LEARNING ALSO NEEDS TO BE A LITTLE FUN: WHAT ACADEMIC LEARNING GOALS CAN STUDENTS ACHIEVE BY DEVELOPING GAMES?
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Jun 12, 2019
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Abstract
This study presents an exploratory investigation of how learning through game development can contribute to students’ academic learning and how applying game making for learning as a teaching method can be linked to subject-specific learning goals. The paper describes a project where twenty-two second grade Danish students worked with problem-based assignments that supported them in developing digital games for learning with the Scratch tool. The students succeeded in creating digital games for learning and in embedding learning situations, learning activities and evaluation opportunities into their games. Analysis of the learning dynamics suggests that the students were involved in interactive communication and production processes and used the Danish language as a tool inside their small digital games when engaging in this problem-based and constructionist learning approach. According to the analysis, the students managed to work with specific academic learning goals and enjoyed learning through the development of games for learning.
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Articles - Special Issue
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References
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Weitze, C. L. (2016b). Student learning-game designs: Emerging learning trajectories. In T. Connolly, & L. Boyle (Eds.), Proceedings of the 10th European Conference on Games Based Learning: ECGBL 2016, Paisley, Scotland (1 ed., Vol. 1, pp. 756-764). Reading, UK: ACPI Ltd. Retrieved from http://orbit.dtu.dk/files/134654982/CLWeitze_Student_Learning_Game_Designs_Emerging_Learning_Trajectories_ECGBL_2016.pdf
Weitze, C. L. (2017a). How student game designers design learning into games. In A Barany, S. Slater, & C. Steinkuehler (Eds.), GLS 12 Conference Proceedings (1 ed., Vol. 1, pp. 191-201). Pittsburgh, PA, USA: Carnegie Mellon University - ETC Press. Abstract retrieved https://vbn.aau.dk/en/publications/how-student-game-designers-design-learning-into-games
Weitze, C. L. (2017b). Reflective, creative and computational thinking strategies used when students learn through making games. In Proceedings of the 11th European Conference on Game-Based Learning (pp. 744-753).European Conference on Games Based Learning ECGBL 2017 (pp. 744–753) Fh Joanneum University of Applied Science, Graz, Austria, 5–6 October 2017. Reading, UK: Academic Conferences and Publishing Intl.
Smith, M. (2016, January 30). Computer science for all [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/01/30/computer-science-all
Wing, J. M. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35.
Wing, J.M. (2017). Computational thinking’s influence on research and education for all. Italian Journal of Educational Technology, 25(2), 7–14. doi: 10.17471/2499-4324/922
Amory, A., Naicker, K., Vincent, J., & Adams, C. (1999). The use of computer games as an educational tool: identification of appropriate game types and game elements. British Journal of Educational Technology, 30(4), 311-321.
Barab, S., & Dede, C. (2007). Games and immersive participatory simulations for science education: An emerging type of curricula. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 16(1), 1–3.
Blikstein, P. (2013). Digital fabrication and ‘making’ in education: The democratization of invention. FabLabs: of machines, makers and inventors, 4, 1–21.
Brennan, K. (2014) Social dimensions of computing education. Paper presented at the Future Directions in Computing Education Summit, Orlando, FL, USA.
Brennan, K., & Resnick, M. (2012, April). New frameworks for studying and assessing the development of computational thinking. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Cambridge University Press (2019). Cambridge online dictionary. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org
Earp, J. (2015). Game making for learning: A systematic review of the research literature. In L. Gómez Chova, A. López Martínez, & I. Candel Torres (Eds.), Proceedings of 8th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI2015) (pp. 6426–6435). Valencia, SP: IATED
Freixo Nunes, J. M., & Loureiro Cardoso, T. M. (2017). Mobile learning and computational thinking. Italian Journal of Educational Technology, 25(2), 51–58.
Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York, NY, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
Halverson, E. R., & Sheridan, K. (2014). The maker movement in education. Harvard Educational Review, 84(4), 495–504.
Harel, I., & Papert, S. (Eds.) (1991). Constructionism. New York, NY, USA: Ablex Publishing.
Jenkins, T., & Bogost, I. (2015). Escaping the sandbox: Making and its future. Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, January 15 - 19, 2015, Stanford, California, USA (pp. 29–32). ACM. doi: 10.1145/2677199.2680558
Kafai, Y. B., & Burke, Q. (2015). Constructionist gaming: Understanding the benefits of making games for learning. Educational Psychologist, 50(4), 313–334.
