Impact of Different Durations of an Immersive Social Studies Simulation Game

• In Event: Social Studies: Learning Outside of the Classroom

Abstract

Immersive interventions, such as simulations, games, and student-centered problem-based learning environments promise to provide students with engaging experiences that drive focus and promote interest, thereby increasing educational achievement. When instructional time is at a premium, high impact, shorter-duration immersive activities could provide educators with valuable tools for promoting social studies content knowledge and critical inquiry and argumentation skills. This study investigates multiple durations of an online simulation game called GlobalEd for social studies classrooms. The authors found that 14-week, 10-week, and 8-week durations were all observed to provide a significant effect on student achievement. In addition, the shorter duration game provided effective instruction, signaling that even shorter durations of immersive games can be an effective instructional tool for social studies.

Authors

• Jeremy Riel, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Kimberly A. Lawless, The Pennsylvania State University

• James B Oren, University of Illinois at Chicago