑造学习行为,使学生在愉快的游戏体验中获得知识积累和道德养成的过程。广东省深圳市宝安区天骄小学充分挖掘游戏的教育价值,在游戏化课程、游戏化活动、游戏化评价等多方面开展深入的实践探索。在当前“双减”背景下,学校积极探索课堂减负增效,将“游戏化学习”作为学校立德树人的新路径。     

游戏化学习与电脑教育游戏探微

电脑游戏具有巨大的魅力,将电脑游戏的魅力迁移到教学活动中来,已被许多教育学者所重视.对此初步探讨了游戏的意义、游戏化学习的内涵、电脑教育游戏的定义与分类、教育教学与电脑游戏的结合模式、开发和使用电脑教育游戏时需要注意的问题等.     

将游戏精神融入教学——学习游戏化和游戏化学习

有几个方面的现象引起了我们的思考：一是对现有课堂教学中机械训练扼杀学习兴趣的种种批评；二是对青少年沦落为电子游戏的奴隶而产生种种偏激甚至违法行为的各类纠偏呼吁。青少年对数码娱乐工具(俗称电脑游戏)的沉迷引发了我们的联想；如果能让孩子们像迷恋数码娱乐工具那样迷恋学习该多好。其可能性就是将数码娱乐工具中某些可取的特征发挥到积极的一面去。于是教育游戏这个主题逐渐为人们所关注，各国研究机构也正在开展类似的研究。     

工程制图游戏化学习设计

工程制图课程需要学生建立二维刻画三维的表达模式,但这种空间能力的形成对多数学生来说并非易事,而且过程枯燥。针对工程制图中组合体的学习设计虚拟积木游戏,游戏中的任务激发了学生的挑战兴趣,尝试—纠错自学习的游戏过程充分调动了学生的主观能动性,使学生在完成游戏的成就感中增强了读图和画图的能力。在课堂中引入虚拟积木游戏,提高了学生的成绩,更为学生打开了设计的创意之门。     

国内十年游戏化学习研究现状与分析

游戏化学习是将教育游戏融入课程教学和自主学习活动,让学生在愉悦的学习体验中获得知识、技能,并培养正确态度的过程.文章通过梳理近十年国内游戏化学习领域中的相关文献,从理论研究、设计与开发、网络技术融合、学习环境、游戏化学习社区以及应用与评价等方面进行了分析与综述,最后对目前发展中存在的不足进行了总结.     

游戏化学习对学生学习兴趣影响的行动研究

文章采用行动研究的方法论,对困扰我们的学习兴趣问题进行了研究。该研究借助Wiki协作备课平台,通过行动、交流和反思,以课例研究的形式初步解决了学生的学习兴趣问题。由外在的教学情境改变到内在的教学策略的提升的行动过程,也让我们更加意识到对思维的挑战才是游戏与教学的契合点。     

数学游戏化学习:内涵与教学策略

在小学数学学习过程中引入游戏化的理念,将数学知识的抽象性和游戏的趣味性有机融合,变"学数学"为"玩数学",能充分调动学生的学习兴趣和潜能,有效化解小学生思维直观性和数学知识抽象性之间的矛盾.针对数学游戏化学习中存在的问题,教师在教学中,要有机地融入游戏元素、设计游戏活动、创设游戏情境,使数学学习变得有趣味、有意义、有创意.     

基于游戏化学习理念的体验式网络课程设计

针对网络课程设计中出现的问题,将游戏化学习和体验学习理论引入课程设计中,将游戏思维和游戏机制运用到网络课程整体设计中,发挥游戏的动机激发、多重交互、及时反馈等优势,在富有趣味性和高度参与性、互动性的学习环境中自主建构知识。通过对南京大学基于此课程设计开设的课程案例介绍和分析,探讨了游戏化网络课程的学习成效。     

新形势下游戏化学习所面临问题及解决策略探讨

游戏化学习是将游戏元素或游戏机制与学习过程融合,进行知识表达和传递、创造以及技能提升和素质培养的新型学习模式。本文通过收集整理近年来国际国内游戏化学习研究的相关文献及游戏案例,分析了当下游戏化学习所面临的问题,并提出了相应的解决策略。     

The effects of goal-oriented instructions in digital game-based learning

Few studies have investigated the effects of the instructions provided in educational computer games on cognitive processing and learning outcomes. In our experiment, we sought to compare the effects on learning outcomes of two different types of goal-oriented instructions: mastery-goal instructions, which prompt learners to develop skills or master new knowledge, and performance-goal instructions, which are frequently used in game environments and which encourage individuals to demonstrate their ability to succeed, particularly by surpassing others. Results showed that a mastery-goal instruction elicited deeper learning (as assessed with a transfer task) than a performance-goal instruction. No effect of instruction was observed on either learning (demonstration consultation) times at the start of the game or on training task (solving riddles) performances during it. These results are discussed in terms of learning processes. This study demonstrates that mastery goal-oriented instructions can promote active processing of educational content in a serious game environment.     

