14,716 research outputs found

    A solution-based intelligent tutoring system integrated with an online game-based formative assessment: development and evaluation

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    Nowadays, intelligent tutoring systems are considered an effective research tool for learning systems and problem-solving skill improvement. Nonetheless, such individualized systems may cause students to lose learning motivation when interaction and timely guidance are lacking. In order to address this problem, a solution-based intelligent tutoring system (SITS) is integrated with an online game-based formative assessment game called tic-tac-toe quiz for single-player (TRIS-Q-SP) for learning computer programming. This assessment game combines tic-tac-toe with online assessment, and the rules of tic-tac-toe are revised to stimulate students to use online formative assessment actively. Finally, an experimental study is devised to assess the success of SITS, and significant achievements are observed for the experimental group, besides enjoyment and positive opinions toward the TRIS-Q-SP. Therefore, the practical use of SITS is supported, as the results indicate considerable advantages for the experimental group over the control group. The findings also reveal that immediate elaborated feedback upon answering each question in TRIS-Q-SP is part of an optimal design

    Online learning and fun with databases

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    In this paper, we explore how online learning can support face-to-face teaching in fundamental database theory and the contributions it can make towards motivating and enhancing the student learning experience. We show how we have used WebCT for a third level database module and present student feedback to our approach. While online participation is high overall, motivation for self-learning is increased by the use of self-assessment exercises and summative assessment was also considered to be more fun online than using paper based equivalents. Evidence exists to link greater online participation of course materials to improved performance. We complement our feedback by presenting and discussing a number of software tools which help students practice important methods in database systems, including SQL. After evaluating these against known methods for improving student motivation, we suggest ideas for further development of more game-like learning tools

    L2 Writing Practice: Game Enjoyment as a Key to Engagement

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    Magiclearning: a serious game for learning based in a magic world

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    This paper presents a new software educational system called MagicLearning that we have designed and implemented. Magic Learning enables each student to be in a multimedia virtual world in which he/she is a magician. The magician has to find several educational challenges (such as questions, crosswords, or reading contents) that are in the magic world and, depending on his/her performance, can then obtain various magic powers (such as invisibility, different types of attacks, or robbing colleagues' notes). The student can apply these powers against monsters, other players or himself/herself. As a result, students will experience more enjoyment while they are learning, so we can expect student learning and motivation to improve. The MagicLearning system also generates adaptive notes for each student related to the specific student interactions, meaning that the better notes a student produces, the better their performance in the game will be.Work partially funded by the Learn3 project TIN2008-05163/TSI and the EEE project TIN2011-28308-C03-1 within the Spanish \Plan Nacional de I+D+I", and the Madrid regional community project eMadrid S2009/TIC-1650.Publicad

    Stealth Assessment of Self-Regulative Behaviors within a Game-Based Environment

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    abstract: Students' ability to regulate and control their behaviors during learning has been shown to be a critical skill for academic success. However, researchers often struggle with ways to capture the nuances of this ability, often solely relying on self-report measures. This thesis proposal employs a novel approach to investigating variations in students' ability to self-regulate by using process data from the game-based Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) iSTART-ME. This approach affords a nuanced examination of how students' regulate their interactions with game-based features at both a coarse-grained and fine-grain levels and the ultimate impact that those behaviors have on in-system performance and learning outcomes (i.e., self-explanation quality). This thesis is comprised of two submitted manuscripts that examined how a group of 40 high school students chose to engage with game-based features and how those interactions influenced their target skill performance. Findings suggest that in-system log data has the potential to provide stealth assessments of students' self-regulation while learning.Dissertation/ThesisM.A. Psychology 201

    The Effect of Games on Engagement and Performance in Intelligent Tutoring Systems

