Entertainment Video Games for Academic Learning: A Systematic Review

Entertainment video games are very popular among young audiences. Nevertheless, despite their potential to improve cognitive functioning, they are still studied rarely as a tool for digital game-based learning. To better understand video gaming practices’ value in the classroom, this article provides a systematic review of literature on the effect of entertainment video games on academic learning. Our literature search yielded 49 relevant intervention studies published between 2005 and 2019 that integrated entertainment video games into academic curricula from preschool to college. Our review revealed that entertainment video games can be an effective educational tool and are beneficial in almost all academic disciplines, particularly in foreign language and science. However, research on entertainment video gaming’s effects on academic learning is still not extensive enough and remains mostly qualitative. Future studies need to provide a quantitative approach to complete and confirm already-existing literature, particularly in the environmental and social sciences, physical education, and programming. Given entertainment video games’ popularity and benefits on cognition and learning, it seems essential to investigate their practical value further in the education sector and to determine the mechanisms that mediate their effects on academic learning.

Listening Space

Classical music venues in the Netherlands and throughout the world are struggling to attract new audiences. Especially younger visitors are underrepresented. Previous research emphasizes the importance of providing new, potentially interested audiences with more means to consume the music. This paper presents an exploratory case study with the persuasive game Listening Space which we developed to help attract new audiences and thus preserve Western classical music heritage. In particular, we studied to what extent this game could promote more varied ways of listening to classical music and thus enrich the experience of visiting a classical music concert. We designed and executed a controlled randomized trial with surveys before and after the experiment as well as a series of in-depth interviews with participants after the experiment. Our treatment group consisted of 139 participants (both new and existing visitors). They played our digital game at their own convenience, followed by a visit to a concert in a renowned classical music concert hall. A control group of 165 participants only visited the concerts. We measured the effects of the game – changes in the ways participants listen to classical music – through self-report in questionnaires before and after the experiment. Results show that Listening Space seems most effective for new audiences: the game promoted more varied ways of listening in the treatment group and thus enriched their experience of visiting a classical music concert. The control group of new visitors did not show an effect and also no differences were found between the treatment and control groups of regular visitors of classical music concerts We employed regression analysis to identify predictors of the game's effect on listening styles: participants’ age and their level of appreciation of the classical music genre were negatively related to the effectiveness of the game. The way in which participants experienced the game also significantly influenced the effectiveness. This case study shows the potential of using games to promote classical music concerts: games seem to be valuable in attracting new, young audiences and, therefore, represent powerful instruments to help preserve Western classical music cultural heritage.

Writing when Young: Bart Moeyaert as a Young Adult Author

Duet met valse noten (1983) started as a diary when Bart Moeyaert was twelve years old. After it was disclosed by an older brother, Moeyaert rewrote it during his teenage years as a novel about first love. This article studies the genesis and early reception of Moeyaert’s novel to reflect on young authors who fictionalize real-life experiences and desires. On the one hand, they are credited for being experts on youth and said to have a particular appeal to young audiences for that reason. On the other hand, when texts by young authors are published, they are often edited and mediated by adult professionals. For some scholars, such adult intervention compromises the authenticity of the young author’s voice, while others argue that having your work revised is an inherent part of being published. The genesis of Duet met valse noten displays a complex interaction involving several actors, including young voices. The deletion of controversial passages (a toilet scene, the longing for cigarettes and sexual scenes) illustrates this complexity: the decision to adapt them was only in part governed by adults, and while the young Moeyaert was dissatisfied with some revisions, they also contributed to his aesthetics as a poetic rather than explicit writer.

Beautiful, Truth, Imaginary in the art of puppet theater - THE INSECT CIRCUS by String Theater

One of the shows invited to attend the 14th Edition of the Iaşi International Theater Festival for Young Audiences (FITPTI), outstanding performance with classic short string puppetry, was performed at the Small Hall of the Luceafărul Theater by String Theater from Great Britain. The London Company relies on the charm of the long strings animating techniques for puppets, maneuvered (manipulated) from a height. The Company started the activity in London, 2011, the founders are Soledad Zarate and Stan Middleton, descendants of several generations of artists specializing in the management and promotion of this type of theater, with Elizabethan roots and fresh puppet infusions. The Insect Circus is a gem show, a demonstration of mastery in the art of puppet handling. A performance that overturns prejudices related to this type of theater, but also a sample of good practice, an example of how the tenderness and clumsiness of these irresistible actors on strings can be enhanced.

Prince Charming and the problem of morality from a pragmatic point of view. A reflection on the imaginary born of truth

Fairy tale characters have a special status for children, as they become the bearers of values and emotions with a major impact on the development of the young viewer in whose universe anything is possible. Children often place the action at a subordinate level of their brain and the text loses its value to the character construction, which they remember at the expense of the actions the characters perform. Young audiences’ conclusions about a character can boil down to two simple characterizations: GOOD or BAD, but their subconscious picks up complex information that can affect the core values and influence future decisions or actions. This assessment of the moral character that a fairy tale character has is only valid because the fairy tale is used for an educational purpose and is supposed to contribute to the development of cognitive and affective processes in the formation of fundamental character traits. The aim of the critical approach of this research is to identify the real values of a character through behavioural analysis in order to render it scenically.

