The concept of flow in collaborative game-based learning

Generally, high-school students have been characterized as bored and disengaged from the learning process. However, certain educational designs promote excitement and engagement. Game-based learning is assumed to be such a design. In this study, the concept of flow is used as a framework to investigate student engagement in the process of gaming and to explain effects on game performance and student learning outcome. Frequency 1550, a game about medieval Amsterdam merging digital and urban play spaces, has been examined as an exemplar of game-based learning. This 1-day game was played in teams by 216 students of three schools for secondary education in Amsterdam. Generally, these students show flow with their game activities, although they were distracted by solving problems in technology and navigation. Flow was shown to have an effect on their game performance, but not on their learning outcome. Distractive activities and being occupied with competition between teams did show an effect on the learning outcome of students: the fewer students were distracted from the game and the more they were engaged in group competition, the more students learned about the medieval history of Amsterdam. Consequences for the design of game-based learning in secondary education are discussed.     

A systematic literature review of empirical evidence on computer games and serious games

This paper examines the literature on computer games and serious games in regard to the potential positive impacts of gaming on users aged 14 years or above, especially with respect to learning, skill enhancement and engagement. Search terms identified 129 papers reporting empirical evidence about the impacts and outcomes of computer games and serious games with respect to learning and engagement and a multidimensional approach to categorizing games was developed. The findings revealed that playing computer games is linked to a range of perceptual, cognitive, behavioural, affective and motivational impacts and outcomes. The most frequently occurring outcomes and impacts were knowledge acquisition/content understanding and affective and motivational outcomes. The range of indicators and measures used in the included papers are discussed, together with methodological limitations and recommendations for further work in this area.     

The influence of virtual presence: Effects on experienced cognitive load and learning outcomes in educational computer games

Does the immersive design of an educational gaming environment affect learners’ virtual presence and how much do they learn? Does virtual presence affect learning? This study tries to answer these questions by examining the differences in virtual presence and learning outcomes in two different computer-based multimedia environments: a gaming environment with high immersive design vs. hypertext learning environment with low immersive design. As the main focus, the effect of virtual presence on learning is also explained and tested. By identifying virtual presence as a variable that may determine learning, it is argued that computer gaming environments present a new challenge for researchers to investigate, particularly, the effects of virtual presence on the immersive design of games in order to help designers to predict which instructional configurations will maximize learning performance. In general, results revealed that the high-immersive gaming environment leads to the strongest form of virtual presence but also decreased learning. Although regression analyses indicate that virtual presence positively influences trivial- and non-trivial learning outcomes, learners who learned in a low-immersive environment outperformed the gaming group. A mediation analysis showed that the relation between virtual presence and non-trivial learning outcomes is partly mediated through increased cognitive load.     

A multilevel analysis of the effects of external rewards on elementary students' motivation,engagement and learning in an educational game

This study investigated the effects of external rewards on fifth graders' motivation, engagement and learning while playing an educational game. We were interested in exploring whether the feedback-rich environment of the game could mitigate the predicted negative effects of external rewards. Data of students' engagement and learning were collected and analyzed at multiple levels. A quasi-experimental design was used to examine the effect of external rewards in one group (n = 50) compared to a control group without such rewards (n = 56). According to the results, the external rewards did not undermine students' motivation (e.g., at proximal and distal levels), however they did not foster disciplinary engagement. On the other hand, students in the reward condition showed significantly larger gains in conceptual understanding (proximal) and non-significantly larger gains in achievement (distal). These results suggest that the predicted negative consequences of external rewards may be addressed in this new generation of learning environments. Future research and contributions of the study are provided.     

