Engaging by design: How engagement strategies in popular computer and video games can inform instructional design

Computer and video games are a prevalent form of entertainment in which the purpose of the design is to engage players. Game designers incorporate a number of strategies and tactics for engaging players in “gameplay.” These strategies and tactics may provide instructional designers with new methods for engaging learners. This investigation presents a review of game design strategies and the implications of appropriating these strategies for instructional design. Specifically, this study presents an overview of the trajectory of player positioning or point of view, the role of narrative, and methods of interactive design. A comparison of engagement strategies in popular games and characteristics of engaged learning is also presented to examine how strategies of game design might be integrated into the existing framework of engaged learning. The preparation of this article was supported in part by the Proctor & Gamble Interactive Media Fellows grant. The ideas expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the position of the grant agency. R Thanks to the ETR&D Development Editor, J. Michael Spector, and the reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions. Thanks, too, to John C. Belland and Keith A. Hall for their advice and mentoring.     

Fetal heart rate and variability: stability and prediction to developmental outcomes in early childhood

Stability in cardiac indicators before birth and their utility in predicting variation in postnatal development were examined. Fetal heart rate and variability were measured longitudinally from 20 through 38 weeks gestation (n = 137) and again at age 2 (n = 79). Significant within-individual stability during the prenatal period and into childhood was demonstrated. Fetal heart rate variability at or after 28 weeks gestation and steeper developmental trajectories were significantly associated with mental and psychomotor development at 2 years (n = 82) and language ability at 2.5 years (n = 61). These data suggest that the foundations of individual differences in autonomic control originate during gestation and the developmental momentum of the fetal period continues after birth.     

Classroom to Communities of Practice: Benefits for English Learners and Teacher Candidates Through Partnerships

This study investigates a service-learning program for university students seeking teacher certification examined through the lens of sociocultural theory. Data was collected from teacher candidates (TCs) in the form of surveys and an open-ended writing assignment. Administrators from the partner schools were also interviewed to provide their perspectives of the service learning. Findings show that the service-learning program allowed TCs and their English learners (ELs) to form communities of practice that were mutually beneficial. Teacher candidates reported numerous opportunities to apply the strategies learned in their methods course, as well as an increase in their sense of preparation for teaching ELs. Administrators provided positive feedback about the service-learning program in terms of the relationship between the partner school and the university. Difficulties arose in terms of TCs' accountability and the level of participation afforded to the TCs by the classroom teacher. Implications highlight the importance of negotiating expectations that address the needs of both parties equally in order to support a strong community of practice that prepares TCs to meet the needs of ELs.     

The relationship between behavioural integrity,competence, goodwill,trustworthiness, and motivating language of a principal

Utilising the oral language of a principal leading an inner-city at-risk elementary school in a large urban school district in the southwestern USA, the researchers tested behavioural integrity and the dimensions of source credibility (competence, goodwill, and trustworthiness) as antecedents to Motivating Language Theory and the ML Model. Teacher perception data at the Title I elementary school was used for this quantitative study. Over 95% of the teachers responded to a survey each year for a three-year period. Each year, there were statistically significant correlations between each of the antecedents and motivating language. The antecedents accounted for 66–75% of the total variance for motivating language depending on the year based on regression analysis. The results of this study extend the field of Motivating Language Theory and the ML Model, and further explain how the work of principals is accomplished.     

Determination of peak cardiorespiratory fitness parameters in children: which averaging method should we use?

The purpose of this study was to identify which averaging methods most accurately measures peak cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) parameters [peak O₂ uptake (VO₂), peak O₂pulse and peak respiratory exchange ratio (RER)] in a sample of healthy children and adolescents. In this cross-sectional multicenter study, we recruited 278 healthy children aged 12–17 years. We compared the mean peak value of three CRF parameters using the recommended averaging methods (30-second block average) with alternative averaging methods such as moving averages or shorter smoothing periods. We also assessed averaging methods for accuracy by individually reviewing breath-by-breath scatter plots. The 30-second block average method resulted in a lower mean peak VO₂ and in an increased proportion of underestimated peak values. Using a 30-second moving average significantly increased mean peak values which increased accuracy. Similar results were found for peak RER and peak O₂pulse. In conclusion, the currently recommended averaging method (30-second block average) increased the risk of misinterpretation of peak CRF values in children. Using a moving average approach decreased misinterpretation and increased accuracy.     

Scientific Phenomenology in Design Pedagogy: The Legacy of Walter Gropius and Gestalt Psychology

This article examines the contribution of scientific phenomenology in design pedagogy through the theoretical relationships between the German art school Staatliches Bauhaus and the most important scientific phenomenological theories of the first half of the twentieth century. After showing the relationships between the Gestalt Theory and the principal teachers of the Bauhaus (Johannes Itten, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, László Moholy‐Nagy, Josef Albers), the pedagogical epistemology of Walter Gropius is critically presented. The epoché, the intersubjective criterion and the anti‐psychologism are examined. In conclusion, it is evidenced that Gropius was strongly influenced by Gestalt psychology. This undeclared influence was a necessary consequence of the fact that phenomenological attitude is a crucial operating modality for the concrete practice of design.