A systematic literature review of methodology used to measure effectiveness in digital game-based learning

In recent years, a growing number of studies is being conducted into the effectiveness of digital game-based learning (DGBL). Despite this growing interest, however, it remains difficult to draw general conclusions due to the disparities in methods and reporting. Guidelines or a standardized procedure for conducting DGBL effectiveness research would allow to compare results across studies and provide well-founded and more generalizable evidence for the impact of DGBL. This study presents a first step in this process by mapping current practices through a systematic literature review. The review included peer-reviewed journal and conference publications between 2000 and 2012. Other inclusion criteria were that (1) the study’s primary aim was effectiveness measurement of cognitive learning outcomes, (2) the focus was on digital games and (3) a pre-post design with a control group was used. Twenty-five publications were found eligible for this study. Important differences were found in the number of control groups used and the type of intervention implemented in the control group (e.g. traditional classroom teaching, use of multimedia, computer-based learning, paper exercises, other games, or no intervention). Regarding the implementation method of the DGBL intervention in the experimental group, two approaches can be distinguished: stand-alone intervention or as part of a larger program. Moreover, a wide variety of effectiveness measures was used: measures for learning outcomes were complemented with time measurements and/or with self-reported measurements for self-efficacy and motivation. Learning effect calculation also varied, introducing pre-test scores in the analysis, conducting a separate analysis on pre- and post-test scores or conducting an analysis on difference scores. Our study thus indicates that a variety of methods is being used in DGBL effectiveness research opening a discussion regarding the potential and requirements for future procedural guidelines

Learning math as you play: comparing arithmetic performance enhancement induced by game play and paper exercises

One of the promises of video game training is that, compared to traditional training, it can be more engaging and entertaining (Boot et. al., 2008). However, besides entertainment, games have shown to have the potential to impact a larger variety of cognitive abilities. Previous research has consistently shown that several aspects in cognition such as visual short-memory, multitasking and spatial cognition can be enhanced by game play. In a previous study, we found that playing Monkey Tales, a commercial game aimed at training arithmetic skills in children, helped second grade pupils to increase their accuracy in mental calculation as compared to paper exercises or no exercises. The present study aimed to explore how arithmetic performance enhancement induced by game play and paper exercises differs. In order to do this, we compared the performance gains that second graders achieved in a computer test made for assessing their math skills. We performed a combined analysis of the changes in two behavioral measurements: accuracy and reaction times. Children were tested at two points in time: before and after the three week period. We compared the reaction times and the accuracy improvements between these two moments and compared different items types (e. g. understanding tenths, understanding hundreds, even or odd up to 100 among other types). We found indirect evidence suggesting that arithmetic performance enhancement induced by game play and paper exercises might rely on slightly different cognitive mechanisms

The Scent of Bitter Almonds

I was asked to write this project for my English 100 class. I was supposed to describe my own journey learning to read and write and to tell the literacy sponsors that help me to improve my reading and writing skills. The aspect that I really enjoyed about this project was the fact that we had to write a literacy narrative. As I see it, this kind of production is the most enjoyable and I had a great time while writing it. I talked to my parents and teachers at high school and I had a reunion with my inner self remembering the path I followed to get to where I am now. I am Spanish and for that reason my learning journey could be a little different to the rest. Although my mother tongue is Spanish, I also grew up learning English and in this paper I try describe how I dealt with these two languages. In conclusion, in this literacy narrative I try to explain with a bit of humor the path I had to go through in order to achieve the writing and reading skills that I own nowadays

El paisaje de Utiel-Requena, su relación con la actividad económica y el vino. Una propuesta didáctica

