Can typical game features have unintended consequences? A study of players’ learning and reactions to challenge and failure in an educational programming game

It is difficult to motivate learners to seek out and persist at challenging learning tasks where failure is likely. However, in game environments, people seem highly motivated to engage with challenges and respond productively to failure. Many typical game features purportedly enhance intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy, which should improve students’ reactions to challenge and failure, which should in turn enhance learning. An experimental study with early middle school students tested these assumptions by comparing a “Full” version of a typical, commercial programming game to a “Minimal” version of the same game where common game features such as narrative, performance metrics, high-quality graphics, and sound were removed. In contrast to our hypotheses, players of the Full Game were less likely to choose coding challenges, were less tolerant of coding failures and gained less coding knowledge. Intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy did not differ between conditions. Correlational analyses showed that failure tolerance and challenge seeking may critically affect learning from educational games. The current study offers an existence proof that some common game features can hinder players' failure tolerance, challenge-seeking and learning, in certain game contexts. Future research should isolate the effects of individual game features, test generalizability and explore which contextual variables influence the findings.     

Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Comparison of Two IRTree Models to Investigate the Impact of Full Versus Endpoint-Only Response Option Labeling

In this study, we examined the results and interpretations produced from two different IRTree models—one using paths consisting of only dichotomous decisions, and one using paths consisting of both dichotomous and polytomous decisions. We used data from two versions of an impulsivity measure. In the first version, all the response options had labels; in the second version, only the endpoints were labeled. Based on past research, we hypothesized that the endpoints would be selected more frequently in the endpoint-only labeled condition, and the midpoint response option would be selected more frequently in the fully labeled condition. Results from the two models (dichotomous and polytomous) were similar and indicated that our hypotheses were partially supported—specifically, there was no consistent pattern in terms of which condition saw a higher frequency of midpoint response selection. However, our hypotheses regarding extreme responding in the endpoint-only labeling condition were supported.     

The effects of informational complexity and working memory on problem-solving efficiency

This study investigated the influence of informational complexity and working memory capacity on problem-solving efficiency. We examined two predictions of thesituational efficiency hypothesis, which states that the efficiency of problem solving varies as a function of situational constraints. One prediction is that informational complexity affects problem-solving efficiency. A second prediction is that working memory capacity affects problem-solving efficiency. Students completed a working memory task and solved abstract and concrete syllogisms. Participants solved abstract syllogisms more accurately than concrete syllogisms and spent more time solving abstract syllogisms. Thus participants demonstrated greater problem-solving efficiency when solving concrete syllogisms. Results indicate that there is a trade-off between problem-solving accuracy and problem-solving time when information differs with respect to informational complexity, a phenomenon we refer to as theefficiency paradox. Working memory capacity did not affect accuracy or efficiency. The results support the conclusion that problem-solving efficiency is situational and a function of the complexity of information. Educational implications and directions for future research are suggested.     

Assessing the counselling needs of high school students in Kenya

The Student Counselling Needs Scale (SCNS) was administered to 867 participants recruited from high schools in Kenya. The data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis yielding five factors: human relationships, career development, self development, social values, and learning skills were assessed. The findings highlighted the importance of using assessment instruments to identify students’ counselling needs in Kenya.     

Private speech in children with ADHD and their typically developing peers during problem-solving and inhibition tasks

This study compared private speech of children with ADHD and normal controls during problem solving and inhibition tasks. Thirty-two children (16 children with ADHD and 16 matched controls) aged 6–11 years participated. Consistent with previous studies, children with ADHD produced more task-irrelevant and task-relevant external private speech than control children during problem-solving tasks, but did not differ in their use of task-relevant internal private speech. During the inhibition/attention task (Continuous Performance Test-II), children with ADHD produced more task-relevant external and more task-relevant internal private speech, suggesting that they may have employed a less mature strategy to aid in self-regulation. The educational implications of the current study are that there should be an increased awareness of the developmental nature and functional significance of private speech and how private speech usage may differ in children with ADHD.     

Relationships between student characteristics and self‐, peer and tutor evaluations of oral presentations

There are many influences on how assessors grade themselves and others. Oral presentations are useful for exploring such factors in peer, self‐ and tutor marked assessments, being rapidly completed and assessed, commonly used in HE and very difficult to anonymize. This opportunistic study examined the effects of gender and level of attainment on the triangulation of marks awarded to student presenters. Grades generated by peer assessment were associated more strongly with tutor‐awarded marks than those from self‐assessment. For self‐assessment there was a strong effect of gender (female students undervalued their performance compared with tutor grades). Peer assessment produced higher marks than from tutors, perhaps because of the close‐knit community developed during residential courses. For tutor marks, the greatest variability was at the lower end of the scale, whereas peer assessors were most variable when marking students who self‐evaluated or peer assessed highly. Students awarded a narrower range of marks to peers compared with tutors, but when self‐assessing used a larger range. Presentations by students who admitted to little sleep the night before received lower grades from both peers and tutors, but this was not reflected by self‐assessments, suggesting they were unaware of their poorer performances. Sessions with fewer talks (four rather than seven) reduced the ‘dip’ in marks previously observed in the middle of sessions. Findings are discussed in the context of bias in this mode of assessment.     

Counselor Trainee Effectiveness: More Puzzle Pieces?

This study continues the search for meaningful relationships between counselor trainee characteristics and effectiveness. Self-disclosure, dogmatism, locus of control, Machiavellianism, academic aptitude, and sex of counselor trainees were investigated for their relationships to effectiveness during practicum or internship. The nature of these relationships as well as their implications for the counseling profession are discussed.     

Changes in Follow-Up Data Following Marked Changes in a Counselor Education Program

This study compared follow-up data for two groups of master's degree alumni of a counselor education program, one of which graduated before marked changes in the program occurred and the other thereafter. The questionnaire data represented 83.5 percent of the first group and 89.6 percent of the second. Findings concerning the instructional program, advisement, and library services showed significant improvement in appraisal reactions of alumni in six of 12 cases, some deterioration in one. equivocal results in another, and no change in four. Employment data showed an increase from 42 to 71 percent of alumni in counseling and guidance positions. Professional membership data revealed a significant trend toward identification with national organizations. It was concluded that significant changes in much follow-up data occurred after marked changes in the counselor education program studied and that these changes were generally in the direction of further professionalization of counseling and guidance.