Learning and Games

Part of the Volume on the Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning In this chapter, I argue that good video games recruit good learning and that a game's design is inherently connected to designing good learning for players. I start with a perspective on learning now common in the Learning Sciences that argues that people primarily think and learn through experiences they have had, not through abstract calculations and generalizations. People store these experiences in memory -- and human long-term memory is now viewed as nearly limitless -- and use them to run simulations in their minds to prepare for problem solving in new situations. These simulations help them to form hypotheses about how to proceed in the new situation based on past experiences. The chapter also discusses the conditions experience must meet if it is to be optimal for learning and shows how good video games can deliver such optimal learning experiences. Some of the issues covered include: identity and learning; models and model-based thinking; the control of avatars and "empathy for a complex system"; distributed intelligence and cross-functional teams for learning; motivation, and ownership; emotion in learning; and situated meaning, that is, the ways in which games represent verbal meaning through images, actions, and dialogue, not just other words and definitions

Reproducibility of speed, agility and power assessments in elite academy footballers

Purpose: Fitness testing is a visible part of many youth and senior football programs (Pyne et al. 2014). A high priority is given to physical assessments that relate to the demands of match performance (Rampinini et al. 2007). However somewhat surprisingly, the reproducibility of common assessments using elite football cohorts are not widely reported in the literature (Pyne et al. 2014). Field test assessments of speed, agility and power not only provide an indicator of sport-specific power producing ability but can also be used for diagnostic purposes to identify whether an athlete is suffering from fatigue, functional / non-functional overreaching or overtraining (Meeusen et al. 2013). The purpose of this study was to ascertain the reproducibility of testing protocols used to monitor speed, agility and power capabilities within elite academy footballers. Methods: Ten male apprentice professional football players (mean ± SD: age = 17.1 ± 0.7 years, stature = 1.83 ± 0.09 m, mass: 77.8 ± 8.2 kg) participated in the study. All participants completed three separate identical trials with a day’s recovery interspersed between each trial. Each trial consisted of the following assessments; a countermovement jump test (CMJ), a seated medicine ball throw test (Throw), a 40 m run sprint test (40 m), which incorporated a 0-10 m assessed phase (10 m) and the arrowhead agility test (Agility). Results: Findings from One-way ANOVA tests indicated that performance was unchanged across the three trials for all assessments (P > 0.05). Mean typical error as a percentage (TE %) [90 % confidence intervals (CI)] across the assessments indicated highly acceptable reproducibility; CMJ = 3.2% (2.5-4.7), Throw = 1.4% (1.0-2.0). 10 m = 1.6% (1.3-2.4), 40m = 1.4% (1.1-2.0), Agility = 0.9% (0.7-1.3). Conclusion: Elite academy footballers were found to have consistent performance for assessments of speed, agility and power across three trials. Typical error was found to be low for all assessments indicating a high level of reproducibility across repeated trials (Hopkins et al. 2001). Therefore, these assessments can be confidently used in the physical fitness monitoring of elite academy footballers

On‐line student feedback: A pilot study

This paper reports on the outcomes of two experimental trials of the use of on‐line questionnaires to assess student satisfaction with courses at the London School of Economics and Political Science. In the first year, eighteen course modules were selected from three departments, surveying a total of 1,100 student places. Students on ten of the courses were invited to complete the ‘experimental’ on‐line survey and the remainder were invited to complete the paper‐based questionnaires which have been in use for several years. In the second year, the scale of the experiment was increased, to include forty‐six courses across seven departments. Response rates were compared and possible barriers to completion of the on‐line questionnaire were considered Whilst electronic monitoring indicated that 95 per cent (first trial) and 80 per cent (second trial) of those contacted for the on‐line survey opened the introductory email, only 23 per cent (first trial) and 27 per cent (second trial) completed the on‐line survey, compared with a 60 per cent response rate on the paper‐based survey. The on‐line response is also slightly lower than that achieved by postal surveys of LSE students (30–50 per cent response rates). Whilst some technical difficulties could have acted as a barrier, motivation appeared to be the main barrier. Initial results from the second trial, which included two reminder emails and some small incentives, show that it is possible to increase the response rate, but this may still be unacceptably low for staff whose promotion prospects may be affected by results. A third trial has been proposed, looking at ways in which the process as a whole could be amended, to overcome the problem of ‘survey fatigue’ that the current system faces

The effect of a 10-week complex training programme, utilising optimal PAP recovery duration, on the sprint, power and agility capabilities of elite academy footballers

Purpose: Complex training alternates a high-load strength exercise (85%> of 1RM) with an explosive or plyometric exercise, set-to-set, in the same session. This method is supported by the assumption of a post-activation-potentiation (PAP) of the neuromuscular system. Acute PAP has been shown to occur at 8-min following the performance of high-load exercise (Kilduff et al., 2008). However, the effect of the implementation of this practice (8-min PAP recovery period) within a prolonged training programme is unknown. The study aimed to investigate the effects of a 10-week complex training program, utilising optimal PAP recovery period, on the sprint, power and agility capabilities of elite academy footballers. Methods: Seventeen male apprentice academy football players were randomly assigned to two training groups, which both completed two training sessions per week for 10-weeks. A complex training group (CT) (n = 9) undertook a training program consisting of four different complex-exercise pairs; Four high-load resistance exercises (3 sets x 3 repetitions at 85% 1RM) (HRE) with two plyometric exercises (PLYO), and two Olympic-lifting style exercises (OLSE) for a total of four complex pairs. An 8-min recovery period following each HRE exercise was provided to allow for optimal PAP of the PLYO/OLSE. A normal training group (NT) (n = 8) performed the same exercises and total session volume as the CT group, however all of the PLYO/OLSE were executed prior to performance of the HRE exercises. Participants completed both pre and post-training intervention physical assessments; a countermovement jump test (CMJ), a seated medicine-ball throw test (Throw), a 40-m run sprint test (40-m), which incorporated a 0-10-m assessed phase (10-m) and the arrowhead agility test (Agility). Results: Findings from repeated-measures ANOVA tests indicated that CMJ performance significantly improved within the CT group (3.4% increase; P = 0.003) after the training intervention, while no improvement occurred for the NT group. Both groups significantly improved 10-m, 40-m and Throw post intervention, with no distinct differences in magnitude of improvement between groups. Agility performance was unchanged from pre to post intervention for both groups. Conclusion: A complex training programme, utilising an optimal PAP recovery period, resulted in significant improvements in jump performance in elite academy footballers. However these improvements in jump performance did not occur for footballers undertaking the same program without utilisation of PAP. This suggests that frequent longitudinal potentiation of plyometric and power training via high-load strength training resulted in specific adaptation and enhancement of jumping ability

Mine

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Self-Directed Learning in Teacher-Lead Minecraft Classrooms

Minecraft, an online multi-player sandbox video game, is now being used as a teaching tool for course subjects ranging from digital literature to computer science. To understand how Minecraft was being adopted as a classroom tool, we interviewed 16 teachers and 10 students who had used Minecraft inside a classroom setting. Analysis revealed three key ways in which Minecraft enables and motivates students to work towards their own learning goals: the ability to customize context, live through stories, and assume roles in the virtual world. Drawing from these themes we propose a set of design recommendations for online informal learning spaces