The (De-)evolution of Evolution Games: A Content Analysis of the Representation of Evolution Through Natural Selection in Digital Games

Leith, Alex; Ratan, Rabindra; Wohn, Donghee Yvette

doi:10.1007/s10956-016-9620-x

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Rather such commercial video games could serve as objects of reflection in formal educational settings, for instance, by having teachers moderating student discussions on games’ goals, content, and appropriateness for school teaching. Considering that teachers with gaming experience and technological competence can facilitate successful integrations of commercial video games ( van Eck, 2009 ), other commercial video games could be used in similar ways to teach evolution ( Leith et al, 2016 ), history ( Schrier, 2014 ), or other topics of formal education. While commercial video games are not frequently used in high school teaching to teach twenty-first century skills ( Qian and Clark, 2016 ), more such integrations could allow to foster students’ reflection processes or related critical thinking skills.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commercial Video Games in School Teaching: Two Mixed Methods Case Studies on Students’ Reflection Processes

Rüth

Kaspar

2021

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Commercial video games are popular entertainment media and part of students’ media reality. While commercial video games’ main purpose is not learning, they nonetheless could and should serve as objects of reflection in formal educational settings. Teachers could guide student learning and reflection as well as motivate students with commercial video games, but more evidence from formal educational settings is required. We conducted two mixed methods case studies to investigate students’ reflection processes using commercial video games in regular formal high school teaching. In a double lesson, 29 students of a 10th-grade biology course (Study 1) and 17 students of a 12th-grade advanced course on history (Study 2) played and discussed a commercial video game related to the current curricular topic. We examined the reflection processes of students in terms of their reactions to the teachers’ game-related statements and questions. Regarding teachers’ statements, students discussed several topics related to game enjoyment and the games’ representation of topic-related content. Regarding teachers’ questions, students discussed multiple goals in each game, how the games represented topic-related content, and how the games could be appropriate for learning. In Study 2, students additionally discussed emotions, stereotypes, violence, and the narrative related to the digital history game. We found that the discussions provided students opportunities to reflect on their game experiences and the current curricular topic as well as to practice media criticism. We further provide quantitative results on students’ perceived topic knowledge, on several facets of their learning motivation, and on their acceptance of video games. Overall, our findings illustrate the educational value of using commercial video games as objects of reflection.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commercial Video Games in School Teaching: Two Mixed Methods Case Studies on Students’ Reflection Processes

Rüth

Kaspar

2021

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In fewer than eight years, June 2008 to 2016, the Apple App Store went from non-existence to providing 80,000 educational apps (Apple, 2016; Rao, 2012). Only a small variety of video games in specific topics have been examined (DaCosta et al 2015; Hainey, 2016; Leith et al , 2016; Nebel et al , 2016); some video games designed to be modified such as Minecraft (Nebel et al , 2016) have offered opportunities for research that are not available through conventional games. For specific disciplines, the instructional designer must depend on personal investigation and collaboration with subject matter experts to determine effectiveness.…”

Section: Games For Instructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Game-based learning considerations for instructional designers

Keener

2017

On the Horizon

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose Instructional design students’ training may not include game-based learning (GBL). This paper aims to review the literature on GBL to determine the role of the instructional designer who is interested in GBL approaches to enhance learning especially for the novice learner. Design/methodology/approach The methodology for determining the instructional designers’ roles is based on the comparison of game-based and traditional instructional design and the identification of what is needed to aid instructors and designers in development and evaluation of GBL products. Findings The literature reveals that GBL shows learning potential. The existence of slim empirical research cannot posit GBL effectiveness in general, within specific disciplines, or with specific learner types. If GBL is to be effectively included in instructional design, the instructional designers, game designers and educational stakeholders need to collaborate to understand and combine optimal design features that meet both game and education objectives and to develop a common nomenclature so that research and its findings can be effectively communicated. Originality/value This review identifies specific digital game-based strategies that align with the learning goals sought in instructional design, differences between game and instructional design and steps needed for the instructional designer to bridge gaps in knowledge or practice between educators, researchers, game designers and instructional designers. These identifications may aid all GBL stakeholders in development of future GBL.

show abstract

Generation

Grasse

Melcer

2020

Extended Abstracts of the 2020 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The (De-)evolution of Evolution Games: A Content Analysis of the Representation of Evolution Through Natural Selection in Digital Games

Cited by 4 publications

References 15 publications

Commercial Video Games in School Teaching: Two Mixed Methods Case Studies on Students’ Reflection Processes

Commercial Video Games in School Teaching: Two Mixed Methods Case Studies on Students’ Reflection Processes

Game-based learning considerations for instructional designers

Generation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About