Karl Kapp - Identifying the “Learning” Elements in Games

Where is the “learning” in games?

Karl KappProfessor: Bloomsburg University

Author: Gamification of Learning and Instruction

Twitter:@kkapp

Related Resources…

Lynda.com Course: Gamification of LearningYouTube Video

Web Site:www.karlkapp.com

Books

Co-Founder Game Development

Company.

www.2klearning.com

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Additional Ideaswww.karlkapp.com

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Why might an educator use games for learning?

Why might an educator use lectures for learning?

Lectures are NOT effective for fostering higher level thinking?

Gibbs, G., (1981). Twenty Terrible Reasons for Lecturing, SCED Occasional Paper No. 8, Birmingham. http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsld/resources/20reasons.html and Bligh, D., (1972). What’s the Use of Lectures? Penguin.

Bloom, B. S., (1953). “Thought Processes in Lectures and Discussions.” Journal of General Education Vol. 7.Isaacs, G., (1994). “Lecturing Practices and Note-taking Purposes.” Studies in Higher Education, 19:2.

During lectures students' thoughts involved

attempting to solve problems, or synthesize or

inter-relate information for 1% of the time.

78% of the lecture is spent in ‘passive thoughts about the subject’ and ‘irrelevant thoughts’.

21 studies found lecturing to be less

effective than: discussion, reading

and individual work in class.

Lectures are not a very effective way of teaching…

if the aim is to teach thinking, or to change

attitudes or other higher aims beyond the simple transmission of factual

knowledge.

Instruction with learning games yields higher gains in learning and retention than traditional

instruction.

Statistics are from: Sitzmann, T. (2011) A meta-analytic examination of the instructional effectiveness of computer-based simulation games. Personnel Psychology .Review of 65 studies

Confirmed findings (not statistics): Wouters, P., van Nimwegen, C., van Oostendorp, H., & vam der S[el. E.D. (2013), February 4). A Meta-Analysis of the Cognitive and Motivational Effects of Serious Games. Journal of Educational Psychology. Advanced online publication. Doi: 10.1037/a0031311 39 Studies. Review of 39 studies 54% conducted in the last year.

Type of Knowledge/Retention

% Higher

Declarative 11%Procedural 14%Retention 9%

Percentages of Impact OverTraditional Training

Type of Knowledge/Retention

% Higher

Declarative 11%Procedural 14%Retention 9%

Percentages of Impact OverTraditional Training

17% Higher than Lectures

5% Higher than Discussion

Percentages of Impact

Type of Knowledge/Retention

% Higher

Declarative 11%

Procedural 14%

Retention 9%

It wasn’t the game, it was level of activity in the game.

In other words, the engagement of the learner in the game leads

to learning.

Top SecretA meta-analy

sis of 225 s

tudies

of (STEM) un

dergraduate

courses

showed that

active lear

ning

increased th

e average

examination

scores by 6%

, and

that student

s in classes

with

traditional

lecturing we

re 1.5

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ikely to fai

l.

Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematicsScott Freemana,1, Sarah L. Eddya, Miles McDonougha, Michelle K. Smithb, Nnadozie Okoroafora, Hannah Jordta,and Mary Pat Wenderotha. PNAS Early Edition (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

Games can promote pro-social behaviors.

First Experiment indicated that playing the game Darfur is Dying resulted in a greater willingness to help the Darfurian people than reading a text conveying same information.

Peng, W., Lee, M., & Heeter. (2010) The effects of a serious game on role taking and willingness to help. Journal of Communications. 60, 723-724. Chapter 5 of “The Gamificaiton of Learning and Instruction.

Second Experiment indicated that playing the game Darfur is Dying resulted in a greater role taking and willingness to help than either game watching or text reading.

Peng, W., Lee, M., & Heeter. (2010) The effects of a serious game on role taking and willingness to help. Journal of Communications. 60, 723-724. Chapter 5 of “The Gamificaiton of Learning and Instruction.

