Incorporating a Digital Game Into the Formal Instruction of Algebra

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 555-591
Author(s):  
Shulamit Kapon ◽  
Angela Halloun ◽  
Michal Tabach
Keyword(s):  
Linear Equations ◽  
Computer Game ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Digital Game ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Seventh Grade ◽  
Formal Instruction ◽  
Analogical Mapping

We compared students' learning gains in authentic seventh-grade classrooms (N = 144) in 4 different interventions that incorporated a computer game that aims to teach players to solve linear equations. Significantly higher learning gains were measured in the implementations that were specifically designed to mediate the attribution of algebraic meaning to objects, actions, and rules in the game by engaging students in analogical mapping between these constructs and their algebraic counterparts and an exploration of the boundaries of this isomorphism. These findings suggest that learning disciplinary content and skills from a digital game requires learners to attribute disciplinary meaning to objects, actions, and rules in the game. Moreover, this process does not necessarily occur spontaneously and benefits from instructional mediation.

scholarly journals Improving conceptual understanding of gas behavior through the use of screencasts and simulations

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brianna L. Martinez ◽  
Ryan D. Sweeder ◽  
Jessica R. VandenPlas ◽  
Deborah G. Herrington
Keyword(s):  
Learning Gains ◽  
Particle Behavior ◽  
Formal Instruction ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Usage Patterns ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Particle Level ◽  
Support Students ◽  
Post Assessment

Abstract Background Engagement with particle-level simulations can help students visualize the motion and interactions of gas particles, thus helping them develop a more scientifically accurate mental model. Such engagement outside of class prior to formal instruction can help meet the needs of students from diverse backgrounds and provide instructors with a common experience upon which to build with further instruction. Yet, even with well-designed scaffolds, students may not attend to the most salient aspects of the simulation. In this case, a screencast where an instructor provides narrated use of the simulation and points students towards the important observations may provide additional benefits. This study, which is part of the larger ChemSims project, investigates the use of simulations and screencasts to support students’ developing understanding of gas properties by examining student learning gains. Results This study indicates that both students manipulating the simulation on their own and those observing a screencast exhibited significant learning gains from pre- to post-assessment. However, students who observed the screencast were more than twice as likely to transition from a macroscopic explanation to a particle-level explanation of gas behavior in answering matched pre- and post-test questions. Eye-tracking studies indicated very similar viewing and usage patterns for both groups of students overall, including when using the simulation to answer follow-up questions. Conclusion Significant learning gains by both groups across all learning objectives indicate that either scaffolded screencast or simulation assignments can be used to support student understanding of gas particle behavior and serve as a first experience upon which to build subsequent instruction. There is some indication that the initial use of the screencast may better help students build correct mental models of gas particle behavior. Further, for this simulation, watching the instructor manipulate the simulation in the screencast allowed students to subsequently use the simulation on their own at a level comparable to those students who had manipulated the simulation on their own throughout the assignment, suggesting that the screencast students were not disadvantaged by not initially manipulating the simulation on their own.

scholarly journals Being Peer Gynt: How students collaboratively make meaning of a digital game about a literature classic

2021 ◽  
pp. 204275302110229
Author(s):  
Magnus H Sandberg ◽  
Kenneth Silseth
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Computer Game ◽  
Digital Game ◽  
Virtual Self ◽  
Dialogic Approach

Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt digs deep into the question of what it means to be oneself. An upcoming computer game version invites players to take on the role of Peer and thereby raises new questions about identity and identification. By recording dyads of students who play an early version of the game and analysing their interaction during gameplay, we examine how students collaboratively make meaning of the computer game. This study employs a sociocultural and dialogic approach to meaning making. In the analysis, we draw on Gee’s theory on multiple player identities and see the dyads playing together as two real-world selves negotiating on creating one virtual self through a co-authorship of situated meaning in what Gee calls the projective stance. To better understand their cooperation in this undertaking, we also apply Goffman’s term activity frames. The analysis shows how the dyads approach the game in different ways by establishing frames in which they interpret, impersonate or recreate Peer, in order to make meaning of their gameplay.

Get Your Head in the Game

2013 ◽  
pp. 228-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Herrig
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Technology Education ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Digital Game ◽  
Seventh Grade ◽  
School Students ◽  
Introductory Programming ◽  
The World ◽  
Game Environment

This chapter discusses the development and implementation of an introductory programming unit within a seventh grade technology education course. The goal of this unit was to introduce the concepts of programming to middle school students in a way that was accessible and unintimidating. Digital games provide an inherent level of engagement not present in other programming activities, and the digital game environment provides a safe platform for experimentation without concern for safety or equipment. The curriculum described in this chapter provides many practical examples of how digital games can be incorporated into a technology education classroom to engage students in the world of programming.

scholarly journals Teaching More by Lecturing Less

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 298-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer K. Knight ◽  
William B. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Teaching Style ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Student Responsibility ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Interactive Engagement ◽  
Interactive Classroom ◽  
Made In

We carried out an experiment to determine whether student learning gains in a large, traditionally taught, upper-division lecture course in developmental biology could be increased by partially changing to a more interactive classroom format. In two successive semesters, we presented the same course syllabus using different teaching styles: in fall 2003, the traditional lecture format; and in spring 2004, decreased lecturing and addition of student participation and cooperative problem solving during class time, including frequent in-class assessment of understanding. We used performance on pretests and posttests, and on homework problems to estimate and compare student learning gains between the two semesters. Our results indicated significantly higher learning gains and better conceptual understanding in the more interactive course. To assess reproducibility of these effects, we repeated the interactive course in spring 2005 with similar results. Our findings parallel results of similar teaching-style comparisons made in other disciplines. On the basis of this evidence, we propose a general model for teaching large biology courses that incorporates interactive engagement and cooperative work in place of some lecturing, while retaining course content by demanding greater student responsibility for learning outside of class.

