Game‐Based Learning

Twitter:@kkapp

By Karl M. KappBloomsburg University July 21, 2013

Google “Kapp Notes”Google “Kapp Notes”

Book:“The Gamification of Learning and Instruction”

Book:“The Gamification of Learning and Instruction”

September 2011 Training Quarterly ArticleImproving Training: Thinking Like a Game Developer

September 2011 Training Quarterly ArticleImproving Training: Thinking Like a Game Developer

July 2011 T&D ArticleMatching the Right Instruction to the Right Content

July 2011 T&D ArticleMatching the Right Instruction to the Right Content

1Agenda

How do I use game-based learning in the classroom?

How do you apply game-based strategies to the presentation of learning content?

2

3What are 3 principles for addingserious games to learning curriculums?

10,000 hrs of Game play

13 hours of consolegames a week

Digital divisions. Report by the Pew /Internet: Pew Internet & American Life. US Department of Commerce

87% of 8- to 17-year olds

play video gamesat home.

Females play 5 hours a week of console games. They make up the majority of PC gamers at 63%.

Almost 43% of the gamers are female and 26% of those females are over

18.

Digital divisions. Report by the Pew /Internet: Pew Internet & American Life. US Department of Commerce

What Research Says about

Games for Learning

Type of Knowledge/Retention

% Higher

Declarative 11%Procedural 14%Retention 9%

Percentages of Impact

Sitzmann, T. (2011) A meta‐analytic examination of the instructional effectiveness of computer‐based simulation games. Personnel Psychology .Review of 65 studies

Type of Knowledge/Retention

% Higher

Declarative 11%Procedural 14%Retention 9%

Percentages of Impact

Sitzmann, T. (2011) A meta‐analytic examination of the instructional effectiveness of computer‐based simulation games. Personnel Psychology .Review of 65 studies

It wasn’t the game, it was level of activity in the game.

In other words, the engagement of the learner in the game leads 

to learning.

Sitzmann, T. (2011) A meta‐analytic examination of the instructional effectiveness of computer‐based simulation games. Personnel Psychology .

20% higher confidence levels.

Simulation/games build more confidence for on the job application of learned knowledge 

than classroom instruction.

A math facts game deployed on a handled computer encouraged learners to complete greater number of 

problems at an increased level of difficulty. 

Learners playing the handheld game completed nearly 3 times the number of problems in 19 days and voluntarily increased the level of difficulty. 

Lee, J., Luchini, K., Michael, B., Norris, C., & Soloway, E. (2004). More than just fun and games: Assessing the value of educational video games in the classroom. Paper presented at the CHI '04 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Vienna, Austria.

..it’s the instructional methods and not the delivery system that provides the active ingredients for learning…in a game/simulation.

‐‐Jeanne Farrington

Recommendations 1) Use a game/simulation to provide a context for the learning. 

2) Embed the game in the curriculum. 

3) Carefully craft the simulation/game to provide opportunities to increase engagement and interactivity to increase learning.

Use game-based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action,

promote learning, and solve problems.

Gamification

Elements of Games that Aid

Learning• Story• Character • Recognition• Levels• Challenges • Chance• Replayability• Aesthetics• Time• Continual Feedback

Elements of Games that Aid

Learning• Story• Character • Recognition• Levels• Challenges • Chance• Replayability• Aesthetics• Time• Continual Feedback

NOT Enough Time 

FourElements of

Games that Aid Learning

1. Tell a Story2. Provide a Challenge3. Competition and

Cooperation4. Feedback

Tell a Story

Researchers have found that the human brain has a natural affinity for 

narrative construction.

Yep, People tend to remember facts more accurately if they encounter them in a story rather than in a list.

And they rate legal arguments as more convincing when built into narrative tales rather than on legal precedent.

Carey, B. (2007) this is Your Life (and How You Tell it). The New York Times. Melanie Green http://www.unc.edu/~mcgreen/research.html

1. Characters

Story Elements

5. Conclusion

2. Plot (something has to happen).

3. Tension

4. Resolution

NikePlus Stats for Karl

Challenge and Consolidation– Good games offer players a setof challenging problems and then let them solve these problemsuntil they have virtually routinized or automated their solutions.

Games then throw a new class of problem at the players requiringthem to rethink their now, taken-for-granted mastery, learnsomething new, and integrate this new learning into their old mastery.

James Paul Gee, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Provide a challenge

Jones, B., Valdez, G., Norakowski, J., & Rasmussen, C. (1994). Designing learning and technology for educational reform. North Central Regional  Educational Laboratory. [Online]. Available: http://www.ncrtec.org/capacity/profile/profwww.htm and Schlechty, P. C. (1997). Inventing better schools: An action plan for educational reform. San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass

Re‐design the Instruction to Start with a Challenge

Recommendations 

• Embed facts to be learned in the context of stories.

• Start the learning process by providing a challenge to the learner.

• Use stories that are related to the context of the desired learning outcome. 

Competition and Cooperation

In the Classroom

• Form students into companies (teams)• Provide Request for Proposal• Students develop:

– 40 page proposal– Working Prototype– Sales Presentation

Feedback

Games like The Sims provide feedback on many dimensions which provide 

opportunities to consider tradeoffs and higher level cognitive thinking. 

Level One: Talking with the receptionist.

Level Two: Talking with the nurse gatekeeper.

Level Three: Talking with the physician.

Level One: Demonstration

Practice

Level Two: Guided Practice

Level Three: Performance Assessment

Recommendations 

• Provide feedback on several dimensions. 

• Use feedback to help change behavior. 

• Discussion of feedback aids the learning process.

• Feedback should be continuous throughout the learning process. 

Learned Procedure

1Summary

Games/Simulations are effectivefor learning because of learnerengagement.

Apply stories, competition & cooperation, And feedback as effective game elements to learning.

2

3Embed games within a curriculum, Not as stand alone elements..

Go ahead…jump in!

Questions/More Information• Google Kapp Notes

– Recommended books– Samples and Examples

• Email: kkapp@bloomu.edu• Email: karlkapp@gmail.com• Twitter: @kkapp• Pinterest: Gamification Happenings• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gamificationLI

“The Gamification of Learning and Instruction”