Game-based learning verbetert leeruitkomsten en motivatie voor leerlingen in STEM-onderwijs

Utrechtse collega's Michaela Artzmann, Lisette Hornstra, Johan Jeuring en Liesbeth Kester publiceerden onlangs een meta-analyse over de effecten van game-based learning in STEM onderwijs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in het basis- en voortgezet onderwijs. De belangrijkste bevindingen van de meta-analyse zijn dat game-based learning leidt tot verbeterde leeruitkomsten (g = .67) voor alle leerlingen, ongeacht hun leeftijd, geslacht of socio-economische status. Het leren via games leidde ook tot verhoogde motivatie (g = .51) en betrokkenheid (g = .93)  voor leerlingen van alle leeftijden, behalve voor jongere leerlingen in de lagere middelbare school. Verder bleek dat game-gebaseerd leren effectiever was voor leerlingen in het basisonderwijs. De meta-analyse suggereert dat game-gebaseerd leren een effectief middel is om leeruitkomsten, motivatie en betrokkenheid te verbeteren in het STEM-onderwijs.

Het abstract

Game-based learning has proven to be effective and is widely used in science education, but usually the heterogeneity of the student population is being overlooked. To examine the differential effects of game interventions in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) related subjects on diverse student groups, a meta-analysis has been conducted that included 39 studies that compared game-based learning interventions with traditional classrooms in primary and early secondary education. We found moderate positive effects on cognition (g = .67), motivation (g = .51), and behaviour (g = .93). Additionally, substantial heterogeneity between studies was found. Moderator analyses indicated that primary school students achieve higher learning outcomes and experience game interventions as more motivating than secondary school students, whereas gender did not have any moderating effect. There were too few studies reporting information on the remaining moderators (socioeconomic status, migration background, and special educational needs) to include them in a multiple meta-regression model. Therefore, we assessed their role by separate moderator analyses, but these results need to be interpreted with caution. Additional descriptive analyses suggested that game-based learning may be less beneficial for students with low socioeconomic status compared to students with high socioeconomic status.

Helpen games om wiskundeangst te verminderen?

Als je wiskundeangst hebt, dan vertoon je negatieve emoties bij het denken aan rekenen of wiskunde op een dusdanige manier dat het ook je prestaties beïnvloedt. Het idee bestaat dat het inzetten van game-based learning bij kan dragen aan het verminderen van wiskundeangst. In een recente meta-analyse zetten Dondio, Gusev en Rocha het beschikbare onderzoek op een rij. Deze meta-analyse is onlangs verschenen in het tijdschrift Computers & Education. Deze meta-analyse laat zien dat het effect van games op het reduceren van wiskundeangst klein is. Dit geldt vooral voor digitale games, bij "gewone" spellen, zoals kaart- of bordspellen, lijkt het reducerende effect wat groter te zijn.

Het abstract

In this paper, we present the first meta-analysis of the effectiveness of game-based interventions in reducing students’ levels of maths anxiety. After searching for randomised studies relevant to game-based intervention for maths anxiety, 22 effect sizes with 913 participants described in 15 peer-review articles met the selection criteria. A random-effects meta-analysis indicated a reduction of maths anxiety with a small-effect size (mean effect size ES = −0.24, CI = [ − 0.47, −0.01], marginally significant at 0.05 level but not robust to a leave-one-out sensitivity analysis. Several factors moderated the results: non-digital games were more effective, while digital games had a negligible mean effect size of ES = −0.10, CI = [ − 0.24, 0.03]. The effect size was also moderated by the total duration of the intervention, to the advantage of longer interventions, and by the type of gameplay: games had a greater effect on maths anxiety reduction when they promoted collaborative and social interactions. Such features were mainly present in non-digital games, while all bar one of the digital intervention used single-player games. The results obtained, particularly weak for digital games, indicated the need to develop and test games explicitly designed for math-anxious students to increase the impact of game-based interventions for anxious students. This will require the investigation of the relationship between game features and maths anxiety through analysing the behaviour of anxious and non-anxious students at play. Among the features that an anxiety-aware game could employ, we suggest collaborative gameplay, social interactions, adaptability, features promoting intrinsic motivation and embedding real-time measurements of maths anxiety.