Examining the Contribution of a Professional Development Program to Elementary Classroom Teachers’ Content Knowledge and Student Achievement: The Case of Basketball

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Lambros Stefanou ◽  
Niki Tsangaridou ◽  
Charalambos Y. Charalambous ◽  
Leonidas Kyriakides
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Student Achievement ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Elementary Classroom ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Classroom Teachers ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Direct Measures

Purpose: Teacher content knowledge (CK) and its contribution to student achievement (SA) are understudied in physical education, especially concerning the examination of the effectiveness of professional development (PD) programs using direct measures of teachers’ CK and SA. To make progress in this research area, this study investigated the contribution of a content-focused PD program to teachers’ CK and SA in basketball, using direct measures thereof. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was utilized to examine the contribution of a PD program. The authors measured the CK of 52 elementary classroom teachers and their fifth or sixth grade students’ (n = 913) achievement in basketball before and after the PD program. The data were analyzed using unilevel and multilevel regression analyses. Results: Teachers who participated in the PD program exhibited higher learning gains in their CK; their students also exhibited higher learning gains. Discussion and Conclusion: The study findings suggest that PD programs focused on enhancing teachers’ CK might also support SA.

scholarly journals Analisis Kemampuan Reversibilitas Siswa MTs Kelas VII dalam Menyusun Persamaan Linier

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-131
Author(s):  
Epi Balingga ◽  
Rully Charitas Indra Prahmana ◽  
Novi Murniati
Keyword(s):  
Linear Equations ◽  
Seventh Grade ◽  
Similarity Equation ◽  
Class Viii ◽  
Academic Year

This study aims to determine the reversibility ability of the seventh-grade students in making the linear equations. This ability is known after all students complete ten questions given and some students selected to be interviewed. Instrument test findings, in the form of 10 questions reversibility capability that has valid and reliable. The subjects were 29 students of class VIII 1 in MTS Negeri Pagedangan in the academic year 2015/2016. Interviews conducted to see student's ability to create a linear equation.As a result, most of the students have had the reversibility ability and the biggest difficulties of students in making similarity equation when its variable in the middle of the equation. 

scholarly journals Factors Affecting Learning Gains among Students in Microbiology Class: A Preliminary Study Between a U.S. Community College and a Canadian Comprehensive University

Fine Focus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-33
Author(s):  
Naowarat Cheeptham ◽  
Archana Lal
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Comprehensive University ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Student Demographics ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Science Classes

Though in the past, serious concerns have been raised about students’ interest and learning gains in STEM courses, not much research has been done to examine the differences in learning science at community colleges and universities. The purpose of this paper is to close this gap. This paper analyzes the influence of students’ demographics, preparedness, major, and attitudes on their learning gains in an introductory microbiology class at a community college vs. a university. Student demographics, information about their preparedness level, major, and attitudes were collected in a questionnaire and students’ learning gains were assessed by comparing student performance on a pre- and post-test on four different topics in microbiology. Our results indicate that students’ majors and attitudes such as their willingness to actively participate in the classroom discussions and spend time outside the classroom to learn are major factors that enhance their learning. Age and marital status positively impact learning gains while gender, employment status, and citizenship status show no impact on learning gains in students. Our results also indicate that students at the community college who had less exposure to science classes in high school or biology classes in college achieved statistically higher learning gains despite having overall lower scores on two of the four post-tests.

INCIDENTAL LEARNING OF COLLOCATIONS FROM MEANINGFUL INPUT

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duy Van Vu ◽  
Elke Peters
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Incidental Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
The Other ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Learning Gains ◽  
Input Enhancement ◽  
Graded Readers ◽  
Experimental Group

Abstract This longitudinal study investigates the effect of mode of reading on the incidental learning of collocations and factors that affect learning. One hundred Vietnamese pre-intermediate learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) were assigned to either an experimental group or a control group (no treatment). In 9 weeks, the experimental group read three graded readers containing 32 target collocations in three counterbalanced reading modes: reading-only, reading-while-listening, and reading with textual input enhancement (i.e., underlining). Learning gains were measured by a form recall pretest and delayed posttest. The results showed that reading mode had a significant effect on incidental collocation learning. Reading with textual input enhancement resulted in significantly higher learning gains than the other reading modes. Reading-while-listening was also more beneficial for collocation learning than reading-only. Learners’ prior vocabulary knowledge and congruency of collocations were significant predictors of the learning gains.

scholarly journals A Digital Early Spelling Game: The Role of Auditory and Visual Support

AERA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 233285841985770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adi Elimelech ◽  
Dorit Aram
Keyword(s):  
Support Group ◽  
Computer Game ◽  
Relative Influence ◽  
Digital Game ◽  
Spelling Performance ◽  
Visual Support ◽  
Word Spelling

We constructed a computer game to support preschoolers’ early word spelling without an adult’s assistance. The study explored the relative influence of auditory and visual digital supports on children’s performance. Participants were 96 preschoolers who were randomly assigned into one of three groups: no support, auditory only support, or auditory + visual support. Children in each group played the digital game during eight meetings, and the computer recorded their activity. The auditory + visual support group scored significantly higher than the no support group on all letter tasks. We did not find significant differences between the two groups that received support, nor did we find differences between the auditory only support compared to the no support group, except for writing the last letter. The study shows that a digital game can help preschoolers progress in their spelling skills without the support of an adult. Auditory support is important, and the visual support significantly adds to children’s spelling performance.

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