The Path between Pedagogy and Technology: Establishing a Theoretical Basis for the Development of Educational Game Environments

Introduction

The use of computer game technology, especially the deployment of commercial game engines such as Unreal Tournament 2004 (UT2004) is becoming an established activity with ‘Serious Games’ research projects. Despite these projects, there has been little attempt to develop a theoretical basis for the production of educational and training immersive environments (IEs). In this chapter we discuss our approach to establishing a theoretical basis for the construction of Serious Game IEs based upon pedagogical principles. The domain discussed in this paper refers to physics education, though our research has included other domains such as software programming, education of architects and artists, and training of police officers. In this section we establish a correspondence between the various affordances of the game engine and associated pedagogical principles. In subsequent sections we discuss several pedagogical principles which map neatly onto game engine affordances. Within a discussion of (i) non-collaborative, i.e. instructional and autonomous learning and (ii) collaborative learning, we highlight approaches derived from Concept Maps, Experiential Learning Theory, Adaptive Learning and the socio-cultural theory of Vygotsky. Within (ii) we apply theories of collaborative learning based on the cognitive approaches of Dillenbourg, discourse analysis and contemporary dialogic theory according to Bakhtin. Theoretical approaches are juxtaposed with a discussion of the practical affordances of the UT2004 game engine. Many, but not all of our theories and design principles have been tested in various IEs, yet we believe that a theoretical approach, as suggested here, may be of great use to educational game developers. There is of yet, no ‘theory’ of computer games, since the discipline is too young, there is insufficient material to be subject to a scientific analysis and therefore to the establishment of a theory. The design of computer games is grounded in principles which have been informed by classical (e.g. board) games, as well as the digital technology which supports the development of commercial games.