Fostering Pro-Social Behavior

Greitemeyer, T. & Osswald, S. (2010) Effective of Prosocial games on prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 98 . No. 2., 211-221.

28% helped to pick up pencils

33% helped to pick up pencils

67% helped to pick up pencils

City Crisis

22% intervened

56% intervened

Games Must be Embedded into the Curriculum to be Effective for Learning.

Engagement

PedagogyGame

EducationalSimulation

Instructional games should be embedded in instructional programs that include debriefing and feedback.

Instructional support to help learners understand how to use the game increases instructional effectiveness of the gaming experience.

Hays, R. T. (2005). The effectiveness of instructional games: A literature review anddiscussion. Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (No 2005-004). Chapter 4 “The Gamification of Learning and Instruction.”

Sitzmann, T. (2011) A meta-analytic examination of the instructional effectiveness of computer-based simulation games. Personnel Psychology .Review of 65 studies

Example

Wouters, P., van Nimwegen, C., van Oostendorp, H., & van der Sek E.D. (2013), (February 4). A Meta-Analysis of the Cognitive and Motivational Effects of Serious Games. Journal of Educational Psychology. Advanced online publication. Doi: 10.1037/a0031311 39 Studies.

Games are more effective than traditional instruction when multiple sessions are involved.

Conventional instruction for a one-off is better vs. one game session

Multiple game sessions better thanmultiple conventional sessions

Wouters, P., van Nimwegen, C., van Oostendorp, H., & vam der S[el. E.D. (2013), February 4). A Meta-Analysis of the Cognitive and Motivational Effects of Serious Games. Journal of Educational Psychology. Advanced online publication. Doi: 10.1037/a0031311 39 Studies.

Games are more effective than traditional instruction when players work in groups.

With serious games, both learners playing individually and those playing in a group learn more than the comparison group, but learners who play serious games in a group learn more

Wouters, P., van Nimwegen, C., van Oostendorp, H., & vam der S[el. E.D. (2013), February 4). A Meta-Analysis of the Cognitive and Motivational Effects of Serious Games. Journal of Educational Psychology. Advanced online publication. Doi: 10.1037/a0031311 39 Studies.

While playing a game, learners will voluntarily do harder problems and work.

A math facts game deployed on a handled computer encouraged learners to complete greater number of

problems at an increased level of difficulty.

Learners playing the handheld game completed nearly 3 times the number of problems in 19 days

and voluntarily increased the level of difficulty.

Lee, J., Luchini, K., Michael, B., Norris, C., & Soloway, E. (2004). More than just fun and games: Assessing the value of educational video games in the classroom. Paper presented at the CHI '04 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Vienna, Austria.

What elements of games lead to learning?

Challenge

Jones, B., Valdez, G., Norakowski, J., & Rasmussen, C. (1994). Designing learning and technology for educational reform. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. [Online]. Available: http://www.ncrtec.org/capacity/profile/profwww.htm and Schlechty, P. C. (1997). Inventing better schools: An action plan for educational reform. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Chapter 2 “The Gamification of Learning and Instruction.”

First Person View

Perspective

Third Person View

Carey, B. (2007) This is Your Life (and How You Tell it). The New York Times. And Sestir, M. & Green, M. C. (2010). You are who you watch: Identification and transportation effects on temporary self-concept. Social Influence, 5, 272-288 and research by Libby, L.K., Shaeffer, E.M., Eibach, R.P., & Slemmer, J.A. ( 2007) Picture yourself at the polls: Visual perspective in mental imagery affects self-perception and behavior. Psychological Science. Vol. 18: 199-203.

Third Person View

Carey, B. (2007) This is Your Life (and How You Tell it). The New York Times. And Sestir, M. & Green, M. C. (2010). You are who you watch: Identification and transportation effects on temporary self-concept. Social Influence, 5, 272-288 and research by Libby, L.K., Shaeffer, E.M., Eibach, R.P., & Slemmer, J.A. ( 2007) Picture yourself at the polls: Visual perspective in mental imagery affects self-perception and behavior. Psychological Science. Vol. 18: 199-203.

