This research examines the effect of critical reflection activities in an educational environment that uses active and blended learning experiences for students to develop confidence, motivation, and engagement with their learning. A mixed-methods research approach was adopted on a sample of 137 Communications and Media students, who were involved…

Background: Complex skills, like analytical thinking, are essential in preparing students for future professions. Serious games hold potential to stimulate the online acquisition of such professional skills in an active and experiential way. Objective: Rubrics are proven assessment and evaluation instruments, but were never directly integrated…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of perplexity in young players' experiences within an educational videogame and how reflective thinking can help them to get out of perplexing scenarios. Design/methodology/approach: We used a constructivist grounded theory approach and the lenses of Dewey's conceptualization of…

This study explores the use of virtual worlds, specifically Minecraft, on sustainability education and cognitive skills. Using the Teaching to Inspire model as a lens, we examine how students design sustainable virtual buildings and cityscapes aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the social-ecological systems (SES) framework. Our…

Reflection plays a critical role in learning. Game-based learning environments have significant potential to elicit and support student reflection by prompting learners to think critically about their own learning processes and performance. Stealth assessment models, used for unobtrusively assessing student competencies from evidence of game…

This study was conducted in the context of the Tales by Teens project, which uses process drama as a part of its procedure. The study examines one teacher's reflection-in-action during two process dramas, focusing on the complex interplay between pedagogical thinking and student influences. Using a case study research design, it investigates how…

This paper examines the practical application of "Stardust Odyssey: City's Last Stand," a tabletop game designed to support experiential learning about socio-economic inequality within Thailand's neoliberal education system. Anchored in Process Drama and Design-Based Research (DBR), the study explores how the game operates as an…

Globalization, the rise of the digital economy, and the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (Dean & Campbell, 2020; Sutherland & Symmons, 2013; Zegwaard et al., 2020) have contributed to the emergence of several modalities of work-integrated learning (WIL) in higher education. The result of all this activity has been a rise in the…

This exploratory study investigated behavioral and neural correlates of spatial reasoning in 21 children aged 6-12 years-old during educational video game play. Behavioral measures included child performance in learning the concept during the pretest, practice, and posttest portions of the game. Neural correlates using electroencephalography…

I have always valued reflection highly -- as a means of developing as a writer and as a life practice -- but I have been disappointed by the lack of thought resembling reflection when asking students to write about their writing practices. This dissertation presents the results of a grounded theory study of student reflective assignments through a…

Game-based learning environments are designed to provide effective and engaging learning experiences for students. Predictive student models use trace data extracted from students' in-game learning behaviors to unobtrusively generate early assessments of student knowledge and skills, equipping game-based learning environments with the capacity to…

When both students and teachers are disengaged, there is an impact at the class level and on the larger educational community. Thus, examining experiential methods that spark professor interest and passion as well as engage students is beneficial for faculty development, student learning, and institutional improvement. This thematic analysis…

At the onset of emergency remote teaching in higher education, as a rapid response to the virus pandemic, I organised an online course that focused on Game Based Approaches. The course was part of the professional development initiatives I have been designing for Physical Education teachers over the past ten years, as a teacher educator working in…

This article explores the written reflections and multimodal analyses of 31 middle school students who engaged with video games as texts. For four consecutive days, students spent 30 minutes playing video games and then 30 minutes writing reflections on their experiences and perceptions, resulting in 124 total reflections. Students focused on how…

Although a great deal of research has evidenced the effects of proper instructional design on multimedia learning, most has focused on the cognitive aspects of learning, with little concern about the role of affective-motivational states in multimedia learning. In this study, an AR game-based learning method was designed via integrating AR…