Kafai, Y. B., & Resnick, M. (1996). Constructionism in practice: Designing, thinking, and learning in a digital world. New York, NY, USA: Routledge.
Koh, J. H. L., Chai, C. S., Wong, B., & Hong, H. Y. (2015). Design thinking for education: Conceptions and applications in teaching and learning. Singapore: Springer.
Oygardslia, K. (2015). Students as game designers: Learning by creating game narratives in the classroom. In Interactive storytelling (pp. 341–344). New York, NY, USA: Springer.
Oygardslia, K. (2018). Students as game designers: Exploring collaborative game-based learning activities in the classroom [PhD Thesis]. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim. Retrieved from https://ntnuopen.ntnu.no/ntnu-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2564297/Kristine%20%C3%98ygardslia.pdf?sequence=5
Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. New York, NY, USA: Basic Books, Inc.
Ratto, M., & Boler, M. (Eds.) (2014). DIY citizenship: Critical making and social media. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press.
Resnick, M. (2017). Lifelong kindergarten: Cultivating creativity through projects, passion, peers, and play. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press.
Savery, J. R. (2015). Overview of problem-based learning: Definitions and distinctions. In A. Walker, H. Leary, C.E. Hmelo-Silver, & P. Ertmer (Eds.), Essential readings in problem-based learning: exploring and extending the legacy of Howard S. Barrows (pp. 5–15). Lafayette, IN, USA: Purdue University Press.
Schön, D. A. (1992). Designing as reflective conversation with the materials of a design situation. Knowledge-Based Systems, 5(1), 3–14.
Selander, S., & Kress, G. (2012). Læringsdesign i et multimodalt perspektiv. Copenhagen, DE: Frydenlund.
Sfard, A. (1998). On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one. Educational Researcher, 27(2), 4–13.
Squire, K. (2011). Video games and learning: Teaching and participatory culture in the digital age. Technology, education--connections (the TEC Series). New York, NY, USA: Teachers College Press.
Thornberg, R. (2012). Informed grounded theory. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 56(3), 243– 259.
Universal Verification Methodology (2018). Fælles Mål for folkeskolens fag og emner. Retrieved from https://uvm.dk/da/Uddannelser/Folkeskolen/Fag-timetal-og-overgange/Faelles-Maal/Om-Faelles-Maal
Weitze, C. L. (2016a). Designing for learning and play – The Smiley Model as framework. Interaction Design and Architecture(s) Journal – Interaction Design and Architecture Journal, Special issue: Player and Learner eXperience, 29, 52-75. Retrieved from http://www.mifav.uniroma2.it/inevent/events/idea2010/doc/29_3.pdf
Weitze, C. L. (2016b). Student learning-game designs: Emerging learning trajectories. In T. Connolly, & L. Boyle (Eds.), Proceedings of the 10th European Conference on Games Based Learning: ECGBL 2016, Paisley, Scotland (1 ed., Vol. 1, pp. 756-764). Reading, UK: ACPI Ltd. Retrieved from http://orbit.dtu.dk/files/134654982/CLWeitze_Student_Learning_Game_Designs_Emerging_Learning_Trajectories_ECGBL_2016.pdf
Weitze, C. L. (2017a). How student game designers design learning into games. In A Barany, S. Slater, & C. Steinkuehler (Eds.), GLS 12 Conference Proceedings (1 ed., Vol. 1, pp. 191-201). Pittsburgh, PA, USA: Carnegie Mellon University - ETC Press. Abstract retrieved https://vbn.aau.dk/en/publications/how-student-game-designers-design-learning-into-games
Weitze, C. L. (2017b). Reflective, creative and computational thinking strategies used when students learn through making games. In Proceedings of the 11th European Conference on Game-Based Learning (pp. 744-753).European Conference on Games Based Learning ECGBL 2017 (pp. 744–753) Fh Joanneum University of Applied Science, Graz, Austria, 5–6 October 2017. Reading, UK: Academic Conferences and Publishing Intl.
Smith, M. (2016, January 30). Computer science for all [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/01/30/computer-science-all
Wing, J. M. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35.
Wing, J.M. (2017). Computational thinking’s influence on research and education for all. Italian Journal of Educational Technology, 25(2), 7–14. doi: 10.17471/2499-4324/922