Effects of Multi-Genre Digital Game-Based Instruction on Students’ Conceptual Understanding, Argumentation Skills, and Learning Experiences

Abstract

Studies have shown that although traditional instruction is effective in developing students' conceptual understanding, it lacks in strengthening their thinking skills. To enhance traditional instruction and establish an approach using game-based instruction, this study developed Multi-genre digital Gamebased Instruction (MGI), which integrates various game genres-situated and competitive-with traditional instruction. A total of 115 fourth-graders (9-10 years old) of 4 classes participated in the study, of which 2 classes made up the MGI (experimental) group and the other 2, the traditional instruction (control) group. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected to answer research questions by examining the comparative effectiveness of the two groups separately as well as the effectiveness by achievement level, and exploring students' learning experiences. Findings showed that using MGI resulted in a significant improvement in conceptual understanding and argumentation skills compared to those who were taught only with traditional instruction. Furthermore, it showed that MGI was significantly more effective than traditional instruction in improving low-achieving students' conceptual understanding, as well as improving argumentation skills for all achievement levels. Students' learning experiences with MGI showed how the proposed instruction is superior compared to existing traditional instruction.

Modelos argumentativos: análisis tipológico para su aplicabilidad en el aula

“…Intentar incorporar al salón estrategias para el desarrollo de la argumentación -como los laboratorios virtuales, las cuestiones sociocientíficas, los problemas socialmente relevantes, la indagación basada en argumentos o la metodología STEM (Aslan, 2019;Chen et al, 2020;Guilfoyle et al, 2021)-refuerzan la idea de que es necesario apoyar a los maestros en formación y en ejercicio con herramientas no solo metodológicas, sino también teóricas, debido a que esto ayudará a la comprensión del alcance y a la selección de instrumentos adecuados metodológicamente, de acuerdo con los campos de conocimiento donde se pretendan aplicar. En otras palabras, la utilización de las estrategias dependerá del contexto disciplinar que sustenta el desarrollo de los procesos argumentativos, pues es claro, por ejemplo, que los procesos de razonamiento abductivo aplicados en las ciencias naturales tienen como uno de sus objetivos centrales la construcción de nuevos conocimientos sobre cómo funcionan ciertos fenómenos.…”

Meta-Analysis on Investigating and Comparing the Effects on Learning Achievement and Motivation for Gamification and Game-Based Learning

“…In the etymological aspect, the term "gamification" contains the Latin word "facere," suggesting the action of "making the game" [26]. Gamification aims to engage learners, enhance learning, and solve problems [4,23,[27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. Gamifying contexts does not necessarily require complete games [23,24], but it requires the immersive experiences created by the game elements [4].…”

“…Authors and publication years Game-related pedagogical models Game-related pedagogies Research domains [27] Leverage learning with gamification Gamification Learning achievement [48] Machine learning inspired approach Gamification Learning achievement [49] Integration of board games and augmented reality (AR) Gamification Intrinsic motivation Extrinsic motivation [13] Serious educational games (SEG) Gamification Learning achievement [30] Virtual reality (VR): a virtual ecological environment Game-based learning Learning achievement [32] Open and flexible blended learning environments Game-based learning Learning achievement [28] Multigenre digital game-based instruction (MGI) Game-based learning Learning achievement [29] Physical games stimulating acquisition Game-based learning Learning achievement [50] Multiteam After raising the research hypotheses, we searched the research materials compatible with the meta-analytic techniques.…”