Investigating Cognitive Factors That Mediate Learning in the Context of a Physics-Based Game

• In Event: Technology, Instruction, Cognition and Learning SIG: Paper Session 2: Questioning Issues in Cognition and Learning

Abstract

This paper describes an ongoing study which aims to identify and analyze cognitive factors which may mediate game-based learning. Prior work on an educational game to teach Newtonian mechanics has indicated that both gaming and physics expertise are important for enabling students to articulate intuitive knowledge into formal representations. Using pre-post test data, game-play data analysis and clinical interviewing techniques, we are investigating a cognitive resources framework to explain the ways in which schemas and p-prims may interact to enable articulation of scientific concepts, and whether the presence and sophistication of these resources correspond to achievement gains or more advanced forms of play.

Authors

• Mario Manuel Martinez-Garza, Vanderbilt University

• Douglas B. Clark, Vanderbilt University

• Brian C. Nelson, Arizona State University

• Kent Slack, Arizona State University

• Cynthia M. D'Angelo, SRI International