Treball Final de Grau en Mestre o Mestra d'Educació Primària. Codi: MP1040. Curs acadèmic: 2018/2019Este trabajo es una propuesta didáctica para realizarse en un aula de Educación Primaria de la comarca de Utiel-Requena pero aplicable también a otros lugares y zonas con características iguales o similares. Su objetivo principal es relacionar el paisaje con las actividades económicas que de este derivan a través de un producto específico de la zona como es el vino. Para llevar a cabo este planteamiento se realiza una justificación del tema, donde se da a conocer el tema y el motivo de este de manera más concreta y extendida. El tema es el conocimiento y análisis del paisaje centrado en el alumnado de esta comarca. Seguidamente, se examina y se explica dentro del marco teórico la importancia de trabajar en general el paisaje como recurso didáctico dentro de un aula de Educación Primaria y su posible transversalidad con otras áreas y materias. Y ya se pasa a continuación, a un desarrollo de algunos elementos específicos y de especial relevancia que muestran la conexión del paisaje de Utiel-Requena con la actividad económica, la cultura y la sociedad. A continuación, se describe la metodología que se va a llevar a cabo en la propuesta didáctica la cual es fundamentalmente activa y participativa, destacándose un aprendizaje cooperativo. También se muestra para el alumnado el cual va dirigido la propuesta, la división de las actividades y su correspondiente estructura. Una vez desarrollado esto, se explican detalladamente las cuatro actividades propuestas para cumplir con los objetivos de aprendizaje propuestos inicialmente

Pre-test session impact on the effectiveness assessment of a fire safety game

In recent years, critiques have been formulated regarding current evaluation methods of DGBL (digital game-based learning) effectiveness, putting the validity of certain results in doubt. An important point of discussion in DGBL effectiveness studies is whether or not a pre-test should be administered, as it can lead to practice effects and pre-test sensitization, threatening internal validity of the results. The present study aims at testing if the administration of a pre-test has a direct influence on post-test scores and/or makes participants more receptive to the intervention. For this purpose, an effectiveness study of a fire safety training in a hospital was conducted using a Solomon four-group design. The experimental groups received a game-based intervention (n= 65) of which 34 participants received a pre-test and 31 did not. The control groups received traditional classroom instruction (n=68), of which 39 participants received a pre-test and 29 did not. A 2x2 ANOVA was used to explore the practice effect and the interaction between the pre-test and the intervention. An interaction effect between pre-test and intervention is detected. More specifically, this interaction takes place in the traditional classroom group, indicating pre-test sensitization. In the traditional classroom context, the pre-test makes the participants more sensitive to the content treated in the intervention while administration of a pre-test does not influence outcomes of the DGBL treatment. When the administration of a pre-test influences the control group's receptivity to the treatment, but not the experimental group, results of an effectiveness study may be biased. This is especially relevant in the DGBL field as often, non-significant differences between DGBL and more traditional methods are reported. Therefore, further research should take this into account and look for possible solutions to solve this discrepancy

Motor imagery and music : the influence of music on mental rotation tasks in the light of the embodied cognition theory

