Game elements: Understanding their influence for learning (GUI:L)

Duration of project involvement. 2023 - present.

Cooperation partners. Digital Psychology Lab (Prof. Dr. Manuel Ninaus), University of Graz; Faculty of Education and Culture (Prof. Dr. Kristian Kiili), Tampere University

Funding. Financial support by the University of Graz is gratefully acknowledged.

Abstract. Digital game-based learning (DGBL) has repeatedly been shown to be capable of positively influencing cognitive, affective, and motivational aspects of learning. DGBL has particularly been found to be especially capable to increase learners’ motivation and engagement. However, when and how games can deliver their promising educational features remains to a large extent yet elusive. To systematically explore the research question linked to this knowledge gap, we focus on some specific game elements in this project to assess how they influence learning. To do so, we set up different versions of learning tasks differing in the particularly employed game elements. Subsequently, we compare cognitive, affective, and motivational learning outcomes resulting from the interaction of study participants with those different learning tasks. Besides static, mean differences in learning outcomes, the project further seeks to capture the dynamic changes in affective states and their connection to the learning process by analyzing behavioral and physiological data (like heart rate or electrodermal activity) in addition to traditional measures such as questionnaires and performance outcomes. Lastly, which learning outcomes or learning processes can emerge in a certain digital environment, strongly depends also on personal learner characterstics and contextual aspects like where (e.g., in the classroom vs. online) or for what purpose (like for a scientific study or within a course as part of homework) learning occurs. Such dependencies of the effects of game elements on learning can be summarized by the term boundary conditions, and illuminating those for the learning tasks studied in this project, is a third objective. Bringing the knowledge about those different aspects together shall finally form the basis for a better understanding and eventually optimizing learning and the digital environments in which it occurs.

Personally, I am currently procuring my PhD in psychology in the scope of this project at the University of Graz.