GAMEBASEDLEARNINGANDEDUCATIONGAMIFICATION

GameBasedLearningandEducationGamification WithTiestoConstructivismandBehaviorism JamieDoiron BoiseStateUniversity

GAMEBASEDLEARNINGANDEDUCATIONGAMIFICATION

Abstract Thispaperexplorestheemergingpracticesofusinggamebasedlearning(GBL)andeducation gamificationintheclassroomaswellastheeducationaltheorysupportingit.Itwillexaminecasestudies performedinsecondaryscience,drama,andforeignlanguageclassrooms.Thispaperconsiders economicfactorsassociatedwithintegratinggamebasedlearningandgamificationintocurriculumand exploressomealternativestotraditionalgamebasedlearningapproaches.

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Introduction Gamesareeverywhere.Notonlydoweplaygamesforfun,manyexperiencesthatwehaveare nowgamified.Therearesmartphoneappsthatturneverydayactivitiesintogameswhereyoucanearn badgesandrewardsfromdoingeverythingfrombuyingcoffeetogoingforaruntovisitingarestaurant. Gamesareapowerfulforceformotivationandlearning,butwhy?Thispaperwillexploretheconcepts ofgamificationandgamebasedlearningandhowtheytietotraditionallearningtheoriesofbehaviorism andconstructivism.Wewillexaminecasestudiesandexamplesofhowgameshavebeenusedinthe classroomtofacilitatelearningaswellasconsidertheeconomicimpactsofthisapproach. GamificationandGameBasedLearning Tounderstandwhatgamificationis,wemustfirstunderstandwhatagameis.Itiseasytothink ofexamplesofgamesthatweplayedaschildrenormaybestillplay:tag,hideandseek,cardgames, andboardgames.Thesegamesallhavecommonelements.Erenliincludesadefinitionofagame originallyproposedbyCailloisasanactivitythathasthefollowingcharacteristics: fun:theactivityischosenforitslightheartedcharacter separate:itiscircumscribedintimeandplace uncertain:theoutcomeoftheactivityisunforeseeable nonproductive:participationdoesnotaccomplishanythinguseful governedbyrules:theactivityhasrulesthataredifferentfromeverydaylife fictitious:itisaccompaniedbytheawarenessofadifferentreality(2013,p.15). TheauthorcontinuesontoincludeadefinitionofagamebyCrawfordasaninteractive,goaloriented activity,withactiveagentstoplayagainst,inwhichplayers(includingactiveagents)caninterferewith

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oneanother(2013,p.16). Gamification.Gamificationistheapplicationofgameconceptstonongamestructures(Erenli, 2013).Ineducation,gamificationwouldbeanactivitythatisfun,haselementsofuncertainty,is governedbyrules,issomewhatfictitious,andseparateintimeandplace.Itisimportanttonotinclude theconceptofgamesbeingnonproductive,asthegoalofeducationgamificationistoincrease engagementandlearning.Forthepurposesofthispaper,wewillusethetermgamificationtomeanan entirecurricularunitdesignedtointegrategameconcepts. Gamebasedlearning.Gamebasedlearningisslightlydifferent.Thiscanbe,butisnot necessarily,asubsetofgamificationinwhichactualgamesareusedaslearningtools.Erenliprovides somestatisticsthatcanhelpusunderstandwhygamesaresuchausefultoolforlearning.77%of householdsinAmericaownvideogamesofsomesortandwecollectivelyspent215millionhoursper dayplayinggamesintheUS.55%ofpeoplewhoplaygamesdosoontheirsmartphonesand97%of youthsplaycomputerandvideogames(2013,16).Itisapparentthatasasociety,welovegames. Harnessingthatengagementintheclassroomcanbeapowerfultoolforlearning. LearningTheories Gamebasedlearningandgamificationcantracetheirrootsbacktoconstructivistand behavioristlearningtheories.Thesetheoriesarealargepartofwhypeoplearesoengagedingamesand continuetoplaythemforhoursandhoursonend,oftendoingseeminglymonotonoustasksforlittleor norealworldreward. Constructivism Constructivismisastudentcenteredlearningtheory.AccordingtoMurphy(1998),in

