The Inquiry, Communication, Construction and Expression (ICCE) Framework for Understanding Learning Experiences in Games

Frameworks For Evaluating Games

Few research frameworks exist that focus on aiding game selection and use, analyzing the game as a holistic system, and studying learner experiences in games. For instance, Rice (2007) created a tool for teachers to evaluate the inclination of video games towards encouraging higher order thinking in learners. This tool included components such as requiring users to assume a role, offering interaction through avatars and with non-player characters, presenting puzzles that require effort to derive solutions, and immersing players in systems that replicate real-life. Similarly, Killi (2005) designed the experiential gaming model to assist design and analysis of educational computer games for facilitating a flow experience. The model highlights the importance of providing the player with meaningful feedback, clear goals and challenges that adapt to his/her skill level, opportunities for creative solution generation, and reflection as factors contributing towards sustaining players’ engagement and as a means to maximize the impact of educational games.

The aforementioned frameworks are essential in that they target different audiences (teachers-Rice, 2007; learners-Killi, 2005) and focus on different teaching and learning dimensions (cognition-Rice, 2007; motivation-Killi, 2005) in the process of evaluating the merit of a game. We present the inquiry, communication, construction, and expression (ICCE) framework, which synthesizes the strengths of the frameworks discussed above to serve as a lens for analyzing learning opportunities in games and facilitating learners’ knowledge construction and motivational engagement.