The effects of computer games on primary school students

1
The effects of computer games on primary school
students achievement and motivation in
geography learning

• Hakan Tuzun1, Meryem Yilmaz Soylu1, Turkan
  Karakus2, Yavuz Inal2, Gonca Kizilkaya1
• AERA 2008, New York, NYMarch 25, 2008

1 Department of Computer Education and
Instructional Technology, Hacettepe University,
Ankara, Turkey 2 Department of Computer Education
and Instructional Technology, Middle East
Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
2
Introduction

• Geographys study area is the world and all that
  is in it (Fitzpatrick, 1993, p.156)
• Interpreting ordinary issues in our era requires
  a solid understanding of geographic issues
• Interest in teaching and learning about geography
  is declining on the contrary (McNally III, 1987)
• Many studies have pointed to the changing student
  characteristics in the new era, and indicated the
  need for a shift to a new pedagogy
• Computer games have emerged as a frontier for
  geography education

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Purpose

• The general purpose of this study was to examine
  the impacts of a computer game in geography
  learning by primary school students.
• Specifically, the following questions were
  examined
• What is the achievement of students learning
  through the game-based learning environment?,
• What is the nature of learners motivation in the
  game-based learning environment and how this
  motivation differs from their traditional school
  environment?,
• And what are the implementation issues when a
  computer game is used in geography curriculum?

4
Method

• ICT impact could not be fully understood without
  considering the whole educational context
  (Solomon, 1990)
• A mixed-method approach was undertaken
• A Combination of
• Quantitative (pre and post tests)
• Qualitative (observations, interviews, open-ended
  questions, digital records)

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Research context

• Naturalistic school environment
• A private K-8 elementary school embedded in a
  state university in the center part of Turkey
• 1240 students between the ages of 7 and 14 with
  avarage class size 27
• 144 teachers and 37 support personnel
• 3 computer rooms, each equipped with 15 networked
  computers and a whiteboard

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Study context

• The school was part of a EU Comenious project
• 17 schools from 15 countries have participated to
  stimulate their students, aged 3 to 15, towards
  acquiring information, and working and learning
  together including new technologies in order to
  learn about similarities and differences among
  the world countries
• The project required the participating schools a)
  conduct on-site activities among local students,
  b) produce artifacts reflecting information
  related to their school, city, country,
  geography, and culture, and c) integrate these
  artifacts through collaborative activities among
  international project partners.
• The game implementation at this school served as
  part of this Comenius project, specifically
  functioning as one of the on-site activities
  among local students.

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Participants

• Comenius Classroom (CC) consisted of 24 students
• 12 girls and 12 boys from 4th and 5th grades
• English fluency was above the avarage
• Capable of using word processing and presentation
  software and utilizing the Internet for research
  and communication
• All have computer at home and many of them played
  computer games
• Social and economic status of the students were
  above the avarage

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Design of the GBL environment

• An educational computer game, Quest Atlantis (QA)
  was employed
• 21st-Century Curriculum Reflexive Play Spaces
  and the Quest Atlantis ProjectThursday, March
  27, 2008, 1225 pm to 155 pmNew York Marriott
  Marquis Times Square
• QA is a Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE)
  immersing players into a rich narrative to
  complete curricular activities called as Quests
• QA is a socio-technical structure that
  facilitates learners in critiquing and improving
  themselves
• QA contains many components taking time to
  implement in any school or after-school context
• Global Village was developed in the QA universe

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Implementation

• The CC utilized the game environment for 3 weeks,
  an hour a day once a week
• Computer teacher responsible from Comenius
  project and two other teachers guided and
  supported all implementation activities
• 24 students participated in the first weeks
  implementation that started by informing students
  about the procedure
• 17 students participated in the second and third
  weeks implementation activities

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Quantitative data sources

• Both quantitative and qualitative methods were
  used
• Instruments for collecting quantitative data
  included an achievement test and a motivation
  scale
• An achievement test that was multiple-choice type
  including 17 questions was developed
• A motivation scale was developed based on the
  work of Lepper, Corpus, and Iyengar (2005)
• Two versions of the motivation scale were
  developed One for measuring motivation of
  students learning in their traditional school
  context, and the other for measuring motivation
  of students learning in the game-based learning
  context