The evaluation of different gaming modes and feedback types on game-based formative assessment in an online learning environment

This study proposed an online learning system for energy education, modifying the typical rules of tic-tac-toe and incorporating multiple choice tests into the game in order to develop a game-based formative assessment tool for an online learning course. In order to explore how different gaming modes and feedback types in this game-based formative assessment affect knowledge acquisition effectiveness and participation perceptions, a tic-tac-toe quiz game (TRIS-Q) with two gaming modes: single-player online game (SOG) and multi-player online game (MOG), and two feedback types: immediate elaborated feedback (IEF) and no immediate elaborated feedback (no IEF), were developed. A 2(SOG vs. MOG) × 2(IEF vs. no IEF) between-subject experiment was also conducted to investigate the effects on 109 ninth-grade students from four junior high school classes. The research findings indicated that different gaming modes of TRIS-Q did not affect the effectiveness of knowledge acquisition; providing IEF for each question answered in the game facilitated the enhancement of both energy knowledge acquisition and student tic-tac-toe ability when comparing it with the no IEF type. Additionally, the different gaming modes and feedback types did not affect participation perceptions.     

The interplay of game elements with psychometric qualities,learning, and enjoyment in game-based assessment

Educators today are increasingly interested in using game-based assessment to assess and support students' learning. In the present study, we investigated how changing a game design element, linearity in gameplay sequences, influenced the effectiveness of game-based assessment in terms of validity, reliability, fairness, learning, and enjoyment. Two versions of a computer game, Physics Playground (formerly Newton's Playground), with different degrees of linearity in gameplay sequences were compared. Investigation of the assessment qualities—validity, reliability, and fairness—suggested that changing one game element (e.g., linearity) could significantly influence how players interacted with the game, thus changing the evidentiary structure of in-game measures. Although there was no significant group difference in terms of learning between the two conditions, participants who played the nonlinear version of the game showed significant improvement on qualitative physics understanding measured by the pre- and posttests while the participants in the linear condition did not. There was also no significant group difference in terms of enjoyment. Implications of the findings for future researchers and game-based assessment designers are discussed.     

Playing online games against computer- vs. human-controlled opponents: Effects on presence,flow, and enjoyment

The purpose of this study was to examine whether playing online games against other users leads to different experiences in comparison with playing against computer-controlled opponents. Thereby, a one-factorial multivariate design was used (computer-controlled vs. human-controlled opponent). Dependent variables were the participants’ feelings of presence and flow. Additionally, the amount of enjoyment was measured. The findings indicate that the type of opponent influences playing experiences: participants who played against a human-controlled opponent reported more experiences of presence, flow, and enjoyment, whereby the strongest effect refers to the experience of presence. Furthermore, strong relations between presence, flow, and enjoyment were observed. Further analyzes suggest that flow mediates the relationship between presence and enjoyment.     

Learning with quizzes,simulations, and adventures: Students' attitudes,perceptions and intentions to learn with different types of serious games

Students' attitudes, their perceptions of cognitive and affective quality as predictors of attitudes, and the resulting intention toward learning with serious games remains ambiguous, largely due to the use of imprecise measures. The presented studies have aimed to develop and test a measurement of students' attitudes, perceptions, and intentions to learn with serious games in general, and to use the instrument to examine differences for the most common types of serious games, that is quiz, simulation, and adventure. To this end, a pretest (n = 301) and two main studies (Study 1: n = 135, Study 2: n = 375) were conducted. The developed instrument shows high reliability and convergent validity. Results demonstrate positive attitudes, positive cognitive perceptions, and high positive and low negative affective perceptions of students toward learning with serious games in general, as well as with different game types. Findings from a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), however, indicate differences between the three game types that could be related to the perceptions of cognitive and affective quality. Predominately, compared to quizzes and adventures, simulations were perceived as more supportive for the comprehension and application of knowledge while promoting a less positive affect. Additionally, there was a significant difference due to gender. Whereas females reported higher perceptions of negative affective quality compared to males when serious games were addressed in general, answers to questions about the specific game types revealed a more detailed picture. In contrast to previous findings in existing literature, female students reported a more positive attitude, as well as higher perceptions of positive affective quality, than males for all three game types. These results stress the importance of examining the types of serious games separately and considering gender when evaluating students' attitudes and perceptions when learning with serious games.     