“Seeing oneself as acting in a movie or a play is not merely fantasy or indulgence; it is fundamental to how people work out who it is they are, and may become.” Ben Casey

Rosenberg, R.S. Baughman, S.L., Bailenson, J.N. (2013) Virtual Superheroes: Using Superpowers in Virtual Reality to Encourage Prosocial Behavior. PLOS One., 8(1), 1-9.

Flying around a virtual world as a superhero made

subjects nicer in the real world. physical world

Characters

Why be a Character at All?

Research indicates that human social models influence behavior,

beliefs and attitudes.

Bandura, A. 1986 Social foundations of thought and action: a social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA: Prentice-Hall.

Avatar as Teacher

Research indicates that learners perceive, interact socially with and are influenced by anthropomorphic

agents (avatars) even when their functionality and adaptability are limited.

Baylor, A. 2009 Promoting motivation with virtual agents and avatars: R ole of visual presence and appearance. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal B Society. 364, 3559–3565

Story

Researchers have found that the human brain has a natural affinity for

narrative construction.

Yep, People tend to remember facts more accurately if they encounter

them in a story rather than in a list.

And they rate legal arguments as more convincing when built into narrative tales rather than on legal precedent.

Carey, B. (2007) this is Your Life (and How You Tell it). The New York Times. Melanie Green http://www.unc.edu/~mcgreen/research.html. Chapter 2 “The Gamification of Learning and Instruction.

Game Examples

Timez Attack

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/07/01/it-only-takes-about-42-minutes-to-learn-algebra-with-video-games/

Dragon Box 2

Students who played at least 1.5 hours, 92.9% achieved mastery. Of those students who

played at least 1 hour, 83.8% achieved mastery. Of those students who played at least 45

minutes, 73.4% achieved mastery.

DimensionM educational video game series for math

Students in the experimental group who played the Tabula Digita video games over an 18 week period scored significantly higher on district math benchmark tests than students in the control group who did not play the video games (p<.001). In fact, the increase in scores for the test group was more than double the increase in score for the control group.

http://iit.bloomu.edu/NSFGame.htmlhttp://www.gaming2learn.org/

Group Group Results by

AssessmentPre Post Final

Game Mean .378

5 .447 .5136

Std. Deviation .167 .168 .169N 140 125 100

Task Mean RatingBefore

Mean RatingAfter

DifferenceAfter-Before

Calculate volume of 3-D shape 2.83 4.00 1.17

Calculate surface area of 3-D shape 2.33 3.83 1.50

Understand concept of conductivity and heat flow 1.50 3.82 2.32

Understand relationship between conductivity & heat flow. 1.17 3.17 2.00

Apply heat flow formula 1.00 3.33 2.33

Understand difference between dead and live load 1.50 3.33 1.83

Survival Master Results

How to embed learning into a game: Example.

1) An instructional game will only be effective if it is designed to meet specific instructional objectives and was designed as it was intended.

2) While playing a game, learners will voluntarily do harder problems and work.

3) Instruction with serious games yields higher learning gains than conventional instruction.

4) Games are more effective than traditional instruction when players work in groups.

5) Games are more effective than traditional instruction when multiple sessions are involved.

6) Games Must be Embedded into the Curriculum to be Effective for Learning.

7) Games can influence people to behave in a pro-social manner.

Take-Away

Questions And Resources

www.karlkapp.com/kapp-notes

Karl M. KappTwitter: @kkappEmail: kkapp@bloomu.eduBLOG: http://karlkapp.com/kapp-notes/

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Lynda.com Course: Gamification of Learning

Questions/More Information• Email: kkapp@bloomu.edu• Email: karlkapp@gmail.com• Game Web Site: www.2klearning.com • Twitter: @kkapp• Pinterest: Gamification Happenings• BLOG: http://karlkapp.com/kapp-notes/• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gamificationLI