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Qualitative data sources

• Four open-ended questions were asked through a
  paper-based instrument to qualitatively evaluate
  students learning and motivation
• What did you learn about continents and
  countries while exploring the Global Village?,
• How and where you may use the information you
  obtained?,
• How did you feel while collecting information in
  the Global Village was it fun or boring?,
• What would you recommended to your friends using
  Global Village in the future?
• A digital audio recorder, digital camera, and
  16-page single-spaced observation records, 2
  interviews

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Events during the implementation
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Data analysis

• 13 students (4 girls and 9 boys) attended all
  sessions during implementation
• A paired-sample t-test was conducted
• to compare students learning before and after
  the intervention
• to compare intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of
  students between the school and game context
• Open coding of observation records (Glaser
  Strauss, 1967)
• 44 codes were obtained grouped under three
  categories
• Implementation context
• The GBL environment
• General implementation isues

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Quantitative results
Achievement

• For pre-achievement test
• M 6.2, SD 1.0

• For post-achievement test
• M 8.6, SD 2.4

Difference was statistically significant (t(12)
4.09, p lt .01)
Intrinsic motivation

• For game context
• M 31.4, SD 6.7

• For school context
• M 27.6, SD 7.2

Difference was statistically significant (t(12)
2.21, p lt .05)
Extrinsic motivation

• For game context
• M 27.8, SD 6.0

• For school context
• M 31.7, SD 5.5

Difference was statistically significant (t(12)
3.32, p lt .01)
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Quantitative results Motivational constructs
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Qualitative results - 1

• GBL Environment
• General characteristics
• a 3D MUVE (transporting, communicating)
• Learning activities were presented with a general
  goal and sub-goals with a storyline encompassing
  all of these goals
• These general characteristics resulted in a fun
  learning experience
• General characteristics generated 4 affordences
• Exploration (afforded by 3D MUVE)
• Interaction (afforded by 3D MUVE, use of avatars,
  and chat tool)
• Collaboration (afforded by interaction and the
  open space in the middle of the computer rooms )
• Presence (afforded by all game characteristics)
• Follow me
• This is a nice place
• Where are you?, I am in the house, Which of them?
• I have seen you
• Lets meet at the Japanese flag

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Qualitative results - 2

• General implementation issues
• Expectation of players Players had high
  expectations from the game environment
• Players interest toward the game Students
  played the game with great interest and
  enthusiasm
• Role of teachers Many technical and
  non-technical problems arose, The support given
  by teachers
• Interviews supported the findings from
  observations

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Discussion - 1

• Students achieved statistically significant
  learning gains
• When compared to the traditional school
  environment, students had statistically
  significant higher intrinsic motivations and
  statistically significant lower extrinsic
  motivations while learning through the game-based
  learning environment. Moreover, they had
  decreased focus on getting grades and they were
  more independent while participating in
  game-based activities.
• Computer games can be utilized in formal learning
  environments to support students in learning
  about geography
• The affordances of exploration, interaction,
  collaboration, and immersion in computer games
  may provide rich opportunities for geography
  learning
• In the areas of spatial, area studies, man-land
  inquires, and earth science studies

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Discussion 2

• Teachers seemed to have transformed roles in
  game-based learning environments.
• Lecturer ? guide and manager
• Problems originating from technology, flexibility
  in designs against problems
• Good documentations from instructional designers
• Support staff cultivated with awareness to
  emergent problems in instructional designs
  involving rich technologies

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Discussion 3

• Aesthetic elements in game designs must have
  intentions
• Games embrace the characteristics of the new
  pedagogy
• the authenticity through which learners deal with
  issues that have local and global significance by
  using real-world data
• the relevancy of geography education to personal
  interests
• students undertaking more responsibility in
  their learning
• instructors shifting roles as facilitators in
  learning contexts

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Questions Comments

• Thank you for your participation!
• Quest Atlantis is supported by NSF, NASA, and
  MacArthur Foundation.
• Contact Dr. Hakan TUZUN
• E-mail htuzun_at_hacettepe.edu.tr
• Web http//yunus.hacettepe.edu.tr/htuzun/