Supporting learning in higher education with a curriculum-embedded alternate reality game

Abstract

ABSTRACT Proponents of game-based learning see potential for the inclusion of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) in higher education. Research has shown that an ARG can support the induction and socialisation of students but engagement in educational ARGs has been disappointing. We explored whether students could learn via an ARG embedded in curriculum: if they would engage in play, and how the ARG contributed to learning. Using a theoretical framework of situated learning, this ethnographic case study examined a first-year university course with an embedded ARG. Interviews, observations, and documents were analysed for a priori codes using NVivo, finding that engagement in the game was positive until it was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence showed that the ARG could help students to learn. The ARG provided a context for students to engage with one another and their instructor; encouraged students to research relevant topics and use evidence to support their arguments; engaged participants in the theoretical content that they were learning; and gave the instructor options to customise student feedback. The ARG most effectively supported learning by initiating social connections and engaging students with the theoretical content of their course.