Games In Educational Contexts Research Articles

Video games and metacognition in the classroom for the development of 21st century skills: a systematic review

IntroductionGame-based learning is a methodology that has gained importance in the world of education due to the benefits of implementing ICT in the classroom. Due to the intellectual and competence demands that some commercial video games promote, they can be very valuable tools to stimulate and promote metacognitive abilities in students. Therefore, this paper aimed to analyze the use of commercial video games in educational contexts and their impact on the development of metacognitive skills.MethodsFor the analysis of the study, a systematic review of the literature was carried out following the PRISMA statement. Specialized databases such as Scopus, WoS, PsyInfo, PubMed, SciELO, and Eric were consulted, which helped capture the essence of the problem between 2004 and 2024.ResultsThe review was then carried out on 10 selected articles. The results obtained show the following evidence: (a) commercial video games, together with the use of metacognitive strategies, enrich academic and social aspects as well as the metacognitive level, and (b) commercial video games are as effective in promoting metacognition as other more traditional methodologies or tools.DiscussionFinally, there is a need to rethink the implications of the use of video games in the classroom if we want students to acquire skills that will be essential to successfully respond to the demands and challenges of their academic and professional future.

Beyond the Digital: Analogue Games´ Creative Potential in Deepening Data Literacy

: In an era where digital technology often dominates the educational landscape, the enduring appeal and educational potential of analogue learning games remain significant. These traditional, non-digital games, offer a tactile and interactive approach to learning that is both unique and impactful. Unlike their digital counterparts, analogue games require physical presence and direct interaction, which bring benefits to the educational process (Ribeiro, 2019; Medeisiene et al., 2021). This small case study explores, through a sociocultural lens, how analogue learning games influence creative learning processes in Continuing Education students. The results of a questionnaire to 43 participants enrolled in a course on Data Literacy in Norway, show that analogue learning games promote active engagement, foster social interaction, and stimulate innovative thinking connected to the course content when the setting around the activity feels safe for the participants. Participants also expressed that the tactile and social nature of analogue games encouraged more profound group discussions, leading to diverse perspectives and novel ideas. This resonates with findings from Medeisiene et al. (2021) who highlight the pedagogical value of game-based learning in enhancing engagement. These interactions not only bolstered creativity but also enhanced and deepened understanding and retention of knowledge from the Data Literacy course content. Moreover, the study highlights the importance of context and facilitation in maximising the benefits of analogue games for Continuing Education students. The findings suggest a promising avenue for further exploration into using analogue games in educational contexts. The study concludes with advocating conducting more research on the integration of learning games into continuing education curricula as a strategy to leverage the benefits of social interaction and active engagement, and to enhance creative learning that can deepen learning of course content.

Digital Games in Education: An Interdisciplinary View

Digital games have emerged as a promising tool in educational settings, offering engaging and interactive experiences that improve student motivation and learning outcomes. This paper explores the interdisciplinary nature of the use of digital games in education, highlighting their potential impact across disciplines and subject areas. Drawing on literature from fields such as psychology, education, computer science, and game design, we examine the key elements of game-based learning, including serious games, gamification, game mechanisms, and player experience. We also discuss the criteria for selecting games in educational contexts and provide practical recommendations for finding and modifying games to meet specific learning objectives. We also provide examples of games that can be used effectively across disciplines, including science, mathematics, computer science, and social science. Through this interdisciplinary lens, we emphasize the importance of integrating digital games into educational practices to foster student engagement, critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration skills. By embracing the potential of digital games, educators can harness their transformative power to create dynamic and immersive learning environments that prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century.

Application of serious games in chemical engineering courses

The advantages of using elements of games in educational contexts have been reported in literature since the times of Plato in ancient Greece. Modern studies credited games with some advantages in education from different angles (behavioural, motivational or cognitive). In this paper, the application of games that have an explicit and carefully thought-out educational purpose (serious games) in different chemical engineering subjects at the bachelor and master level is discussed. Firstly, some topic definitions are provided along with a historical perspective of the use of games in education and the theoretical foundations supporting it. In section 2, four different applications of games are presented in three different subjects. In particular, the use of board games for the subjects Process Control and Particle Technology is illustrated, and how the combination of simple games (e.g. crosswords) and escape room activities can help to develop both low level and high level skills (following the Bloom’s taxonomy classification) in Optimisation of Chemical Processes is also presented. Their analysis and discussion of the impacts achieved with the different game-based activities are later presented in section 3 along with the main conclussions drawn.

