TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring Newtonian mechanics in a conceptually-integrated digital game
T2 - Comparison of learning and affective outcomes for students in Taiwan and the United States
AU - Clark, Douglas B.
AU - Nelson, Brian
AU - Chang, Hsin Yi
AU - Martinez-Garza, Mario
AU - Slack, Kent
AU - D'Angelo, Cynthia M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the United States National Science Foundation DR-K12 Award #0822370 (Scaffolding Understanding by Redesigning Games for Education).
PY - 2011/11
Y1 - 2011/11
N2 - This study investigates the potential of a digital game that overlays popular game-play mechanics with formal physics representations and terminology to support explicit learning and exploration of Newtonian mechanics. The analysis compares test data, survey data, and observational data collected during implementations in Taiwan and the United States with students in grades 7-9. Results demonstrate learning on some core disciplinary measures and high levels of learner engagement, indicating the potential benefits of this genre of conceptually-integrated games, but also suggesting that further research and development will be needed to more fully harness this potential. Encouragingly, striking similarities were observed across the two countries in terms of learning and engagement, suggesting that this genre of learning games may prove suitable for engaging students in active exploration of core science concepts across multiple countries.
AB - This study investigates the potential of a digital game that overlays popular game-play mechanics with formal physics representations and terminology to support explicit learning and exploration of Newtonian mechanics. The analysis compares test data, survey data, and observational data collected during implementations in Taiwan and the United States with students in grades 7-9. Results demonstrate learning on some core disciplinary measures and high levels of learner engagement, indicating the potential benefits of this genre of conceptually-integrated games, but also suggesting that further research and development will be needed to more fully harness this potential. Encouragingly, striking similarities were observed across the two countries in terms of learning and engagement, suggesting that this genre of learning games may prove suitable for engaging students in active exploration of core science concepts across multiple countries.
KW - Applications in subject areas
KW - Cross-cultural projects
KW - Games
KW - Interactive learning environments
KW - Pedagogical issues
KW - Secondary education
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U2 - 10.1016/j.compedu.2011.05.007
DO - 10.1016/j.compedu.2011.05.007
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79959945473
SN - 0360-1315
VL - 57
SP - 2178
EP - 2195
JO - Computers and Education
JF - Computers and Education
IS - 3
ER -