### *Education on the Horizon: Teaching and Learning with Technology* ## Week 5: Game-Based Learning Pt. 1 === #### Dr. Yizhen (Eejain) Huang ###### Department Erziehungswissenschaft, University of Potsdam --- ### Can you describe what is a *game*? ![](/media/gameful.png) <!-- some of the features are superficial, some are fundamental--> --- ### Did you think of the following keywords? - competitive, has rule/goal, like sports game - fun, can be a social activity, like family game - problem-solving, you can become better at the game through practice - engaging, time-absorbing - ... ![](/media/game.png) --- ### The big question: Can we implement game-like elements in education, and why? --- ### Concepts - Gamification: the use of game design elements in non-game contexts - Gameful learning design: redesigning core elements of a learning environment according to game design principles. --- ### Buzzword or Solution? --- ### Demystify Gamification - A gameful learning environment doesn't need to look like a video game. - Gameful learning is inspired by the game design principles, but more fundamentally, by human psychology. --- ### Let's look at the psychological principles behind the game-based learning 👓 --- ### Operant Conditioning - A form of learning (stimulus-response association) - It’s a learning process in which a behavior is sensitive to, or controlled by its consequences. --- #### Types of consequences - If behavior increases or maintained, then the consequence is a "Reinforcement" - Ex: Students are praised for respectfully disagreeing with another classmate; they learn to do this more often in the classroom. --- - If behavior decreases, then the consequence is a "Punishment" - Ex: Students are reprimanded for laughing when a classmate makes a mistake; they don’t like being reprimanded so they stop doing this in the classroom. --- #### Reinforcements in the game are... - Constant: every small achievement is rewarded explicitly (experience point, badge, equipment) - Well-Defined: it's clear how to get the rewards - Varied: visual, auditory, societal... --- #### Reinforcements in a traditional classroom are often... - Inconsistent: not all students, all improvements can be acknowledged due to large class size - Vague: students are confused about their progress - Singular: score, teacher's evaluation --- #### Punishments in the game are... - Minor: lose a game won't cause you real harm - Reversible: you can always restart a game and it's OK to practice as long as you want - Transparent: you know why you lose the game --- #### Punishments in the classroom are... - Major: high-stake exam - Permanent: once you fail a class, there's nothing much you can do - Opaque: you don't know for sure why you fail a class --- #### Good operant conditioning schedule (like in game) will encourage students to... - Actively seek challenges - Not concerned about failure --- ### Related talks - Learning for own *growth*, not for *avoiding failure*: [growth mindset](https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve/up-next?language=en) --- ### Take-home points - Gameful learning environment ≠ Learning in video games - It's about using the psychological principles behind good games to motive students - We can learn from games about how to reinforce student's learning process