Design of a location-based augmented reality game for the development of key 21st century competences in primary education

The use of augmented reality games (ARGs) in education has gained increased attention from curriculum developers, teachers, and researchers in the past decade. Research findings show that ARGs can promote meaningful learning environments that foster key competences for the 21st century. This paper presents the design process of “EcoAegean”, an ARG for mobile devices, which was implemented in primary classroom environments to support the development of students’ key competences in the context of sustainability. The game was created using an open augmented reality software platform and its design was based on contemporary theoretical underpinnings regarding the use of such games in educational contexts. In the first section of the paper, we describe the design procedures of the learning scenario as well as the game itself. In the last section of the paper, we offer a set of critical insights on the design and implementation of mobile augmented reality games for the purpose of supporting students’ development of key 21st century competences.

The Art of Tacit Learning in Serious Location-Based Games

Over the past two decades, location-based games have moved from media art fringes to the mass cultural mainstream. Through their locative affordances, these game types enable practices of wayfaring and placemaking, with the capacity to deliver powerful tacit knowledge. These affordances suggest the potential for the development of location-based games in educational contexts. This paper presents three cases studies—TIMeRandWayfinder LiveandPet Playing for Placemaking—to illustrate how each uses elements of wayfaring and placemaking to bring new opportunities for education through a tacit knowledge approach.

Assessment Measures in Game-based Learning Research

The use of games in educational contexts is well documented in GBL research. Nevertheless, effectiveness evidence needs to be more extensively analyzed. An effective GBL strategy should address the learning aspects and promote players' engagement in an easy-to-use system. To gather the information already present in literature, we sought to answer how learning, engagement, and usability of games are evaluated in GBL research. We conducted a systematic review of empirical studies in ERIC, IEEE, Springer, and Web of Science databases. We included 91 studies for the final analysis and categorized their measures and instruments. We find a prevalence of learning assessments over engagement and usability assessments. Learning is mainly evaluated by direct measures, while indirect measures mostly assess engagement and usability. The use of indirect measures and instruments without psychometric qualities compromises the strength of the evidence for the effectiveness of game-based learning. Future studies should add direct assessments and indirect measures with psychometric qualities to assess engagement and usability. The study’s limitations are discussed.

CONQUER THE ARTWORK: A BOARD GAME FOR TEACHING HISTORY OF ART

ABSTRACT: Games may contribute with the learning processes in different knowledge areas. This article describes the development and use of a board game that addresses history of art content, in a quasi-experimental study with students of the 1st year of secondary education in two public schools. The students' performance was evaluated before and after the intervention, as well as their motivation after using the game. Observational data were collected, as well as photographs, audio recordings and interviews with the participating teachers. In the writing tests, the students who used the game had a performance equivalent to those of the control group, showing a satisfactory motivation level and adequate level of acceptance of the game. The article discusses these results, bringing to the debate not only the use of games in educational contexts, but also the way in which these games are introduced in the classroom. Although the board game developed in this research focuses on specific contents about art in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, the game model may be customized by teachers and students and be adapted to address other contents.

Motivación docente por el uso del juego como dispositivo para el aprendizaje

Even though play has been widely recognized as a social and cultural practice where children naturally learn, evidence shows that international school practices have tended to reduce spaces for play, relegating it to nearly sporadic levels. Teaching practices in initial education have become increasingly scholastic; despite being recognized as a foundational principle, play has been left to the side of central learning activities, which may affect the development of children. For Chile, a country where standardized assessments have permeated the entire educational system, research has reported a schema of classes centered on adulthood that progressively structure and stiffen classroom activities. Play makes its appearance only as an instructional resource (instructional play), and does so with no measurable certainty of its effectiveness on impacting learning. Given such a gap in the literature regarding how teachers understand play-based education and their motivations toward implementing it at school, this work aimed to explore teacher motivations toward game-based learning in educational contexts under a mixed-methods sequential design. The first stage of the research design surveyed 221 primary education teachers (87.8 % women; average, 29.05 years ± SD 8.74; average teaching experience, 3.67 years ± SD 6.15) with the Motivation Scale for the use of educational games (Munoz & Valenzuela, 2014) based on the Expectancy Value motivational theory. In the second stage, four focus groups were formed to inquire about the conceptions that these teachers hold regarding play in school settings. Focus group participants were, in total, 29 currently-active primary education teachers (6 men, and 23 women; average age, 41 years ± SD 11.16). Quantitative results show high valuation for different components of motivation, though with significant differences. The most valued dimension corresponded to utility , while the least were expectancy and cost components. No differences were observed by sex or by years of professional experience. These results are consistent with teacher self-reports, who indicate that time, cost, and lack of knowledge in implementing games are inhibiting factors for effective inclusion in the classroom. Moreover, teachers tended not to recognize themselves as players, or engage in play with students; rather, they believe their function is to observe and monitor to maintain order. Within costs , teachers also included loss of control in the classroom as a relevant element: the freedom (or even chaos) that classroom play can lead to is seen as a threat to the teacher. Additionally, teachers have a vague, non-specific –or even idealized– conception of games. They may see play as a series of classroom activities that are decidedly not within educational play; or, even if characterizing games as spontaneous, voluntary, dynamic, and entertaining activities, do not recognize these attributes when placing games in educational contexts. Indeed, games are seen as tools rather than a methodology in itself. Some also idealize play from “the way things used to be”, arguing that children no longer know how to play and blaming new technologies as responsible for this “lack of play” in present childhood. This background highlights the need for explicit evidence-based training of future teachers in the use and incorporation of games as an educational resource.