An implementation of design-based learning through creating educational computer games: A case study on mathematics learning during design and computing

This mixed-method case study examined the potential of computer-assisted, math game making activities in facilitating design-based math learning for school children. Sixty-four middle school children participated in Scratch-based, math game making activities. Data were collected via activity and conversation observation, artifact analysis, interviewing, and survey. The study findings indicated that participants developed significantly more positive dispositions toward mathematics after computer game making. The study also found that experience-driven game design processes helped to activate children's reflection on everyday mathematical experiences. Mathematical thinking and content experience were intertwined within the process of computer game authoring. On the other hand, children designers were involved in game-world and story crafting more than mathematical representation. And it was still challenging for them to perform computer game coding with abstract reasoning.     

Who but not where: The effect of social play on immersion in digital games

The majority of digital games available today offer a variety of multi-player settings including co-located and mediated play between opponents. Immersion, the sense of being “in the game,” is one of the key components of the gaming experience but existing literature suggests that social play provides more fun but less immersion. There is however little empirical support for this. This paper therefore addresses the question: how does playing digital games in a social situation alter the sense of immersion felt by the individuals playing? This paper presents three experiments that test the relationship between social setting and immersion. The three experiments aim to manipulate the social setting in which players play, be it against a computer, against a person online or against a co-located person. Overall the three experiments show that players are more immersed when playing against another person rather than playing against a computer but there is no significant difference in immersion whether the other person is online or in the same room. This refutes previous claims about social play reducing immersion and indeed that social play enhances the sense of being in the game where interaction is through the game.     

Mobile game-based learning in secondary education: engagement, motivation and learning in a mobile city game

Using mobile games in education combines situated and active learning with fun in a potentially excellent manner. The effects of a mobile city game called Frequency 1550, which was developed by The Waag Society to help pupils in their first year of secondary education playfully acquire historical knowledge of medieval Amsterdam, were investigated in terms of pupil engagement in the game, historical knowledge, and motivation for History in general and the topic of the Middle Ages in particular. A quasi-experimental design was used with 458 pupils from 20 classes from five schools. The pupils in 10 of the classes played the mobile history game whereas the pupils in the other 10 classes received a regular, project-based lesson series. The results showed those pupils who played the game to be engaged and to gain significantly more knowledge about medieval Amsterdam than those pupils who received regular project-based instruction. No significant differences were found between the two groups with respect to motivation for History or the Middle Ages. The impact of location-based technology and game-based learning on pupil knowledge and motivation are discussed along with suggestions for future research.     

Audial engagement: Effects of game sound on learner engagement in digital game-based learning environments

Learner engagement has been considered to be an important factor for successful learning in multimedia learning environments, which include digital game-based learning (DGBL). Nonetheless, there have been few empirical studies and very little consensus on what elements critically affect learners’ engagement in a DGBL environment. Audial and visual stimuli are often the only means to communicate learning materials to the learners because of the virtual environment found in DGBLs. This means that learners’ engagement in DGBL will need to occur via audial or visual stimuli – sans other specialty devices to immerse players in virtual reality (such as Occulus Rifts and Virtusphere). Yet, very few researchers have directly measured the effect of sensory stimuli on learners’ engagement during (game-based) learning. This study examined the effects of non-player characters’ (NPC) voiceovers on play-learners’ engagement in DGBL through a role-playing game (RPG). A randomized control-group post-test only design was used to collect data from 74 participants. Data analysis revealed that the participants who played the game with voiceovers were more engaged than participants who played without voiceovers. The results of this study will guide practitioners to identify more effective ways of adopting, developing, and modifying digital games for educational purposes.     