The Embodied Cognition Theory (ECT) has become a hot topic in Cognitive Science, providing the investigation of cognitive phenomena with food for thought through a wide range of empirical findings. Two core claims from ECT were investigated in the present study: 1) the non-neural parts of an organism’s body play a constraining role in cognition; and 2) all concepts (strong embodiment) or some concepts (weak embodiment) are grounded in modality-specific areas of the brain. In line with 2), studies on mental imagery of bodily-related movements (henceforth: motor imagery) suggest that we use motor concepts grounded in modality-specific areas of the brain (the motor cortices) when we carry out motor simulations of our own body (Jeannerod, 2006), including in cognitive tasks such as MR of bodily-related pictures (Parsons et al., 1995). Also, studies in music perception have correlated the cortical activation of motor areas of the brain with rhythmic perception, varying in degree of activation according to the rhythmic complexity of a stimulus (Grahn & Brett, 2007). Finally, these assumptions predict the Mozart Effect, which consists of subjects’ temporary enhancement in performance at spatial-temporal reasoning tasks, including MR tasks (Rauscher, Shaw & Ky, 1993). Based on these assumptions, it was investigated whether subjects’ (N= 36) performance at a MR of bodily-related pictures would differ after exposure to musical pieces with different levels of rhythmic complexity and a control condition (silence). Results show that, although subjects’ performance was affected by the biomechanical constraints of their own bodies, suggesting that the body biomechanics play a constraining role in cognition, the Mozart Effect was not observed, suggesting that either 1) weak conceptual embodiment may not be true for motor imagery, and motor concepts are not grounded in modality-specific brain areas, 2) the musical samples used in the present study were not adequate to elicit sufficient cortical activation that would eventually result in performance enhancement, or 3) the Mozart Effect is due to reasons other than cortical activation of modality-specific brain areas, such as increase in arousal/mood levels or an artefact of subjects’ preference for a stimulus (Chabris, 1999). It is suggested that future research employs brain-mapping techniques, such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET Scan), Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), or Electroencephalogram (EEG) to strengthen one or more hypotheses that account for the failure in observing the Mozart Effect in this study by identifying which brain areas were involved during the listening task and/or the MR of bodily-related pictures.A Teoria da Cognição Corporificada (ECT) tem se tornado um tópico amplamente discutido nas Ciências Cognitivas, uma vez que uma ampla gama de descobertas empíricas tem provocado reflexões a respeito da cognição. Duas fortes suposições da ECT foram investigadas no presente estudo: 1) as partes não neurais do corpo de um organismo possuem um forte papel de limitação sobre a sua cognição; e 2) todos os conceitos (corporificação forte) ou alguns conceitos (corporificação fraca) estão ancorados em regiões cerebrais de modalidade específica. Alinhado à 2), estudos em imaginação motora sugerem que nós utilizamos conceitos motores ancorados em regiões cerebrais de modalidade específica (córtices motores), para realizarmos a simulação de atos motores (Jeannerod, 2006), incluindo tarefas como rotação mental de imagens corporais (Parsons et al., 1995). Mais, estudos em percepção musical correlacionam a ativação de córtices motores com a percepção de estruturas rítmicas da música, variando em nível de ativação de acordo com o grau de complexidade rítmica do estímulo (Grahn & Brett, 2007). Essas assunções predizem o Efeito Mozart, que consiste na melhoria temporária no desempenho de sujeitos em tarefas de raciocínio espaço-temporal, incluindo tarefas de rotação mental (Rauscher, Shaw & Ky, 1993). Baseado nestas assunções, este estudo investigou se o desempenho de sujeitos (N = 36) em tarefas de rotação mental de imagens corporais teria alguma alteração após a escuta de peças musicais com diferentes níveis de complexidade rítmica e silêncio como condição controle. Os resultados demonstram que, apesar dos desempenhos dos sujeitos terem sido afetados pelas restrições biomecânicas dos seus corpos, sugerindo que a biomecânica corporal possui um papel limitador na cognição, o Efeito Mozart não foi observado, sugerindo que 1) a corporificação conceitual fraca pode não ser verdadeira para imaginação motora, e conceitos motores não estão ancorados em regiões cerebrais de modalidade-específica, 2) as amostras musicais utilizadas no presente estudo não foram adequadas para evocar ativação cortical o suficiente que resultasse em uma melhoria na performance na tarefa, ou 3) o Efeito Mozart se dá por razões distintas à ativação cortical de regiões cerebrais de modalidade-específica, como acréscimo em níveis de ativação e de humor ou por ser artefato da predileção por um estímulo (Chabris, 1999). É, por fim, sugerido que pesquisas futuras empreguem técnicas de mapeamento cerebral, como Tomografia por Emissão de Pósitrons (PET Scan), Ressonância Magnética Funcional (fMRI), ou Eletroencefalograma (EEG), fortalecendo uma ou mais hipóteses que visam explicar a falha ao observar-se o Efeito Mozart neste estudo, identificando quais áreas cerebrais foram ativadas durante a exposição aos estímulos e/ou durante a realização da tarefa de rotação mental

Da partilha as independências: o continente africano nos livros didáticos de Geografía do Brasil (1890-2003)

Este texto es un resumen de la tesis doctoral en curso. Nuestro objeto de estudio es investigar la presencia de África en los libros de texto de Geografía en el período 1890-2003. Tenemos como objetivo discutir cómo este contenido escolar fue publicado, por ejemplo, con un enfoque de dominación territorial. Esto nos lleva a entender otras categorías como la de guerra, poder, raza, etnia, civilización y lo salvaje. El análisis se divide en cinco partes, con la elección de un libro por período, en función de su difusión entre el público estudiantil. La bibliografía de la investigación está disponible en el Laboratorio de Ciencias Humanas de la Facultad de Educación y en el Laboratorio de libros de texto de la Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades de la Universidade de São Paulo