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Game-Based Literacies & Learning
Hiller A. SpiresProfessor & Senior Research Fellow
College of Education
NC State University
What is the New Literacies Collaborative (NLC)?
A multidisciplinary team of researchers and educators who promote research, professional development, and global connections around new literacies.
New literacies emerge from the theoretical and practical intersection of literacy, technology, and media.
• New Literacies Collaborative www.newlit.org
• New Literacies Teacher Leader Institutehttp://www.fi.ncsu.edu/newliteraciesinstitute.html
July 12 – 17, 2009 at the Friday Institute
Join Us!
Pew Internet & American Life Project(September, 2008)
• Game playing is universal--almost all 12-17 year olds play games.
• Most popular game categories (puzzle, sports, action and adventure).
• Game playing is social--most teens play games with others at least some of the time.
• Almost a third of teens play games that are listed as appropriate only for people older than they are.
10 Most Frequently Played Games
• Guitar Hero 158 • Halo 3 104 • Madden NFL (no specific version) 77 • Solitaire 65 • Dance Dance Revolution 60 • Madden NFL 08 59 • Tetris 59 • Grand Theft Auto (no specific version) 58 • Halo (no specific version) 57 • The Sims (no specific version) 54
Games and 21st Century Learning
• American Federation of Scientists (2006)• Game players are able to:
• Rapidly analyze new situations• Interact with characters they don’t really know• Solve problems quickly and independently• Think strategically in a chaotic world• Collaborate effectively in teams
Becker & Wade, 2004
NLC Research: Game-based Learning
• Bayesian Pedagogical Agents for Dynamic High Performance Inquiry-Based Science Learning Environment (NSF-0632450)
• Research Team– James Lester, Computer Science
– Hiller Spires, Literacy & Technology
– John Nietfeld, Educational Psychology
– Scott McQuiggan, Kim Turner, Eleni
Lobeni, Kristin Hoffman, Sunyoung
Lee - Graduate Assistants
– Betty Welsh & Ada Lopez - Teachers
Research Questions
• What are the effects of game-based performance on science content learning?
• What game-based student performance profiles can be derived from time series data of student actions and plot points?
• How do individual student differences contribute to clusters of game-based performance?
Methods
• Participants• 54 female and 62 male 8th grade students randomly
assigned to three conditions
• Curricular Development• Five Curricular Goals
• Defining pathogens• Defining virtual, bacterial, and fungal pathogens• Integration and comparisons of different types of pathogens• Scientific method and hypothesis testing• Treatment and prevention of pathogenic illnesses
Methods
• Measures• Microbiology Content Pre- and Post-Test• Problem Solving Measure (PISA, 2006)• Computer and Gaming Interest Survey• Interest in the Intervention Survey
• Procedures• Three conditions: CI Narrative (n = 58), CI Narrative-Lite (n =
55), and Control (n = 34)
Results Among Experimental Conditions
• Science Content Learning
• Problem-Solving• No differences across conditions
CI Narrative
CI Narrative-Lite
Control
Results Across Experimental Conditions
• Self-Reported Interest in Intervention
CI Narrative CI Narrative-Lite Control
Clusters of Navigation Traces within the Narrative Condition
• Navigation traces describe how each student maneuvered through the game environment
• Operationalized by the number of cumulative actions, number of plot points completed, and completion time
• Hierarchical clustering, using SAS JMP, to cluster students into three groups
Navigation Traces
Think Aloud Verbal Unit Distribution
Student Name Logistic Aesthetic Efferent Total Verbal Units
David 84 (57.93%) 38 ( 26.21%) 23 (15.86% ) 145
Henry 34 (34.34%) 38 (38.38%) 27 (27.27%) 99
Steven 26 (23.64%) 46 (41.82%) 38 ( 34.55%) 110
Peter 91 (47.15%) 50 (25.91%) 52 (26.94%) 193
Sydney 9 (16.36%) 34 (61.82%) 12 (21.82%) 55
Elizabeth 30 (28.57%) 60 (57.14%) 15 (14.29%) 105
Nick 12 (14.29%) 53 (63.10%) 19 (22.62%) 84
TOTAL 286 (36.16%) 319 (40.33%) 186 (23.51%) 791
Theoretical Implications
• Narrative Centered Learning Theory
• Transactional Theory (Rosenblatt, 1983, 2004; McEneaney, 2006)
• Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 1999, 2005; Mayer, 2005, 2008)
• Extraneous processing• Essential processing• Generative processing
Future Studies
• Implement multiple assessment measures, including performance-based assessment
• Provide intelligent scaffolding informed by students’ game behaviors
• Pair think-aloud protocols with navigation traces to determine transactional strategy use
• Assess effects of student collaborative problem-solving
The Promise and Peril of Games
Child: Guess what? I got to spend 15 extra minutes playing a computer game at school today.
Mom: Oh great. What were you learning with the game?
Child: *sigh* Mom, you don’t learn stuff with games – you just play.
2nd Grader