Video Games and Learning: What Counts?

• In Event: Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: Participatory Learning, Games, and Civic Engagement

Abstract

This article uses two pilot studies on measures of interest related to an educational video game Citizen Science to identify challenges associated with measuring learning, especially from sociocultural perspectives. Citizen Science is a game designed to educate and promote student interest in topics related to lake ecology and civic activism. In a pilot study, we developed a 31-item survey and tested it with 106 undergraduate students for measures of reliability. Qualitative data was collected from focus group sessions to develop an understanding of how a group of the target audience (upper elementary school students) thinks about topics introduced through game play. The challenge of balancing theoretical justifications for measurement and increasingly available analytic unit boundaries is discussed.

Authors

• Matthew Gaydos, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Amanda Marie Barany, Games + Learning + Society

• Kurt D. Squire, University of Wisconsin - Madison