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constructivism,learningisabouttheprocess,nottheendresult.Theprocessisthestudentsown journeythroughthematerialandrequiresthestudenttounderstandthematerialwithinthecontextofhis orherknownworld.Mistakesaretolerated,evenencouraged,becausetheycanhelpthestudentto eventuallyattainadeeperunderstandingoftheirexperientialworld.Oftenintheprocessofgainingthis understanding,studentswilldiscoverthattherearemultipletruthsorperspectivesinasituation.This conceptiscalledmultiplicity(Murphy,1998). Aconstructivistlearningenvironmentcanvarywidelyfromsubjectareatosubjectarea,butin generaltheyallhavesimilarcharacteristics.Jonassen(1991)identifiedsomedesignprinciplesthatare commontoconstructivistlearningenvironments: Makingthecontentrelevantbysituatingitinrealworldenvironments. Realworldproblemsolvingwitharealistic,viableapproach. Instructoractsasajudgeandanalystofproblemsolvingstrategies. Providemultipleperspectivesorrepresentationsofcontenttolearners. Studentinputoninstructionalgoalsandobjectives. Evaluationisatoolforstudentselfanalysis. Givelearnersthetoolsneededtointerpretvaryingperspectives. Thelearnerhasultimatecontroloverthelearningandmediatestheprocess. Whentheseideasareimplementedintheclassroom,studentsareencouragedtoconstructtheirown meaningandcanlearnimportantconceptsinthecontextofhowtheyrelatetotheirownunderstanding oftheworld. ConstructivisminGames.Constructivismlearningtheoryisoftenfoundintheprocessthata

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playergoesthroughwhentryingtolearntherulesofagame.Forgameswithverycomplicatedrulesor strategies,eachplayerisrequiredtoconstructhisorherownunderstandingandstrategyinorderto playthegamecompetitively(CheeSiang,Avni,&Zaphiris,2008).Cognitiveconstructivism,abranch ofconstructivism,hasconceptsthatcanhelpplayerslearngamenarratives.Highlydetailedgameswith constantlychangingsettingsandworldsrequirelearnerstousecongitiveconstructivisttechniques.They arefreetoformvaryingviewsandopinionsoftheworld,story,andultimatelycreatetheirown understandingofthegamenarrative(CheeSiangetal.,2008). Inaddition,socialconstructivismisoftenfoundinplayerplayerinteractionsingames.This branchofconstructivismemphasizesthatasocialculturalcontexthasalargeeffectontheknowledge thatlearnersconstruct(CheeSiangetal.,2008).Furthermore,itviewslearningasasocialprocessand statesthattrulymeaningfullearningoccurswhenindividualsworktogether(CheeSiangetal.,2008). Multiplayergamesofferauniquewayforstudentstoworktogetherandlearnimportantconcepts. Behaviorism Behaviorismlearningtheoryisheavilybasedonthepsychologicaltheoryofbehaviorism.This theoryreliesheavilyontheconceptknownasconditioning,whichattemptstopredicthowapersonwill behavegivenincertainenvironmentorsituation(Graham,2010).Theconditioningthatoccursisaresult ofreinforcementoveraperiodoftime.Thiscanbedirectfeedbackorcanbeassociativelearning, whichoccurswhensomeonelearnssomethingasaresultoftherelationshipofeventsinanenvironment (Graham,2010).Learninginthebehavioriststyleofteninvolvestheinstructorgivinginformationtothe studentinapassivemanner. BehaviorisminGames.Whenstudentsareplayingavideogame,thefirstthingtheymustdo

