Handbook of Game-based Learning (MIT Press)

The Handbook of Game-based Learning, edited by Jan L. Plass, Richard E. Mayer, and Bruce D. Homer, is a comprehensive introduction to the latest research and theory on learning and instruction with computer games.

Handbook of Game-Based Learning cover art
Cover art by Keisha Milsom

Editors

Jan L. Plass

Jan L. Plass is Professor of Educational Communication and Technology and the inaugural holder of the Paulette Goddard Chair of Digital Media and Learning Sciences in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University

Richard E. Mayer

Richard E. Mayer is Distinguished Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Bruce D. Homer

Bruce D. Homer is Professor of Educational Psychology and Human Development at the Graduate Center of City University New York.


Table of Contents

Part 1              Introduction to Game-Based Learning

Chapter 1        Theoretical Foundations of Game-Based Learning
Jan L. Plass, Bruce D. Homer, Richard E. Mayer,
and Charles K. Kinzer

Chapter 2        Play and Cognitive Development:
Bruce D. Homer, Charles Raffaele, and Hamadi Henderson

Chapter 3        Types of Engagement in Learning with Games
Ruth N. Schwartz and Jan L. Plass

Part 2              Theoretical Foundations of Game-Based Learning

Chapter 4        Cognitive Foundations of Game-Based Learning
Richard E. Mayer

Chapter 5        Affective Foundations of Game-Based Learning
                       Kristina Loderer, Reinhard Pekrun, and Jan L. Plass

Chapter 6        Motivational Foundations of Game-Based Learning
                        Richard M. Ryan and C. Scott Rigby

Chapter 7        Socio-Cultural Foundations of Game-Based Learning
                        Constance Steinkuehler and A. M. Tsaasan

Part 3              Design Foundations of Game-Based Learning                     

Chapter 8        Instructional Support, Feedback, and Coaching in
Game-Based Learning
                        James C. Lester, Randall D. Spain, Jonathan P. Rowe,
and Bradford W. Mott

Chapter 9        Self-Regulation and Reflection in Game-Based Learning
                        Michelle Taub, Amanda E. Bradbury, Nicholas V. Mudrick,
and Roger Azevedo

Chapter 10      Adaptivity and Personalization in Game-Based Learning       
                       Jan L. Plass and Shashank Pawar

Chapter 11      Narratives in Game-Based Learning
                        Michelle D. Dickey

Chapter 12      Multimedia Design Principles in Game-Based Learning
                        Brian Nelson and Younsu Kim

Chapter 13      Collaboration and Cooperation in Game-Based Learning
                        Fengfeng Ke

Chapter 14      Emerging Design Factors in Game-based Learning:
Emotional Design, Musical Score, and Game Mechanics Design
                        Shashank Pawar, Frankie Tam, and Jan L. Plass

Chapter 15      Emerging Design Factors in Game-based Learning:
Incentives, Social Presence, and Identity Design
                        Frankie Tam and Shashank Pawar

Part 4              Applications of Game-Based Learning

Chapter 16      Game-Based Learning in Science, Mathematics, Engineering,
and Technology
                        Eric Klopfer and Meredith Thompson

Chapter 17      Games as Language Learning Environments
                        Jonathon Reinhardt and Steven L. Thorne

Chapter 18      Games for Training of Cognitive Skills
                        Daphne Bavelier

Chapter 19      Games for Workforce Learning and Performance
                        Ruth C. Clark and Frank Nguyen

Chapter 20      Games for Assessment
                        Valerie J. Shute & Chen Sun

Chapter 21      Learning Analytics for Games
                        V. Elizabeth Owen and Ryan S. Baker

Screen Time in an Era of Social Isolation

Screen time in an Era of Social Isolation
Photo credit: Sapna Parikh/New York University

I’m a parent of two teenage boys who are obsessed with playing video games. I’m also a researcher who studies game-based learning. My partner thinks technology is a soul-sucking menace. You can imagine the lively conversations about screen time we have at home. 

Something changed, however, when we decided to practice social isolation to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. No more school, no more soccer practice, no more hanging out with friends, cancelled birthday parties and social gatherings, and no more movies, bars, and restaurants. A new question presented itself…  How can we make sure that such physical isolation does not lead to social isolation?

Living in this new “wartime” reality, we should reconsider what the rules regarding Screen Time for teens should be.

Some basic rules, such as no phones at mealtime, no screen time before and during bedtime, or determining what games or apps are appropriate for your child, should of course persist. The Mayo Clinic approach to screen time is especially useful to establish your own rules. However, I believe that the focus on screen Time is counterproductive, especially now that our familiar ways of life are being interrupted. We should instead focus on Screen Content Limits.

But which contents should be favored? Here are some  benefits of digital media that we should consider when deciding what our teenagers get to do on ‘screens‘ and for how long.  Over the next weeks, I will elaborate on each of these in separate posts.

Interest-Driven Learning

If you are like me, then your children’s long stories about what prank their favorite YouTuber played on others makes you question why any screen time should be allowed at all. But then again, my 14-year old recently showed me the Synthesia version he found of Khachaturian’s Waltz, which he is learning on the piano, and my 16-year old taught himself how to use FL Studio, a digital audio workstation, to produce his own rap songs. Clearly, this interest-driven, on-demand learning is something we should encourage, not limit.