The creation and trial of a serious game to support teaching and learning of professional psychology competencies in postgraduate programs

The education of healthcare professionals is critical for the safe delivery of services to patients (Ricciardi & de Paolis, 2014). Postgraduate psychology students undertaking a professional degree encounter a steep learning curve when transitioning from theoretical knowledge to professional practice. This beginning student stage of development is fraught with anxiety and high-stress levels, and has implications for both student and client wellbeing (Skovholt & Ronnestad, 2003). Successful navigation of this phase is critical to psychology graduate competence and employability, with potentially lasting consequences for psychologists’ perceptions of self-efficacy and career trajectory (De Stefano et al., 2007; Skovholt & Ronnestad, 2003). Serious games in health provide the potential for safe practice opportunities in an engaging and entertaining manner (Hawn, 2009; Knight et al., 2010). The author developed a serious game with the intention of providing postgraduate professional psychology students with increased and more convenient opportunity to practice psychological competencies. This paper synthesises game design theory into a prototype for educators to provide innovative solutions in a health context. It contributes to the body of research determining the efficacy of games in educational contexts and advances knowledge in the use of simulation pedagogies.

Free the sheep: improvised song and performance in and around a minecraft community

AbstractRecent work around the use of virtual world video games in educational contexts has conceptualised literacies as communal processes, whilst considering complex notions of collaboration through participants' multiplicity of presence in hybrid virtual / physical locations. However, further research is necessary in order to help us understand how the complex interactions afforded by such spaces influence ‐ and are influenced by ‐ children's social relationships. This article draws upon data from a year‐long ethnographic study, investigating a group of ten and eleven year old children's engagement with the video game ‘Minecraft’ as they collaborate to build a ‘virtual community’. With a particular focus on the children's improvised singing and use of song during the club, I examine how their creative practices ‐ drawing on a wide range of self‐selected resources, played out both in and out of the virtual world ‐ help to fundamentally shape the nature of the space around them. Furthermore, through examination of one particular performance, I demonstrate the importance of ensuring that such details are not written out of accounts of children interactions around technology, if we are to understand the true potential of such environments.

Teachers' Beliefs about the Possibilities and Limitations of Digital Games in Classrooms

Teachers' beliefs about what it is (or is not) possible to achieve with digital games in educational contexts will inevitably influence the decisions that they make about how, when, and for what specific purposes they will bring these games into their classrooms. They play a crucial role in both shaping and responding to the complex contextual factors which influence how games are understood and experienced in educational settings. Throughout this article the authors draw upon data collected for a large-scale, mixed-methods research project focusing on literacy, learning and teaching with digital games in Australian classrooms, to focus explicitly on the attitudes, understandings and expectations held about digital games by diverse teachers at the beginning of the project. They seek to identify the beliefs about games that motivated teachers' participation in a digital games research project while focusing, as well, on concerns that teachers express about risks or limitations of such a project. The authors' aim is to develop a detailed picture of the mindsets that teachers bring to games-based learning environments, and the relevance of these mindsets to broader debates about the relationship between games, learning and school.

Using Gaming Literacies to Cultivate New Literacies

The use of games in educational contexts has recently received growing attention; however, many teachers struggle with finding a right context to adopt games in the classroom. To strengthen teachers’ beliefs about the educational value of games, this article explains the similarities and differences between new literacies and gaming literacy and defines gaming literacy from the “play” and “design” perspectives. This article presents examples of game use that will help teachers cultivate learners’ new literacies through gaming, understand how the game debriefing process can help scaffold students’ learning, and identify factors affecting the adoption of games in educational contexts. The audience for this article includes teachers and teacher educators who would like greater clarification regarding gaming literacy and its positive effects on the learning and development of new literacies.