Digital Games as a Preparation for Future Learning Tool: Measuring the Impact

• In Event: 53.081 - Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: 53.081-15 - Game-Based Learning and Discovery

Abstract

Empirical work supported by theory on the learning affordances of digital games, allowed the game-based learning community to reach the consensus that well-designed games provide an excellent medium for the acquisition of skills and exploration of concepts. The field lacks “practical guidance for how (when, with whom, and under what conditions) games can be integrated into the learning process to maximize their learning potential” (Van Eck, 2006, p. 2). Clarity is needed to identify which students benefit the most from the application of the preparation for future learning instructional model within Digital Game-Based Learning. The purpose of this study is to begin the process of answering this question through a quasi-experimental study of middle-school students in the domain of mathematics.

Author

• Andre R. Denham, The University of Alabama