(80) Scrutinizing the effects of game elements for learning by experimental research in and out the lab
Date:
Contributors: Huber, S. E. , Kiili, K., Lindstedt, A., & Ninaus, M.
Venue: Future Education Conference 2024 – Empowering Learners for Tomorrow, Graz, Austria, September 3-5, 2024
Abstract: The use of game elements or even full-fledged games is becoming increasingly prominent all over the educational landscape. While the benefits of game elements for learning are often seen in improving student motivation and engagement, little is yet known about the psychological mechanisms underlying their effects. In this contribution, we present how experimental, value-added research can illuminate cognitive, affective and motivational effects of game elements in learning tasks. Building upon a series of online and laboratory experiments we show that game elements introduce a trade-off between motivation and cognitive demands. In particular, we found game features to enhance engagement and effectively suppress participant dropout in an online setting (with N = 385 participants). In a subsequent, smaller-scale (N = 61) online study we found significant differences in (intrinsic) motivation between more and less gameful tasks. The absence of overall performance differences in these experiments points towards increased cognitive processing demands induced by game elements, effectively balancing engaging and motivating effects. This model is empirically tested in a currently ongoing laboratory study (with N = 125, prospectively) utilizing multimodal, psychophysiological assessment to complement self-report measures. Altogether, our results suggest that game elements can have various, and—depending on the considered learning outcome—eventually antagonistic effects on learners. Understanding such effects thoroughly is, however, foundational for balancing different learning processes if the goal is to provide context-sensitive and personalized learning experiences.