The Effects of Game Based Learning and Comprehension: 

What role do game-based learning activities have in the collegiate classroom and what does this tell us about comprehension skills and preferred learning styles among English 101 students.  

I plan to do my pedagogical research study on game-based learning and how GBL effects the class ecosystem and community learning comprehension. As someone who highly values multimodal activities and dialogical learning, I’ve always enjoyed class curriculum that incorporates games.  

Potentially I’d like to modify my class curriculum to have a game-based learning activity every two weeks or so. I would hope that my students could prepare and understand that on every other Friday, or whichever day, we start the course with a 30-40 minute game. Clearly this would require me to come up with a game that relates to the class topics every two weeks, but I think this is highly possible, especially if I use Kahoot a few times.  

I think arranging the course schedule to have a game in class every other Friday could be extremely motivating for my students as well as helpful and fun on those harsh Winter Friday’s. Additionally, the games could be useful when overviewing or studying project prompts, extension projects, and going over specific details when writing sections such as Methodology, Findings, Discussion, etc. These games could be fun and interactive while providing useful knowledge and reminders.  

However, I am aware that game-based learning might not be favorable to every student in my course, and thus this game time may not be helpful to some students. This is a potential risk in this pedagogical research study though, so I would need to ensure that the homework and other class lessons still covered the material that the games would go over, just to ensure that my students have two platforms for learning.  

My motivation for this pedagogical research design lies in my love of games. I think GBL is a wonderful way to integrate excitement and action into a dull activity. Modern technology also allows for games to be created and played easily and efficiently, allowing my students and myself to grow as multimodal learners. Lastly, I think games are a great way to cultivate classroom community and motivations. Competitive games and prizes encourages students to do well in the class, so they can perform well in games, and games with teams or partnerships allows students to meet new people and build bonds with the other students in their course.  

Possible Sources that could be used in this study: 

Groff, Jennifer S. “The Potentials of Game‐based Environments for Integrated, Immersive Learning Data.” European Journal of Education, vol. 53, no. 2, June 2018, pp. 188–201. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/ejed.12270. 

Hwang, Gwo-Jen, and Po-Han Wu. “Advancements and Trends in Digital Game-Based Learning Research: A Review of Publications in Selected Journals from 2001 to 2010.” British Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 43, no. 1, Jan. 2012, pp. E6–E10. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01242.x. 

Meredith, Tamara. “Game-Based Learning in Professional Development for Practicing Educators: A Review of the Literature.” TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, vol. 60, no. 5, Sept. 2016, pp. 496–502. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s11528-016-0107-7. 

Yeh, Yu-chu, et al. “The Dynamic Influence of Emotions on Game-Based Creativity: An Integrated Analysis of Emotional Valence, Activation Strength, and Regulation Focus.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 55, Feb. 2016, pp. 817–825. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.10.037. 

Zhi-Hong Chen, et al. “Using Narrative-Based Contextual Games to Enhance Language Learning: A Case Study.” Journal of Educational Technology & Society, vol. 21, no. 3, July 2018, pp. 186–198. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=130867684&site=ehost-live. 

Research Process/Data Gathering/Analysis: 

 As stated above I plan to integrate a game into the course curriculum every two weeks, occurring every other Friday. I’ll end the game with a freewrite allowing my class to discuss and critique the game after we’ve completed it. They will answer questions such as: how did you enjoy the game? Did you learn something new, what was it? Did you have fun? What was challenging about this game? What was helpful about it? Questions like these and others will provide me with some direct feedback on how the game-based learning activities are going in class. I am predicting that my students will enjoy playing a class game every other Friday-simply because games are meant to be fun, but I could be wrong! 

On top of these games and feedback freewrites I will create a new extension project for my class that allows my students to create their own learning game for an English 101 class, they will write up the directions and rules of the game and then a short paragraph reflecting on the genre of game-making and rule-writing. I am going to require that every student in my course completes at least 1 Extension Project as well next quarter. I predict that if I continue to reiterate the importance and benefits of game-based learning in my class, that many students will choose the GBL extension project option. This could potentially prove that my students are interested/invested in game-based learning.  

With these two methods, (daily game reflection freewrites and the GBL extension project) I could see how game-based learning influenced my student’s comprehension and work. I could additionally interview my students during midterm and end of the quarter conferences to check-in with them on how they’ve enjoyed the game activities. This would help me see if these activities are both fun and educational. Utilizing midterm conferences to check in with my class on the games would be especially important because if a large portion of my class claims in one way or another that they don’t enjoy the games, or find them useful, I could end my GBL experimental study immediately.  

Overall, I think this could be a really fun, educational, and exciting pedagogical research study, and if it goes well in Winter quarter, I could continue to implement GBL activities into my weekly or semi-weekly curriculum. I’m excited to see how this research study plays out!