Invisible Teacher: How Might Digital Leisure Games Foster Critical Thinking and Grit?

The ubiquity of mobile devices and the rapid growth of mobile gaming have put digital games into the tiny hands of children, some under 2 years of age. What, if anything, are these games teaching our kids? Could they be learning essential skills that will be useful in the future—or are they just for fun? This research investigates if and how digital leisure games promote critical thinking and grit in children ages 9–12. It will explore game design, motivations of players, stages in child’s development and other factors that may influence learning outcomes. It aims to create a framework for identifying essential future skills and traits and provide future directions for parents and, potentially, educators and game developers

The development of situational interest during a digital mathematics game

The present study focused on 212 fifth graders' situational interest trajectories during an intervention with a digital mathematics game called Number Navigation. Our aims were to explore the development of situational interest whilst playing the game and to investigate the relationship between situational interest and individual math interest. Growth mixture model analyses showed that in the whole sample situational interest was stable within sessions but decreased across sessions. Three different situational interest trajectories were found. Situational interest trajectories were predicted by pre‐test individual interest. In turn, situational interest had an effect on post‐test individual interest. Students whose situational interest trajectories were stable (either high or low) presented no changes in individual interest, yet the individual interest of students whose situational interest was triggered but not maintained markedly decreased from pre‐test to post‐test. Results suggest that it is important to use game‐based learning not because games are believed to be “motivating”; rather, games with proven learning outcomes should be carefully selected. </p