Children's Decision Making in Educational Digital Games: Dwell Time, Attention, and Choice Behavior

• In Event: Advanced Technology for Learning

Abstract

Perceptual processes underlying choice behavior have given rise to an extensive research literature in psychology and neuroscience. Digital educational games can be used to extend experimental designs with the objective of better understanding these processes. Design features present in PBS KIDS educational games, particularly exercises requiring forced choices, allow us to use the PBS KIDS Learning Analytics Platform (LAP) telemetry data to evaluate choice models in a context featuring genuine children’s game play. In this exploratory study, we use children’s “dwell time” to measure their attention fixation during the decision-making process. Moreover, we use children’s decisions and “dwell time” to validate perceptual choice model predictions and characterize the degree to which different types of information aid children’s decision accuracy.

Authors

• Yenda Prado, Federation of American Scientists
  Presenting Author

• Cosimo Felline, Public Broadcasting Service
  Presenting Author

• Jennifer Rodriguez, PBS KIDS Digital
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jeremy Roberts, Public Broadcasting Service
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kaitlyn Koo, University of California - Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Silvia Lovato, PBS KIDS Digital
  Non-Presenting Author