Investigating changes in self-evaluation of technical competences in the serious game Serena Supergreen: Findings, challenges and lessons learned

Experiences with a Serious Game Introducing Basic Knowledge About Renewable Energy Technologies: A Practical Implementation in a German Secondary School

“…Positive results on learning, motivation, knowledge and engagement have been found in previous studies (Boyle et al, 2016; Braghirolli et al, 2016; Connolly et al, 2012; Iten & Petko, 2016; Kapp et al, 2019; Plass et al, 2015; Wouters et al, 2013, 2017). Plass et al (2015) describe four main functions of digital serious games to achieve different objectives and output in the context of learning: the preparation of future learning, teaching of new knowledge and skills, practising and reinforcing already existing knowledge and skills and the development of 21st-century skills.…”

“…The serious game for youngsters at German secondary school level addresses basic knowledge about wind power, solar energy and energy saving. It has been developed within a research project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research under Grant 01PD17005 which investigated, amongst other research topics, the potential of serious games for gender-sensitive career choice (Kapp et al, 2019; Spangenberger et al, 2018). In the first section of the article, the game and the development of technology-related quest is described in order to get an insight on how a specific game for ESD can look like.…”

“…The game addresses learning objectives regarding affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) by learning about different forms of sustainable energy supply and its technical usage (UNESCO, 2017). The main learning objective of the game was to foster mastering of technical quests, especially for female players (SDG 5) (see also Kapp et al, 2019). While solving the quests, the player receives feedback by so called non-player-characters to support mastering the quests self-regulated.…”

“…The degree of difficulty was determined in close consultation with the target group. In a previous study on gender effects of the game using a different sample, it has been shown that this approach can foster girls’ self-efficacy in solving technical tasks (Kapp et al, 2019; Spangenberger et al, 2018). Solving a quest opens up new quests, while collecting necessary items in a backpack and continuing with the story about Serena and her plan to go on vacation with her friends.…”

“…In recent years, research on digital serious games as an educational tool in the various fields of sustainable development has received attention (Janakiraman et al, 2018; Katsaliaki & Mustafee, 2015; Medema et al, 2019). Furthermore, advantages and effects of digital serious games for learning by implementing learning objectives in a playful and motivating environment have been discussed widely (Boyle et al, 2016; Braghirolli et al, 2016; Connolly et al, 2012; Dörner et al, 2016; Iten & Petko, 2016; Kapp et al, 2019; Plass et al, 2015; Wouters & van Oostendorp, 2017; Wouters et al, 2013). Serious games differ from conventional games in that a specific learning goal is formulated at the development stage and considered during game design to achieve a measurable outcome (Dörner et al, 2016; Plass et al, 2015).…”