The impact of coupled games on the learning experience of learners at-risk: An empirical study

Offering pervasive game-based learning scenarios to at-risk learners is considered effective and motivating. This experimental study offers a detailed example of an educational setting that couples a mobile game with a PC browser game. It evaluates how this coupling supports engagement and learning for the target group. Nineteen participants aged between 17 and 21 years played and explored the game. The findings through seven-week gaming indicate that coupled games have potential to increase learners’ interest in a topic and can support learning activities.     

The dynamic influence of emotions on game-based creativity: An integrated analysis of emotional valence,activation strength,and regulation focus

Emotion has been identified as an important predictor of creativity, but little attention has been put on investigating how emotion, especially that considers regulation focus, may dynamically influence male and female students' creativity in game-based situations. To explore the dynamic relationship between various types of emotions and creativity during game playing, 266 college students were included and the Creativity Game-based Evaluation System (CGES) was developed in this study. Four types of emotions integrating perspectives of valence (positive vs. negative), activation (high vs. low), and regulatory focus (prevention vs. promotion) were investigated in this study: the positive-low activation-prevention emotion (P-L-Pre) (calm and relaxed), the positive-high activation-promotion emotion (P-H-Pro) (happy and elated), the negative-high activation-prevention emotion (N-H-Pre) (nervous and anxious), and the negative-high activation-promotion emotion (N-H-Pro) (frustrated and angry). The results revealed that, although there was a slight gender difference in game-based creativity, the prediction patterns of emotions in game-based creativity were very similar among participants with different genders. Specifically, emotions during game playing can better predict creativity than those of the baseline; moreover, the P-H-Pro emotion can facilitate performance on creativity, whereas the N-H-Pro emotion can decrease creativity performance. Thus, providing appropriate challenges to induce highly-activated and promotion-focused positive emotions are critical for the success of games designed to improve creativity.     

Customization in educational computer games and its effect on learning: Experimental study with primary school children

The instructional effects of customization features in child learning games have rarely been examined. This value-added study addresses the existing gap with regards to user-initiated cosmetic customization of environment elements (i.e., non-avatar customization). Participants (N = 143; M_age = 9.41) studied a biological topic for about 20 min: either using the experimental version of a learning game with customization features, or from a control version without them. Null results were found as concerns between-group differences: both for motivation-related variables and learning outcome measures. These findings indicate that user-initiated cosmetic customization features can be omitted by game designers, especially in settings where children are assigned specific instructional materials from which to study.     

Children's engagement during digital game-based learning of reading: The effects of time,rewards, and challenge

This study investigated the effects of two game features (the level of challenge and the reward system) on first and second graders' engagement during digital game-based learning of reading. We were particularly interested in determining how well these features managed to maintain children's engagement over the 8-week training period. The children (N = 138) used GraphoGame, a web-based game training letter–sound connections, at home under the supervision of parents. Data regarding the children's gaming and engagement were stored on the GraphoGame online server. A 2 × 2 factorial design was used to investigate the effects of the level of challenge (high challenge vs. high success) and the presence of the reward system (present vs. absent). Children's engagement was measured by session frequency and duration and through an in-game self-report survey that was presented at the end of the each session. According to the results, the children enjoyed GraphoGame but used it less frequently than expected. The reward system seemed to encourage the children to play longer sessions at the beginning of the training period, but this effect vanished after a few sessions. The level of challenge had no significant effect on children's engagement. The results suggest a need to investigate further the effectiveness of various game features in maintaining learner's engagement until the goals set for learning are achieved.     

Exploring the influence of game design on learning and voluntary use in an online vascular anatomy study aid

This research explores the educational impact of an online study aid-game for studying human vascular anatomy (n = 24) versus a similar non-game study aid (n = 22) and how it relates to medical students' demographic traits and voluntary use over a 35-day period. Hierarchical linear regression models revealed that study aid success rate (a metric for assessing performance through the study aids) was a significant predictor of anatomy test improvement with the game (β = 0.41, p = 0.05), but not for the non-game (β = 0.14, p = 0.56). Our analyses suggest that game mechanics encouraged more specific problem-solving strategies than did the control study aid, leading to greater predictability of learning outcomes. There was a non-significant trend among game treatment participants, who were more likely to complete study tasks than those assigned to the control treatment (p = 0.11). It would appear that students' studying habits had the greatest influence (though opposite in both tools) on level of engagement in study aid use. However, contrary to expectations, self-reported gaming habits did not impact participation. Overall, these findings support the integration of game design into undergraduate study aids as a means of increasing use of supplementary educational tools and assessing knowledge.     