Cross-media, co-creative and current: New strategies for educating talent for Danish children’s film and television in the 2020s

This article analyses recent developments in Danish film and television education through a case study of a new training initiative for creating content for children and young audiences. Following an outline of traditional training and career trajectories in the Danish screen industries in general, and for working with children’s film and television specifically, the case study investigates the guiding ideas behind Manuskriptskolen for børnefiktion (‘The Cross-Media School of Children’s Fiction’), which was established in 2020. The school marks a new approach to Danish film education in several ways. First, by creating a training ground focusing on a specific audience, rather than on screenwriting or film-making more generally. Second, by thinking of content for this audience as fundamentally multi-platform and teaching students storytelling across different media from the outset. Third, by insisting that creating content for this audience calls for having knowledge about the current lives of young people and their media use, and encouraging strategies for engaging or even co-creating content with them. The article builds on qualitative interviews, document analysis and observations at industry events as part of the research project Reaching Young Audiences: Serial Fiction and Cross-Media Storyworlds for Children and Young Audiences.

Theater for Children and Young People

The relationship between theater and children has a long and evolving history, mirroring the evolving conceptualization of childhood itself. Children have featured as performers, or had a presence within audiences, far earlier than the emergence of anything specifically labeled as theater for children. For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, whether a performance was for children was rarely clearly delineated. For example, while J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is now considered the most famous single piece of “theater for children” it is contested as to whether it was specifically intended for children when first performed in 1904. In the modern guise of theater for children (often also titled theater for young audiences, or TYA), a central tension exists, echoing that in literature for children, in the work being made for children, but created, performed, and written by adults. Among other elements, this often results in theater for children having a close educational ethos or moralistic focus, reflecting and reinforcing adult conceptualization of childhood and adult/child social relationships. Over the last several decades, however, theater for children and young people has entered a period of increased vitality in which some of these relationships have started to change. This vitality is manifested in professionalization, the growth of festivals, dedicated venues, and the increased commitment of innovative artists who have sought to develop the practice in new directions, including through participatory and applied theater practices that seek to give voice to and explore the lived experiences of young people. Accompanying these developments, the field has also received far greater critical and scholarly attention in the last several decades. Historically the study of theater for children has struggled to assert a strong independent identity, often subsumed into literary studies. What is emerging today, however, is something much broader and more vibrant, often interdisciplinary and embracing performance and literature studies, education and child development, psychology and politics. It engages with the core issues of our times, including a growing focus on inclusivity, whether in relation to race, sexuality, or disability. Nonetheless, theater for children has much work to do to decolonize and decenter itself from white and Western dominances. There is also a strong thread of research interest in audiences, which seeks to understand children’s lived experiences of theater and in creative and participatory research methodologies. Finally, and interconnecting all these elements, theater for children is often political and frequently deeply ambitious, driven by a strong sense of idealism that is perhaps childlike in the very best of senses.

Children's Species Literacy as Estimated and Desired by Biodiversity Communicators: a Mismatch with the Actual Level

While biodiversity decline continues and laypeople's knowledge about species is limited, especially in children, high-quality communication is needed to raise awareness. For this, communicators should be aware of current knowledge levels in their target groups. We compared biodiversity communicators' estimates of the average species literacy level in primary school children with the actual level. Moreover, we explored the importance that communicators placed on species literacy and the level that they desired. Estimations of children's average knowledge level varied widely and differed from the actual level. In particular, communicators overestimated the species literacy level. Although most biodiversity communicators agreed that knowledge about species is important, their view differed as to why species literacy would be important. Moreover, communicators differed with respect to the relative importance attached to different knowledge components. Professionals may thus benefit from a detailed framework of species literacy that illustrates different aspects and values. Most importantly, our findings suggest that to bridge the gap between actual and desired knowledge levels in children effectively, biodiversity communicators first need to become more aware of current perceptions in young audiences.

"IF YOU CAN'T SEE IT, YOU CAN'T BE IT" -OUTREACH CHALLENGES IN PREPARING THE YOUNG GENERATION FOR A CAREER IN THE SPACE INDUSTRY

This paper is the result of an international, intercultural and interdisciplinary study on the outreach challenges of preparing students between the ages of 15 and 25 years for a career in the space industry. This qualitative study aimed to find and compile the best outreach practices and recommendations for engaging young people in an increasingly diverse world. Traditionally, space outreach has been biased and limited to a small number of careers in leading nations in the space industry. With the industry undergoing huge changes, new space actors are emerging even in nations that lack a national space program. Thus a new challenge for outreach professionals is to paint a realistic and updated picture of the paths towards a career in space in this new industry for their young audience. Not only have opportunities for space outreach grown in new geographies, with their own cultural and lingual characteristics, but also in traditional space nations, which are driving towards a more inclusive and diverse communication to their audiences.This paper is built around a literature study into outreach for diversity in the space industry, plus a survey among space outreach practitioners around the world. The analysis of this survey, in the context of literature findings, leads to new insights into outreach practices for new space audiences, the challenges involved in engaging these new audiences, and in providing them with an objective perspective of career opportunities in the local and international space sector. The analysis includes topics like the diversity of role models and the advantages of using varied channels to reach young audiences. The paper concludes with a set of practical recommendations for space outreach professionals and researchers.

History of teen series in Spain: evolution and characteristics

This article explores the evolution of Spanish teen series, broadcast by generalist televisions on VOD platforms from its beginning at 1997 to 2020. The sample includes 24 productions starring teenagers. The analysis carried out reveals the configuration of a subgenre of its own and its concern to address issues of interest to young audiences. A progressive dissociation between romantic love and sex is evidenced, as well as less dependence on the family and an increase in generational conflicts.