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islearntherulesofthegame.Behaviorallearningplaysakeyroleherebecauseitisinvolvedinthe physicalvirtualactionassociation(CheeSiangetal.,2008,p.537).Oncethestudenthaslearnedthe rulesofthegame,theymuststillemploybehaviorallearningtechniquestobecomesuccessful.Players becomeconditionedtolookforcertainpatternsorperformcertainactionsastheyplaybecausethe gameprovidesinstantfeedbackandconditionstheplayer(CheeSiangetal.,2008).Lastly,muchas traditionalwaysofteachinginvolvetheinstructorprovidinginformationtothelearnerthatmustbe absorbed,behaviorismisoftenusedtohelpplayerslearngamenarratives.Cutscenesortextual informationareavailableingamefortheplayertolearnthestoryintheformofquests,nonplayable characters,orgeneralinformationthatappearsonscreen(CheeSiangetal.,2008). CaseStudies Nowthatweunderstandwhatgamificationandgamebasedlearningare,aswellasthelearning theoriesthatarepresentwithinthem,wewillexaminecasestudiesshowinggameconceptsinvarious subjectareasaswellastheiroutcomes. Science Oftenwhengamesareusedintheclassroom,theyarenarrowinscopeandserveas drillandpracticeactivitiestoreinforceimportantconcepts.Whilethisishelpfulforsomestudents,the ideaofgamebasedlearningismuchbroader.YamSanandTanproposethatforgamebasedlearning towork,thecoursemustbeacoherentlydesignedlearningcurriculumwhereasingle,substantialdigital gameisusedtohelpstudentslearnacompletecurriculumorcurricularunit(2012,p.186).Theygoon tostatethatforlearningtotakeplaceinthismodel,wemustshifttheclassroomculturetowardlearning insteadofinstruction.Byturningtheentirecurriculumintoadigitalgame,studentsemploybehavioral

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learningtheorytolearnthegameandconstructivistlearningtheorytolearntheconceptsthatthegameis designedtoteachthem. Thiscasestudyexaminesaneightsessionchemistrycurriculumthatcentersonstudentsplaying amultiplayergamecalledLegendsofAlkhimia.Studentsworktogethertosolvepuzzlesbycollecting variouschemicalsandmixingthemtointeractwithobjectsinthegameworld(YamSan&Tan,2012). Theyareallowedtotrydifferentcombinationsofchemicals.Thisisinquirylearninginactionandhas rootsinconstructivistlearningtheory.Thetrialanderroraspectoftheirexplorationtiesintobehaviorist learningtheorybecausethestudentsreceivefeedbackfromthegamethatmodifiestheirbehavior. Followinggameplay,theinstructorfacilitatesaclassdiscussionaboutthegame.Thisallowsstudentsto reflectontheirgameplayexperience,includingwhichsubstanceswhenmixedtogetherallowedthemto solvethepuzzlesingame(YamSan&Tan,2012). Preandpostactivitysurveysshowedthatstudentsfeltliketheyweremoreinvolvedinscience anddemonstratedagreatercuriosityaboutitafterplayingthegame.Additionally,studentsinthegroup thatplayedthegameinclasssignificantlyoutperformedthecontrolstudentswhenassessedontheir understandingofchemistryconcepts.Thisshowsthatgamesareaneffectiveplatformtoincorporate constructivistandbehavioristlearningtheoriesandincreaselearningandengagement. DramaandEnglish Becauseoftheperformanceaspectofdramacurriculum,itisdifficulttoseehowgamebased learningmaybeapplied.However,OMaraseesaconnectionbetweendigitalgamesandprocess drama.Thenarrativeofagameprogressesonlyasplayersinteractwiththegameorotherplayersinthe game,whichisstrikinglysimilartoprocessdrama(2012).Additionally,OMarafeelsthatgamescanbe