Game immersion experience: its hierarchical structure and impact on game‐based science learning

Many studies have shown the positive impact of serious educational games (SEGs) on learning outcomes. However, there still exists insufficient research that delves into the impact of immersive experience in the process of gaming on SEG‐based science learning. The dual purpose of this study was to further explore this impact. One purpose was to develop and validate an innovative measurement, the Game Immersion Questionnaire (GIQ), and to further verify the hierarchical structure of game immersion by construct validity approaches, including exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (n = 257) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (n = 1044). The second purpose was to investigate the impact of game immersion on science learning through SEG play (n = 260). Overall, the results supported the internal structure of the GIQ with good reliability and validity, and the inter factor bivariate correlations for each construct indicated a high internal consistency. Players did learn from playing an SEG, and game immersion experience did lead to higher gaming performance. Moreover, players' gaming performance plays a role in mediating the effect of immersion on science learning outcomes through SEG play. However, as players became more emotionally and subjectively attached to the game, the science learning outcomes were not definitively reliable.     

Integrating cluster and sequential analysis to explore learners’ flow and behavioral patterns in a simulation game with situated-learning context for science courses: A video-based process exploration

Much emphasis has been placed on the research on applying digital games in science education. Among the studies, the advantages and limitations of role-playing simulation games deserve further exploration. However, existing analyses of the behavioral patterns of role-playing simulation games in science education remain substantially lacking, particularly the integration of diverse behavioral pattern analysis methods. This study thus seeks to analyze the videotaped learning process of 86 college students in game-based learning activities that utilize a role-playing simulation game. This study used the integrated method of sequential analysis and cluster analysis and explored the learners’ flow state and learning behavioral patterns. The results show that the use of integrated behavioral pattern analysis helps to explore the traits and limitations of role-playing simulation games in science education as well as learners’ reflective behavior patterns.This study identifies a wide variety of learning behavior patterns from three potential clusters of learners and then discusses the learning process of each cluster. The different levels of flow experienced by the learners affected their learning behavior patterns; learners with higher levels of flow demonstrated a more in-depth reflective process. The study further discusses the results of these analyses and makes relevant recommendations for the systems development of the games, its educational applications, and evaluation methods.     

Impacts of behavioral engagement and self-monitoring on the development of mental models through serious games: Inferences from in-game measures

The present study investigated the potential of serious games for the acquisition of complex cognitive skills by assessing learners’ mental model development, operationalized as an increase in Mental Model Accuracy (MMA). Furthermore, we assessed behavioral engagement and self-monitoring as two specific engagement types within the gameplay process and analyzed their impact on mental model development. German undergraduate students (N = 97) played a serious game developed to foster practical money skills. We obtained pre- and post-gaming measures of MMA to analyze the development of mental models by applying a structural assessment method. Unobtrusive measures of behavioral engagement and self-monitoring were obtained by computerized collection of participants’ in-game activities. Although we did not find a significant increase in overall MMA through playing, the degree of self-monitoring had a significant and positive effect on post-gaming MMA, even beyond the effect of initial MMA. Behavioral engagement had no impact on mental model development; however, it was positively related to self-monitoring behavior. The results are discussed in light of findings from research on self-regulated learning and controversial notions regarding the effect of behavioral engagement in serious games. In addition to insights into gameplay processes that affect mental model development through serious games, the present study also has practical implications in stressing the importance for game designers to provide learners with the opportunity to engage in self-monitoring behavior while playing a serious game.