The potentials of game-based environments for integrated,immersive learning data

In the last two decades, game-based learning environments have evolved into powerful learning tools. With the growth and evolution in complexity of these innovations, complementary work in game-based assessment design has also begun to take shape and has generated considerable interest among a variety of education stakeholders. This is in part due to their ability to offer real-time, adaptive and integrated formative feedback. As the use of digital devices and digital learning tools continues to expand in schools, the potential for harnessing learning data becomes increasingly possible and powerful. Yet there are inherent tensions and challenges in the nature of collecting assessment data inside a game-based learning environment which confront our foundational premises of what makes for a good assessment. In this article, we explore the evolution and opportunities of the emerging field of game-based assessment, the challenges and tensions these innovations present and how we may be able to collectively advance this work to benefit everyday classrooms.     

Exploring the role of flow experience,learning performance and potential behavior clusters in elementary students' game-based learning

Well-designed game-based learning can provide students with an innovative environment that may enhance students' motivation and engagement in learning and thus improve their learning performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among elementary school students' flow experience and learning performances. We also investigated the gender and grade differences as well as the types of potential clusters of flow experiences and performance. Thirty-four elementary school students participated in this study. This study conducted correction analysis, difference analysis and a two-stage cluster analysis. The findings suggested that the students with higher flow experiences tended to have higher learning performances. The results of gender differences showed that female students had high performance scores and great flow experiences in the mini-educational game in this study. Moreover, the results revealed that the students of higher grade had significantly higher scores in both performance and flow experience than the students of lower grade. The result of cluster analysis fell into three categories: low performance/low flow experience students, high flow experience students and high performance/high flow experience students. On the basis of our findings, we also proposed suggestions for future game-based learning research.     

Cultivating critical game makers in digital game-based learning: learning from the arts

Digital games have the potential of being a transformative tool for applying constructionist principles to learning within formal and informal learning settings. Unfortunately, most recent attention has focused on instructionist games. Connected gaming provides a tantalizing alternative approach by calling for the development of games that are both instructive and modifiable by learners. If game design is to be used as a pedagogical tool in this manner, emphasis should be placed on the concurrent development of critical makers. In this paper, we advance the notion of connected gaming through positing a conception of a critical maker. To accomplish this, we look to the arts as a domain where pedagogical approaches are in place from which the game-based learning community can draw insights from, along with an overview of the potential challenges and opportunities that may accompany any attempt to develop critical makers.     

An overview of game-based learning in building services engineering education

To ensure proper competence development and short graduation times for engineering students, it is essential that the study motivation is encouraged by new learning methods. In game-based learning, the learner's engagement is increased and learning is made meaningful by applying game-like features such as competition and rewarding through virtual promotions or achievement badges. In this paper, the state of the art of game-based learning in building services engineering education at university level is reviewed and discussed. A systematic literature review indicates that educational games have been reported in the field of related disciplines, such as mechanical and civil engineering. The development of system-level educational games that realistically simulate work life in building services engineering is still in its infancy. Novel rewarding practices and more comprehensive approaches entailing the state-of-the-art information tools such as building information modelling, geographic information systems, building management systems and augmented reality are needed in the future.     

Early prediction of student knowledge in game-based learning with distributed representations of assessment questions

Game-based learning environments hold significant promise for facilitating learning experiences that are both effective and engaging. To support individualised learning and support proactive scaffolding when students are struggling, game-based learning environments should be able to accurately predict student knowledge at early points in students' gameplay. Student knowledge is traditionally assessed prior to and after each student interacts with the learning environment with conventional methods, such as multiple choice content knowledge assessments. While previous student modelling approaches have leveraged machine learning to automatically infer students' knowledge, there is limited work that incorporates the fine-grained content from each question in these types of tests into student models that predict student performance at early junctures in gameplay episodes. This work investigates a predictive student modelling approach that leverages the natural language text of the post-gameplay content knowledge questions and the text of the possible answer choices for early prediction of fine-grained individual student performance in game-based learning environments. With data from a study involving 66 undergraduate students from a large public university interacting with a game-based learning environment for microbiology, Crystal Island , we investigate the accuracy and early prediction capacity of student models that use a combination of gameplay features extracted from student log files as well as distributed representations of post-test content assessment questions. The results demonstrate that by incorporating knowledge about assessment questions, early prediction models are able to outperform competing baselines that only use student game trace data with no question-related information. Furthermore, this approach achieves high generalisation, including predicting the performance of students on unseen questions.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• A distinctive characteristic of game-based learning environments is their capacity to enable fine-grained student assessment.
• Adaptive game-based learning environments offer individualisation based on specific student needs and should be able to assess student competencies using early prediction models of those competencies.
• Word embedding approaches from the field of natural language processing show great promise in the ability to encode semantic information that can be leveraged by predictive student models.

