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The Relationship between Student Learning Styles and Motivation during Educational Video Game Play

The Relationship between Student Learning Styles and Motivation during Educational Video Game Play

Michael R. Findley (Gwinnett County Public Schools, USA)
Copyright: © 2013 |Pages: 12
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-2949-3.ch019
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Abstract

Educational video games allow for a level of intrinsic motivation and engagement that is not found in other forms of learning. This study determines if students found educational video game play to be a motivating experience and if a relationship existed between student learning styles and levels of motivation. High school psychology students played two short online educational video games and, upon completion of the activity, their intrinsic motivation levels were determined using an evaluation questionnaire. The data, as determined by the evaluation questionnaire, revealed that students found playing educational video games to be intrinsically motivating. Further examination revealed no statistically significant differences between the student learning styles and the motivation experienced during educational video game play.
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Educational Video Game Research

Over the past decade, research on educational games has increased as studies conducted by MIT, Harvard, and Indiana University have shown that games hold the potential to promote student learning and engagement (Warren et al., 2009). Ke (2007) reported that over 600 research studies or reports have been written on computer games. From those 600, only 89 could be deemed as being supported with exemplary research. According to Ke (2007), “only 10 of 89 game studies examine the variable of learner characteristics, which confirms that studies on the interaction of learner characteristics and instructional game usage are limited” (p. 19). Simonson (2003) stated the following:

The thrust of current research is no longer on comparing computer-based learning with other media or with the teacher, but in determining what specific computer environments can best enhance student learning and in determining which instructional approaches used in conjunction with the computer are most effective (p. 51).

Groups such as the FAS (2006) support video game play in education because of the creative, engaging, and positive learning environments that are experienced by the player. Incorporating high-quality educational video games into the classroom is a relatively new approach in education. According to the FAS, “there are few reports of clear and unequivocal outcomes for using educational games, an absence of information that might encourage educators to try new and unconventional approaches to instruction” (p. 44).

Although educational video games may be an unconventional form of instruction, the FAS (2006) pointed out the following:

Students remember only 10% of what they read; 20% of what they hear; 30% of what they hear, if they see visuals related to what they are hearing; 50% of what they hear, if they watch someone do something while explaining it; but almost 90% if they do the job themselves, even if only as a simulation (p. 15).

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