Diverse Learners Playing Science Video Games: Interactions Between Gaming Features, Reading Proficiency, Gender, and Disability

• In Event: Differentiation, Diversity, and Technology

Abstract

This article used multilevel modeling to examine the effects of three different science video games on the science performance of middle school students with the purpose of comparing how diverse learners perform within different gaming conditions. Generally, all students benefitted from the games and learned the intended content. However, struggling readers performed worse on game-specific content assessments than their peers who had stronger reading skills. Unlike this indicator, students with disabilities performed equally well as their peers after playing two of the three games. There we o gender specific main effects, but interactions were noted between gender and attitudes about science and video games in two of three gaming conditions. Implications for practice and future research are provided.

Authors

• Maya Israel, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Shuai Wang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Matthew Marino, University of Central Florida

• James D. Basham, The University of Kansas