This study critically reviews sixteen empirical studies that investigate the various difficulties that primary school students encounter while learning programming through educational games. Specifically, the challenges that students face in understanding basic programming concepts and the game elements that contribute to these difficulties, as…

This study investigates the effectiveness of digital games in arts education for learning art knowledge and enhancing art interest. Art knowledge includes the topics of art history, production, esthetics, and art criticism. A quasi-experimental approach was used in this study. A 1-month course on arts education digital games was conducted with 40…

The objective of this article is to design, develop, and evaluate an Internet of Things (IoT)-based serious gaming platform for children with autism spectrum disorder. The platform aims to improve the children's cognitive skills. To attain this research objective, first, a conceptual framework for developing the gaming platform was proposed. Then,…

This meta-analysis examines the effects of game-based learning (GBL), compared with traditional instructional methods, on the science achievement of students, ranging from primary school to university. Results from the 41 primary studies of 6256 participants showed heterogeneity among effect sizes. The random effects model results showed a…

Computational thinking (CT) is considered a fundamental skill that everyone in the 21st century should have. Game-based learning (GBL) may be used to teach CT, and it's necessary to clarify how to design and implement game-based CT teaching. The literature was systematically searched for empirical studies published between 2011 and 2021.…

Computational thinking (CT) education has drawn increasing attention from educators and researchers. This study conducted a meta-analysis of 27 empirical studies to examine the effectiveness of game-based learning (GBL) for fostering students' CT. The effects of various factors on the learning process for acquiring CT were also examined. The…

Educational games have been increasingly used to improve students' computational thinking. However, most existing games have focused on the theoretical knowledge of computational thinking, ignoring the development of computational thinking skills. Moreover, there is a lack of integration of adaptivity into educational computer games for…

This study proposed plugged and unplugged approaches for young students to simultaneously improve their interdisciplinary learning performance in English and Computational Thinking (CT). The plugged approach involved adopting educational robots to enhance CT and to provide English vocabulary and sentence practice via a board game. The unplugged…

Critical factors that influence the value of digital game-based learning (DGBL) for enhancing learning effectiveness remain debatable. Based on the self-determination theory (SDT), people can be autonomously motivated to adopt DGBL to enhance learning effectiveness if their basic psychological needs are satisfied. Additionally, studies that…

A scaffolding-based mind tool was designed to allow teachers to easily create lesson plans for in-class gamified activities and to embed various scaffoldings in the lesson plan design. The purpose of this study was to investigate the learning outcomes of a scaffolding-based mind tool integrated with gamified learning activities applied to a…

This meta-analysis extended the current literature regarding the effects of computer technology (CT) on mathematics achievement, with a particular focus on low-performing students. A total of 45 independent effect sizes extracted from 31 empirical studies based on a total of 2,044 low-performing students in K-12 classrooms were included in this…

While educational games have been increasingly popular in education, insufficient studies have comprehensively reviewed their effectiveness. To complement this missing link, this study explored game-based learning outcomes including academic achievements, problem-solving, and critical thinking abilities, knowledge, learning efficiency, skills,…

In recent years, more serious games are used in different learning areas to improve the process of knowledge acquisition and learning outcomes. This study discusses a game mode based on a jigsaw puzzle with scaffolding-aid for cultural heritage learning. A case study using an historical pattern from China examines the effectiveness of improving…

Many studies have found that computer video games can offer a facilitative vocabulary learning environment. Among different types of computer games, adventure games have received much attention because of their rich input and immersive learning environment. However, some researchers have indicated that because of the characters' fast-talking speed…

The recent shift in compulsory education from ICT-focused computing curricula to informatics, digital literacy and computer science, has resulted in children being taught computing using block-based programming tools such as Scratch, with teaching that is often limited by school resources and teacher expertise. Even without these limitations,…