Abstract
The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review on the use of serious games in science education between 2016 and 2020 years. A total of 39 articles were included from Science Citation Index- Expanded (SCI-Expanded), Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI) and Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) listed in the Web of Science database. The results showed that experiential science was the most emphasized subject area in the articles. The results also indicated that learning/academic achievement was the common examined topic in the articles. For the research designs, more than half of the articles implemented quantitative research design. Considering the data collection tools, achievement tests were the most used data collection tool. Regarding the use of sampling methods, convenience sampling was preferred in more than half of the articles. Secondary and primary school students were the most used sampling groups. The sample size of 31-100-person group was commonly chosen in the articles. Considering the data analysis methods, a majority of articles implemented descriptive analyses methods. It was also found that computer game was the most used game type. Regarding the game genres, adventure was the most preferred one in serious games.
Highlights
The trend of the use of serious games have increased in last years
A total of 39 articles were included from Science Citation IndexExpanded (SCI-Expanded), Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI) and Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) listed in the Web of Science database
The results showed that experiential science was the most emphasized subject area in the articles
Summary
The trend of the use of serious games have increased in last years. Serious games are defined as games for nonentertainment purposes in a variety of fields, such as military, education, health and business (Charsky, 2010; Susi, Johannesson, & Backlund, 2007). Education is one of the fields that several serious game practices have been used and investigated. There have been several recent studies investigating the effects or use of serious games in education. Vlachopoulos and Makri (2017) conducted a systematic literature review in higher education and found a positive effect of games and simulations on learning goals. Chang, Kao, Hwang, and Lin (2019) conducted an experimental study and found that the use of serious game yielded better learning performance scores of nursing students compared with the traditional instruction. Almeida (2020) indicated a relationship between emotional intelligence skills and serious game performance scores of college students based on a mixed methods study Alonso-Fernández, Martínez-Ortiz, Caballero, Freire, and Fernández-Manjón (2020) conducted a case study and indicated that serious games with the integration of game learning analytics can be used for measuring the knowledge acquisition. Almeida (2020) indicated a relationship between emotional intelligence skills and serious game performance scores of college students based on a mixed methods study
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