Abstract
Educational games benefit from incorporating evidence-based learning principles. Most of these principles have been studied in conventional learning settings, and their applicability and possible benefits to games is unclear. Two such principles within the general framework of Desirable Difficulties are Spacing and Interleaving. Both refer to the idea of distributed practice over time (as opposed to blocked), with interleaving having the added benefit of presenting opportunities for comparison across stimuli. We designed a digital game on the topic of multiplication facts that implemented three possible sequencing of problems – blocked, spaced, and interleaved. One hundred and fifty elementary school students were randomly assigned to one of the conditions. In-game learning curve analysis of logs found that blocked presentation improves in-game performance. However, out-of-game tests found that interleaved presentation improves out-of-game performance efficiency. This work demonstrates the applicability and benefits of incorporating evidence-based principles into digital games.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Zhonggen, Y.: A meta-analysis of use of serious games in education over a decade. Int. J. Comput. Games Technol. 2019, 4797032 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/4797032
Lei, H., Chiu, M.M., Wang, D., et al.: Effects of game-based learning on students’ achievement in science: a meta-analysis. J. Educ. Comput. Res. 60, 1373–1398 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1177/07356331211064543
Mayer, R.E.: Computer games in education. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 70, 531–549 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-102744
McLaren, B.M., Nguyen, H.: AIED digital learning games: a review. In: AIED Digital Learning Games (2020)
Bjork, R.A.: Institutional impediments to effective training. In: Learning, Remembering, Believing: Enhancing Individual and Team Performance, pp. 295–306. National Academy Press, Washington, DC (1994)
Pavlik, P., Bolster, T., Wu, S.-M., Koedinger, K., MacWhinney, B.: Using optimally selected drill practice to train basic facts. In: Woolf, B.P., Aïmeur, E., Nkambou, R., Lajoie, S. (eds.) ITS 2008. LNCS, vol. 5091, pp. 593–602. Springer, Heidelberg (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-69132-7_62
Clark, C.M., Bjork, R.A.: When and why introducing difficulties and errors can enhance instruction. In: Benassi, V., Overson, C.E., Hakala, C.M. (eds.) Applying Science Learning Education Infusing Psychological Science in to the Curriculum, pp. 20–30. Society for the Teaching of Psychology (2014)
Rau, M.A., Aleven, V., Rummel, N.: Interleaved practice in multi-dimensional learning tasks: which dimension should we interleave? Learn. Instr. 23, 98–114 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2012.07.003
Newell, A., Rosenbloom, P.S.: Mechanisms of Skill Acquisition and the Law of Practice. In: Cognitive skills and their aquisition, pp. 1–56. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. (1981)
Martin, B., Koedinger, K.R., Mitrovic, A., Mathan, S.: On Using Learning Curves to Evaluate ITS. In: AIED, pp 419–426 (2005)
Harpstead, E., Aleven, V.: Using empirical learning curve analysis to inform design in an educational game. pp, 197–208 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1145/2793107.2793128
Shute, V., Rahimi, S., Smith, G., et al.: Maximizing learning without sacrificing the fun: Stealth assessment, adaptivity and learning supports in educational games. J. Comput. Assist. Learn. 37, 127–141 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1111/JCAL.12473
Van Gog, T., Paas, F.: Instructional efficiency: revisiting the original construct in educational research. Taylor Francis 43, 16–26 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520701756248
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Ben-David, J., Roll, I. (2023). Desirable Difficulties? The Effects of Spaced and Interleaved Practice in an Educational Game. In: Wang, N., Rebolledo-Mendez, G., Dimitrova, V., Matsuda, N., Santos, O.C. (eds) Artificial Intelligence in Education. Posters and Late Breaking Results, Workshops and Tutorials, Industry and Innovation Tracks, Practitioners, Doctoral Consortium and Blue Sky. AIED 2023. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1831. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36336-8_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36336-8_21
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-36335-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-36336-8
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)