What this paper adds

• Investigates word embeddings of assessment question content for reliable early prediction of student performance.
• Demonstrates the efficacy of distributed word embeddings of assessment questions when used by early prediction models compared to models that use either no assessment information or discrete representations of the questions.
• Demonstrates the efficacy and generalisability of word embeddings of assessment questions for predicting the performance of both new students on existing questions and existing students on new questions.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Word embeddings of assessment questions can enhance early prediction models of student knowledge, which can drive adaptive feedback to students who interact with game-based learning environments.
• Practitioners should determine if new assessment questions will be developed for their game-based learning environment, and if so, consider using our student modelling framework that incorporates early prediction models pretrained with existing student responses to previous assessment questions and is generalisable to the new assessment questions by leveraging distributed word embedding techniques.
• Researchers should consider the most appropriate way to encode the assessment questions in ways that early prediction models are able to infer relationships between the questions and gameplay behaviour to make accurate predictions of student competencies.

     

An examination of digital game-based situated learning applied to Chinese language poetry education

By gradually placing more importance on game-based education and changing learning motivation by applying game-playing characteristics, students’ learning experiences can be enhanced and a better learning effect can be achieved. When teaching the content of Chinese poetry in Taiwanese junior high schools, most teachers only explain the meaning of Chinese poetry, while it is difficult for students to understand why poets write these poems, resulting in learning confusion. This paper implemented a digital game-based situated learning system based on Tang Dynasty poems for learning Chinese poetry to simulate the situations of hardship encountered by poets when writing poetry in animated form to help junior high school students in Taiwan to have greater understanding when learning the content of Chinese poetry. The research results show that students who used the Gourd Tang Dynasty system in game-based instruction had significantly better learning achievements than students who underwent traditional narrative instruction. Among them, students in the low learning ability group improved in their grades significantly more than students in the high learning ability group in terms of their Tang Dynasty poetry learning. Furthermore, the authors examined the predictive relationships between perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and behavioural intention related to the digital game-based situated learning system for Chinese language poetry. The factor of perceived usefulness was a key factor in the students’ positive attitudes towards the digital game-based situated learning system. There were no significant differences with respect to individual characteristics (i.e. gender, online game experience and digital learning experience). The results demonstrate that this type of system can be widely accepted by students with different learning experiences.     

What is ‘educational support’ for youth in social difficulties?: A qualitative study of support groups for literacy learning in Japan

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the actual conditions of youth in social difficulties in Japan and to examine the characteristics and meanings of ‘educational support’ for them from the viewpoint of literacy theory as a social practice. My colleagues and I carried out a four-year qualitative study of several private groups supporting young people from 2012 to 2015. In this study, we visited the groups and conducted semi-structured interviews with young learners (aged from 16 to 23) and their supporters. It became clear during the interviews that most young learners had not received sufficient basic education because of their delinquency or truancy, and they had had very few opportunities to build relationships of trust with those around them. The elements of the support that is needed are clarified in this study as follows: (1) building relationships of trust with young learners, (2) nurturing learners’ motivation and/or self-confidence, (3) emphasizing learners’ ideas, interests and literacies embedded in their everyday lives. These points show that ‘educational support’ for youth in social difficulties should by no means only be about the transmission of skills or fragmentary knowledge, but also the cultivation of motivation for learning and/or self-confidence based on relationships of trust.     

Effects of locus of control on behavioral intention and learning performance of energy knowledge in game-based learning

Game-based learning has been gradually adopted in energy education as an effective learning tool because digital games have the potential to increase energy literacy and encourage behavior change. However, not every learner can benefit from this support. There is a need to examine how human factors affect learners’ reactions to digital games for supporting learning. This study addresses this issue by developing a digital educational game and examining the effects of locus of control on behavioral intention and learning performance of energy knowledge in game-based learning. The results demonstrated that learners with internal locus of control (ILC) outperformed external locus of control (ELC) learners in energy knowledge after interacting with the game. Moreover, the proposed game can reasonably reduce the differences in the behavioral intention of the ILC and ELC learners, indicating that ELC learners significantly improved their behavioral intention after playing the game, especially their external behavioral intention in the aspects of persuasion, legal action, and political action. The findings of this study are discussed to enhance the understanding of locus of control on behavioral intention and energy knowledge in the context of digital games.