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usedtoincreaseliteracybecauseoftheirnarrativedrivennature. OneexampleOMaragivesisfromanEnglishclassroominvolvesasituationwhereeach studenthasalaptop.Theteachersallowedthestudentstoplayavarietyofadventureandfantasy games.Theclassthentreatedthosegamesastextstobeanalyzedinadditiontotraditionalworksthat wouldbecoveredinanEnglishcurriculum.Studentsdidtraditionalassignmentssuchasessays comparingthegames,buttheyalsodidnontraditionalworksuchaspitchingthedesignforagameand itsnarrative(2012). Theteachernoticedthatstudentsbegantothinkcriticallyaboutthenarrativepresentedin computergames.Ratherthanbeconsumersoftechnology,thestudentsengagedwithitcritically. Insteadofjustenjoyingthestory,thestudentsbegantoaskthemselveshowandwhytheauthormade specificchoicesinthenarrativeandwhatmechanismshe/sheusedtodrivethestoryforward.Insteadof studyingthetextitself,thediscussionoftencenteredonactionandthewaythatactioninthegameand storyisconstructed(OMara,2012). Manytimeswhengamesareusedintheclassroomtheyarestrictlyeducationalgamesdesigned forclassroomuse.However,theexamplepreviouslydiscussedisanexampleofhowregulargamesnot designedespeciallyforeducationcanbeusedtofostercriticalthinkingskillsinstudents.Traditionally, educationalgamesaretypicallynotthemostexcitingorfungamestoplayandoftentheirproduction valuesarenotashighasthemultimilliondollargamesreleasedforconsolesandcomputerseachyear. Examplesshowingregulargamesbeingusedforeducationalpurposesarevaluablebecausetheseare thegamesthatstudentswantto,orinmanycases,arealreadyplaying.Usingthemtoteachschool conceptsconnectsthecurriculargoalstostudentspriorknowledge,whichisakeytenetof

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constructivism. ForeignLanguage Likethoseinvolvedinthesciencecasestudy,FotiandHannafinalsofindthatthemajorityof computergamesandsoftwarefoundinforeignlanguageclassroomsarethetraditionaldrillandpractice activitiesthatstemfrombehaviorismlearningtheory(2008).Inthisstudy,boththecontroland experimentalgroupweregivenamultimediaprogramwithanimatedmoviesandlistenandrepeat exercises.Theexperimentalgroup,however,alsowatchedapresentationaboutabackstoryandhad additionalstorytextembeddedthroughouttheexercises.Aftertheexercises,studentsinthe experimentalgroupwerethenabletousethevocabularytheylearnedinanonline2Davatarbased game(Foti&Hannafin,2008).Theopennatureofthisenvironmentismoreinlinewithconstructivist learningtheorybecausetherewasnoconcretetaskthatthestudentshadtocomplete.Theywereable toexploreandexperimentattheirleisure. Allstudentswererandomlyassignedtoeitherthecontrolortheexperimentalgroupandeach tookaposttestandasurvey.Theexperimentalgroupscoredmarginallybetterontheposttestand showedalittlehigherconfidenceonthesurvey,butneitherwasstatisticallysignificant.Researchers observedthatinthegameenvironment,studentsspentmoretimeexploringanddidnotspeakin Mandarinexcepttogreetoneanother(Foti&Hannafin,2008). UnlikethecasestudyweexaminedintheChemistryclassroom,thisgamewasreallyjust layeredontopofexistingmaterialanddrillandpracticeactivities.Thestudentswerenotfullyimmersed inavirtuallearningenvironmentthatrequiredthemtolearnbydoingandexploring.Onelargeadvantage togamificationandgamebasedlearningisthatthegamesaredesignedtoprovideguidancetolearners

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astheycompletetasksthataretangentiallyrelatedtothecontent.Inthiscasestudy,however,the learnersactivitiesweresupplementedwithanarrativeandthenwereaskedtoentera2Dchatroomand usetheirskills.Whilethisisagoodwaytopracticelanguage,Idonotconsiderittobetheoptimalway tointroducevideogamesandmultimediaintotheclassroomforlearning.Forgamebasedlearningto work,thegamemechanicsthemselveshavetofosterlearningbyprovidingstudentswiththeopportunity toexperimentandtietheconceptstotheirownexistingknowledge. EconomicConsiderations Wehaveexaminedmanyofthebenefitsofgamebasedlearningandreviewedcasestudiesand examplesofitinaction.However,notallschooldistrictshavethefundstomakegamebasedlearninga possibilityinmanyoftheclassrooms.Whittonexaminesthreealternativeapproachestointegrating gamesintheclassroom. Thefirstoptionexploreslowcosttoolsforeducatorstocreatetheirowngames.Whitton suggeststheuseofalternaterealitygames,whichisaformofgamification.Alternaterealitygames integratedigitalplaceslikesocialnetworkingsites,webtools,andvideogameswiththerealworld (2012).Indoingso,analternateversionofrealityexistswithanarrativethatisplayedoutoverthe courseofweeks,months,ortheentirecourse.Thistypeofgameformatpotentiallyallowsfor collaborationbetweenstudentsandintegratesmanyofthesamegamemechanicsoftraditionalvideo games.Alternaterealitygamescanincludeplayercharacterprogression,rewards,narrative,andplayer influenceonthestoryofthegameoritsoutcomes(Whitton,2012). ThesecondoptionWhittonsuggestsforintegratinggamesistousegamesasartifactstobe studied.UnliketheexamplefromtheEnglishclassroomthatwepreviouslydiscussed,Whittonproposes