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    The purpose of this dissertation is to assess the relation between game-like elements, individual differences in gameplay, and engagement within an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS). The current studies examined the incorporation of a game into an existing ITS, iSTART. The game, Self-explanation Showdown (Showdown) added game-like elements into the iSTART practice sessions. Incorporating games was expected to increase engagement while not affecting participants’ overall performance. However, the results of Experiment 1 indicated that game-based practice (Showdown) was more engaging than the non-game-based practice (Coached Practice), but produced lower quality self-explanation performance. The decrease in performance was attributed to the amount of pedagogical information available during the learning task. In Experiment 2, a second version of Showdown was created that added pedagogical feedback similar to the feedback provided in Coached Practice. The feedback-added version of Showdown (Showdown-FB) was expected to retain the benefits of engagement while mitigating the deficits in performance. Instead, Showdown-FB demonstrated a reduction in participants’ engagement to a level which was no longer significantly different from Coached Practice, and did not increase performance relative to the original version of Showdown. Finally, Experiment 3 investigated whether opponent difficulty would affect gameplay and how those effects may vary as a function of different types of game players (Achievers, Explorers, Socializers, Killers). The results of Experiment 3 indicated that opponent difficulty affected both performance and engagement. Participants were more engaged and produced higher quality self-explanations when playing against a highly skilled opponent. Follow-up analyses indicated that the differences in performance were likely a result of modeling responses from a highly skilled opponent. However, the effects of opponent difficulty were not affected by a participant’s gamer type

    Modes and Mechanisms of Game-like Interventions in Intelligent Tutoring Systems

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    While games can be an innovative and a highly promising approach to education, creating effective educational games is a challenge. It requires effectively integrating educational content with game attributes and aligning cognitive and affective outcomes, which can be in conflict with each other. Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS), on the other hand, have proven to be effective learning environments that are conducive to strong learning outcomes. Direct comparisons between tutoring systems and educational games have found digital tutors to be more effective at producing learning gains. However, tutoring systems have had difficulties in maintaining students€™ interest and engagement for long periods of time, which limits their ability to generate learning in the long-term. Given the complementary benefits of games and digital tutors, there has been considerable effort to combine these two fields. This dissertation undertakes and analyzes three different ways of integrating Intelligent Tutoring Systems and digital games. We created three game-like systems with cognition, metacognition and affect as their primary target and mode of intervention. Monkey\u27s Revenge is a game-like math tutor that offers cognitive tutoring in a game-like environment. The Learning Dashboard is a game-like metacognitive support tool for students using Mathspring, an ITS. Mosaic comprises a series of mini-math games that pop-up within Mathspring to enhance students\u27 affect. The methodology consisted of multiple randomized controlled studies ran to evaluate each of these three interventions, attempting to understand their effect on students€™ performance, affect and perception of the intervention and the system that embeds it. Further, we used causal modeling to further explore mechanisms of action, the inter-relationships between student€™s incoming characteristics and predispositions, their mechanisms of interaction with the tutor, and the ultimate learning outcomes and perceptions of the learning experience

    Autonomy in Video Games and Gamification

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    In the past decade, gamification (using game elements in non-gaming tasks to enhance motivation and engagement) has become a popular concept in many industries, but few studies have explored the principles under which it works. Self-determination theory suggests three psychological needs that gamification fulfills: competence, relatedness, and autonomy. Autonomy, a person\u27s perception that they have the ability to act however they choose, has emerged as an important, yet less-studied aspect in gamification. Inclusion of autonomy in gamification should foster engagement, enjoyment, and better performance. An experiment inspired by the above was carried out in which a sample of college students (N = 57) played a video game called Super Mario Bros. Crossover with either the choice to customize the aesthetics of their character and background (autonomy-supportive) or no choice of aesthetics (non-supportive). It was hypothesized that conditions involving more choice would lead to higher perceived autonomy and performance, and that perceived autonomy would be positively correlated with engagement, enjoyment, and performance. The manipulation resulted in no significant difference in perceived autonomy or performance, and perceived autonomy was only significantly positively correlated with enjoyment. Prior Super Mario Bros. experience was also found to positively correlate with perceived autonomy in the autonomy-supportive condition. The choice of aesthetics does not appear to have been sufficiently strong enough to increase perceived autonomy in this context
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