Establishing a Science of Game Based Learning

Abstract

Using video games to train and educate is a notion that is gaining traction among gamers, parents, and serious educators alike. Unfortunately, to date there have been few rigorous studies to determine whether games can be effective learning tools. Given their inherent features, the authors feel certain that games can teach, and they are interested instead in addressing the question of how best to design games that will optimize learning. To accomplish this goal, the authors offer a simple framework for organizing variables and then discuss findings from psychology and education as a basis to formulate a research agenda for game-based training. In doing so, they hope to stimulate researchers to conduct appropriately controlled experiments that will begin to provide insight into how various features affect motivation and learning. In this way, a true science of educational games can be formed.