Student interactions in online discussion forums: their perception on learning with business simulation games

Digital technology offers new teaching methods with controversial results over learning. They allow students to develop a more active participation in their learning process although it does not always drive to unequivocal better learning outcomes. This study aims to offer additional evidence on the contribution of business simulation games to students' learning outcomes, considering student interactions in online discussion forums. We conducted a qualitative research with the online discussion forums of 5 different courses at bachelor and master levels, which involves 41 students' teams. The final sample was composed of 3681 messages posted by the students. The results reveal that some generic and specific managerial skills exert a positive influence on learning outcomes. Students mostly highlighted teamwork, decision-making, information processing, reaching agreements, and dealing with uncertainty as the most relevant contributions of the game towards their learning. These results have instructional and pedagogical implications for determining the best way to enhance students' motivation and learning outcomes when using digital technology methods, which involves recommendations that affect their design and monitoring

Using Gamification to Motivate Students with Dyslexia

The concept of gamification is receiving increasing attention, particularly for its potential to motivate students. However, to date the majority of studies in the context of education have predominantly focused on University students. This paper explores how gamification could potentially benefit a specific student population, children with dyslexia who are transitioning from primary to secondary school. Two teachers from specialist dyslexia teaching centres used classDojo, a gamification platform, during their teaching sessions for one term. We detail how the teachers appropriated the platform in different ways and how the students discussed classDojo in terms of motivation. These findings have subsequently informed a set of provisional implications for gamification distilling opportunities for future pedagogical uses, gamification design for special education and methodological approaches to how gamification is studied

L2 Acquisition Portrayed Through the Use of Way Ahead Game by Children in Learning Basic English

This research investigates how students learn Basic English by using Way Ahead game. This study was conducted to identify how effective the use of educational game in acquiring L2 is. Qualitative study was used by the researcher as the research method. The data were collected through conducting several interviews and exploring library study. The case study involved 4 elementary school students as the participants. The background of the research on the role of game in learning L2 is based on Fuscard (2001) and Boyle (2011). The findings of this research are 4 most important roles of game implementation in learning process: (1) pedagogical device, (2) creative ice breakers, (3) engaging students, (4) helping students retain salient points in our teaching. The purpose of the research is to give information over the portrayal of using educational games in learning which is expected to give practical use in teaching Basic English to children as their L2 acquisition

Class tournament as an assessment method in physics courses : a pilot study

Testing knowledge is an integral part of a summative assessment at schools. It can be performed in many different ways. In this study we propose assessment of physics knowledge by using a class tournament approach. Prior to a statistical analysis of the results obtained over a tournament organized in one of Polish high schools, all its specifics are discussed at length, including the types of questions assigned, as well as additional self- and peer-evaluation questionnaires, constituting an integral part of the tournament. The impact of the tournament upon student improvement is examined by confronting the results of a post-test with pre-tournament students’ achievements reflected in scores earned in former, tests written by the students in experimental group and their colleagues from control group. We also present some of students’ and teachers’ feedback on the idea of a tournament as a tool of assessment. Both the analysis of the tournament results and the students’ and teachers’ opinions point to at least several benefits of our approach

The effects of cooperative and competitive games on classroom interaction frequencies

This research looks at the effects of playing cooperative and competitive computer games on pupils’ classroom interaction frequency, as an index of their cooperation and engagement in class. It was predicted that students who played a cooperative game would receive higher teacher ratings of classroom interaction frequency, whereas students who played a competitive game would receive lower teacher ratings of classroom interaction frequency. Thirty-two school children with behaviour and learning difficulties played either a cooperative or competitive version of the Wii for a week. The pre- and post-game classroom interaction scores were different for the cooperative and competitive game conditions in the predicted directions. The findings suggest that cooperative games may benefit the social interaction of pupils within the classroom

Development Of Metacognitive And Discursive Activities In Indonesian Maths Teaching A theory based analysis of communication processes

We report on a German-Indonesian feasibility study which aims to significantly increase the mathematical skills of Indonesian secondary school students. For this study a learning environment for basic secondary school mathematics in class seven has been developed. It focuses on fostering cognitive, metacognitive and discursive activities. For the effectiveness of the new instructional concept it is necessary that those activities are an important feature of the teaching and learning culture in the classroom instruction. In this paper we present the theoretical framework for the new approach to teaching and learning. We use two transcript-based examples to exemplify and explain the observable features of this classroom culture und to formulate consequences for the following instruction development. Keywords: classroom culture, metacognition, discursivity, cognitive activatio

Assessment for learning in the early years foundation stage

throughout the book there are extensive practical examples from a range of early years settingsxv, 208 hlm; 24 c