Abstract
Research has evidenced that digital educational games can be effective tools to impart knowledge. Researchers have recommended to focus on motivation and gaming load and their interaction when investigating learning process and success. Gaming expertise and the English proficiency of learners seem to be further important aspects of learning success, especially when non-native speakers play an English game. However, knowledge about the motivational and cognitive impact of games and learner characteristics on learning outcomes needs to be augmented and clarified. The present study aimed to address this need. We conducted an experimental media comparison to investigate the effects of game play and expertise in gaming and English on motivation, cognitive load, and performance. The participating German university students were randomly assigned to an educational gaming group and a hypertext group. Aspects of motivation were assessed before and after studying and gaming, cognitive load was rated during and after learning, and level of performance was measured before and after studying. The gaming group reported a higher level of interest, challenge, and anxiety of failing after introducing the task. Groups did not differ significantly in their perceived probability of success. The group levels of interest were the same after a one-hour learning phase. When learning, cognitive load increased after the initial phase in the gaming group and then stayed on a constant level, whereas the opposite pattern was found in the hypertext group. No differences were found in load ratings after learning between the two groups. Both groups improved their knowledge after learning, but the gain was larger for the hypertext group. Results point to gaming and English expertise as two mediating factors for learning success with educational games. We suggest that gaming expertise and English comprehension ability reduce cognitive load and thus enable learners to focus their resources on meaningful learning.
Highlights
The studies have revealed that gamebased learning is linked to a broad range of perceptual, cognitive, behavioral, affective, and motivational effects and outcomes, but they present a broad range of theories, research questions, designs, methods, and type of games used in the reviewed studies (e.g., Connolly et al, 2012; Li and Tsai, 2013; Tobias et al, 2014; Boyle et al, 2016; Clark et al, 2016; Merino Campos and del Castillo Fernández, 2016; Parong et al, 2017)
The gaming group rated its probability of success lower than the hypertext group, but unexpectedly no differences were found between the groups
The aim of the media comparison study was to investigate the extent that an educational game affects motivation, cognitive load while learning, and performance of students compared to a more traditional text-based hypertext instruction
Summary
Game-based digital learning has gained much interest in educational settings in the last 20 years (Connolly et al, 2012; Li and Tsai, 2013; All et al, 2014; Westera, 2015; Boyle et al, 2016; McLaren et al, 2017). The studies have revealed that gamebased learning is linked to a broad range of perceptual, cognitive, behavioral, affective, and motivational effects and outcomes, but they present a broad range of theories, research questions, designs, methods, and type of games used in the reviewed studies (e.g., Connolly et al, 2012; Li and Tsai, 2013; Tobias et al, 2014; Boyle et al, 2016; Clark et al, 2016; Merino Campos and del Castillo Fernández, 2016; Parong et al, 2017). McLaren et al (2017), in one of the latest experimental studies in this field, emphasized the need for sound experimental research on game-based learning. Westera (2015) critically discussed the key arguments for digital game-based learning (including the “games foster motivation” argument) as a response to many articles that have emphasized the positive effects of game-based learning despite the lack of empirical evidence
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