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thatteachersthemselvesstudythegamestolearnaboutgoodinstruction.Whittonarguesthatgames themselvessupportconstructivistpedagogiesbecauseplayerslearnthroughproblemsolvingtheycan makemistakesandexperiment(2012).Additionally,gamesarenaturallyscaffoldedplayershaveto navigatethroughlowerlevelcontentbeforeprogressingtohigherdifficultyareas.Whittonarguesthat oneofthemostimportantaspectstolearnfromgamesisthattheyprovideasafeenvironmentfor failure.Playersareabletocontinuallytrythesameactivityuntiltheyareabletosolveit(2012).Ifgame mechanicsarestudiedcritically,muchcanbelearnedaboutconstructivisttheorythatcouldthenbe implementedintheclassroom. ThelastoptionthatWhittonproposesistoletstudentscreategames.Ratherthancreatelarge, complexgames,however,Whittonsuggeststhatstudentscreateminigamesbecauseoftheirsimplicity (2012).Therearemanylowcostgamedevelopmenttoolsavailable.Whileaskingstudentstointerpret contentandsuccessfullycreateagameaboutitcanbeafantasticwayforthemtousehigherlevel thinkingskills,itistimeconsuming. Conclusion Gamebasedlearningcanworkifvideogamemechanicsareintegratedintothetraditional classroomenvironment.Videogamesarerooteddeeplyinconstructivistpedagogytheyfoster exploratorylearning,allowforfailure,scaffoldthecurriculum,andprovideanarrativethatlearnerscan relatetotheirownexperiencesandbecomeemotionallyinvestedin.Videogamesalsousebehaviorist theory,oftenrequiringplayerstolearnbytrialanderror.Weknowthatpeoplelovetoplaygames,so ifwecanharnessthesemechanicsandusethemintheclassroomthereisarealpotentialtoincrease learningandengagement.Thereareevenlowcostalternativesavailableforeducatorsthatwanttotry

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gamebasedlearning,suchasalternativerealitygamesthatblendtherealandvirtualworldsintoan engagingexperienceforstudentsthatfosterslearningandcreativity.

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References CheeSiang,A.,Avni,E.,&Zaphiris,P.(2008).LinkingPedagogicalTheoryofComputerGamesto TheirUsability.InternationalJournalOnELearning,7(3),533558. Erenli,K.(2013).TheImpactofGamification.InternationalJournalOfEmergingTechnologiesIn Learning,8(1),1521.doi:10.3991/ijet.v8iS1.2320 Foti,L.T.,&Hannafin,R.D.(2008).GamesandMultimediainForeignLanguageLearning. InternationalJournalOfEmergingTechnologiesInLearning,3(3),4044. Graham,G.(2010).Behaviorism.InTheStanfordEncyclopediaofPhilosophy(Fall2010Edition), Retrievedfromhttp://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2010/entries/behaviorism/ Jonassen,D.(1991).EvaluatingConstructivistLearning.EducationalTechnology,36(9),2833. O'Mara,J.(2012).Processdramaanddigitalgamesastextandactioninvirtualworlds:developing newliteraciesinschool.ResearchInDramaEducation,17(4),517534. doi:10.1080/13569783.2012.727624 Whitton,N.(2012).Theplaceofgamebasedlearninginanageofausterity.ElectronicJournal OfELearning,10(2),249256. YamSan,C.,&Tan,K.(2012).BecomingChemiststhroughGamebasedInquiryLearning:TheCase ofLegendsofAlkhimia.ElectronicJournalOfELearning,10(2),185198.