Abstract
A computer-based geometry game was adapted to allow for play using a conceptual rule or an arithmetic problem-solving mechanic. Participants (n = 91) from an urban middle school were randomly assigned to experimental conditions. Results suggest that play in the number condition was more situationally interesting than play in the rule condition. Participants in the rule condition were found to perform better in the game than those in the number condition. Learning outcome results suggest that in the number condition, but not the rule condition, playing more levels in the game diminishes the gain from pretest to posttest. For the design of games for learning, results highlight the importance of choosing a game mechanic that reflects the intended learning outcomes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Collins, A., Halverson, R.: Rethinking education in the age of technology: The digital revolution and schooling in America. Teachers College, NY (2009)
Gee, J.P.: What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. Palgrave Macmillan, New York (2003)
Gee, J.P.: Good video games + Good learning. Peter Lang, New York (2007)
Linnenbrink-Garcia, L., Durik, A.M., Conley, A.M., Barron, K.E., Tauer, J.M., Karabenick, S.A., et al.: Situational interest survey (SIS): An instrument to assess the role of situational factors in interest development (in press)
Mayo, M.J.: Games for science and engineering education. Communications of the ACM 50(7), 30–35 (2007)
McGrew, K.S., Woodcock, R.W.: Technical Manual: Woodcock-Johnson III (2001)
Mislevy, R.J., Almond, R.G., Steinberg, L.S.: On the structure of educational assessments. Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives 1, 3–67 (2003)
Plass, J.L., Homer, B.D., Chang, Y.K., Frye, J., Kaczetow, W., Isbister, K., Perlin, K.: Metrics to Assess Learning and Measure Learner Variables in Simulations and Games. In: El-Nasr, et al. (eds.) Game Telemetry and Metrics. Morgan Kaufman (in press)
Plass, J.L., Homer, B.D., Milne, C., Jordan, T., Kalyuga, S., Kim, M., Lee, H.J.: Design Factors for Effective Science Simulations: Representation of Information. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations 1(1), 16–35 (2009)
Plass, J.L., Homer, B.D., Hayward, E.O.: Design Factors for Educationally Effective Animations and Simulations. Journal of Computing in Higher Education 21(1), 31–61 (2009)
Plass, J.L., Perlin, K., Isbister, K.: The Games for Learning Institute: Research on Design Patterns for Effective Educational Games. Paper presented at the Game Developers Conference, San Francisco, March 9-13 (2010)
Squire, K.: Video Games in Education. International Journal of Intelligent Simulations and Gaming 2(1) (2003)
Um, E., Plass, J.L., Hayward, E.O., Homer, B.D.: Emotional Design in Multimedia Learning. Journal of Educational Psychology (December 19, 2011) Advance online publication, doi:10.1037/a0026609
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Plass, J.L. et al. (2012). The Effect of Learning Mechanics Design on Learning Outcomes in a Computer-Based Geometry Game. In: Göbel, S., Müller, W., Urban, B., Wiemeyer, J. (eds) E-Learning and Games for Training, Education, Health and Sports. Edutainment GameDays 2012 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7516. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33466-5_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33466-5_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-33465-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-33466-5
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)