ERIC Number: EJ1484344
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Oct
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0266-4909
EISSN: EISSN-1365-2729
Available Date: 2025-09-02
Adaptive Feedback in Digital Educational Games: An Explanatory Item Response Theory Approach
Febe Demedts1,2; Sameh Said-Metwaly2,3; Kristian Kiili4; Manuel Ninaus5,6; Antero Lindstedt4; Bert Reynvoet1,7; Delphine Sasanguie8; Fien Depaepe1,2
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, v41 n5 e70104 2025
Background: The potential of adaptive feedback in digital educational games remains largely unexplored. Fractions are a suitable topic for investigating the effectiveness of adaptive feedback, as the complexity of this domain highlights the need for adequate feedback. Objectives: This study examines the effectiveness of explanatory adaptive feedback in a digital educational game to address two particular misconceptions regarding fractions (i.e., Natural Number Bias and Unit of Reference). Methods: A total of 197 4th graders were randomly assigned to two different conditions, each playing a different version of a digital educational game--one with corrective feedback and one with explanatory adaptive feedback. During gameplay, we collected log data of students' item-wise correctness and misconception errors. Results: Explanatory item response analyses indicated that correctness improved in both game versions, with a more pronounced increase for the game with explanatory adaptive feedback compared to the game with corrective feedback. However, no decrease in misconception errors was observed in either game version. Moreover, neither the type of misconception nor students' prior fraction knowledge were moderating factors. These results suggest that adaptive feedback can support students in learning fractions; however, to reduce misconception errors concrete feedback should be optimised.
Descriptors: Grade 4, Educational Games, Video Games, Feedback (Response), Error Correction, Computer Assisted Instruction, Misconceptions
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www-wiley-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Centre for Instructional Psychology and Technology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 2Imec Research Group Itec, KU Leuven, Kortrijk, Belgium; 3Faculty of Education, Damanhour University, Damanhour, Egypt; 4Faculty of Education and Culture, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland; 5Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria; 6LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; 7Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Brain & Cognition, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 8HOGENT, Research Centre for Learning in Diversity, Gent, Belgium

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