Social Connections

In the videogames research conducted in the CREATE research lab that I direct at New York University, we have time and again observed how the notion of the socially isolated teenage video game player who dwells in their parents’ basement is outdated. Nowadays, teens like to play games that connect them to others, and where they can practice 21st Century skills such as communication, team collaboration, creativity, and the like. I would not go so far as Jordan Shapiro, who believes children should start using social media at much younger ages, but research has shown the social benefits of teens playing games with friends. In addition, I’ve found that when I take the time to play games with my kids, I find new ways to relate to them that other media, such as TV, do not allow.

Emotional Design for Learning

As I described in a previous post, emotion and learning are tightly connected , and video games are exquisitely designed to emotionally engage players. We have studied emotional design for learning for many years and have found that positive emotions induced by the design of the learning materials enhance learning outcomes for science learning as well as for cognitive skills training. Other benefits are that games allow teens to practice emotion regulation, i.e., their ability to effectively manage and respond to an emotional experience, which is something we can all benefit from when we shelter in place.

Mental Health Benefits

Relatedly, limited opportunities to see friends, move around, or in general follow our usual routine is something we are not accustomed to. Being exposed to some of these restrictions, however, reminds us of the thousands of children who are refugees from war-torn areas such as Syria, or from genocide, such as Rohingyas fleeing Myanmar, who experience these restrictions on a daily basis. In our research with Syrian refugee children in Turkey we found that playing Minecraft over the course of a month-long intervention resulted in significant improvements in children’s positive outlook on life. When your real life affords very little control over your circumstances, being able to design a world in which you have full control is an important part of mental well-being.

Cognitive Benefits

Games also have important cognitive benefits. As my colleague Daphne Bavelier has found in her research, even the most violent video games can improve our visual perception skills, such as contrast resolution, object tracking, and peripheral vision. We developed three games to train cognitive skills and have found that they can improve brain functions. These games are available for free in the AppStore and on Google Play.

Other benefits of games include increased physical activity, increased empathy, and reduced stress, among others, which I will discuss in future posts.

Having said all of this, my partner reminds me that there is so much more to life than apps and games, and that real connection to our world and each other far outweighs any online benefits. I completely agree, but given we may be stuck in our home for some time, I take solace in the fact that, when my boys are once again in their rooms and on their screens, they use games, apps, and digital media than can actually benefit them and may help them grow creatively and yes, even socially.

CrushStations, a Game to Train Working Memory

CrushStations, a Game to Train Working Memory

CrushStations is a game designed to train working memory, a subskill of executive functions. Updating involves holding information in mind and mentally working with it to solve a problem.

In this game, players need to save sea creatures that vary in type and color from a hungry octopus. Children free the creatures by identifying the type of creature and its color when it passes behind an opaque bubble. To do this requires children to hold in mind the features of the creatures, which requires working memory.

Download for free: AppStore | Google Play

All You Can ET is part of SMART Suite, a set of games to train executive functions (also including All You Can ET and Gwakkamole) that has been developed by the CREATE lab at New York University in collaboration with researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara and The Graduate Center, CUNY. Published, peer-reviewed research with hundreds of students has validated the efficacy of SMART Suite for training executive functions (see bibliography), including the Handbook of Game-Based Learning.

Gwakkamole, A Game to Train Inhibitory Control

Icon of Gwakkamole, A Game to Train Inhibitory Control.

Gwakkamolé is a game designed to train inhibitory control, a subskill of executive functions. Inhibition involves controlling your attention, thoughts or behaviors to stop from doing something that you are primed to do, because of a habit or external lure, in order to achieve a goal.

In this game, players need to quickly smash avocados that have no hat or that tip their hat, but avoid smashing avocados with spiky hats or with electrified hats. To do this, children must avoid the tendency to smash everything that appears, which requires them to use inhibition.

Download for free: AppStore | Google Play

All You Can ET is part of SMART Suite, a set of games to train executive functions (also including All You Can ET and CrushStations) that has been developed by the CREATE lab at New York University in collaboration with researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara and The Graduate Center, CUNY. Published, peer-reviewed research with hundreds of students has validated the efficacy of SMART Suite for training executive functions (see bibliography), including the Handbook of Game-Based Learning.


Bibliography

Homer, B. D., Plass, J. L., Raffaele, C., Ober, T. M., & Ali, A. (2018). Improving high school students’ executive functions through digital game play. Computers & Education, 117, 50-58.

Homer, B.D., Ober, T.M., Rose, M.C., MacNamara, A.P., Mayer, R. & Plass, J.L. (2019). Speed Versus Accuracy: Implications of Adolescents’ Neurocognitive Developments in a Digital Game to Train Executive Functions, Mind, Brain & Education, 13(1), 41-52.

Homer, B.D., Plass, J.L., Rose, M.C., MacNamara, A.P., Pawar, S., & Ober, T.M. (2019). Activating adolescents’ “hot” executive functions in a digital game to train cognitive skills: The effects of age and prior abilities. Cognitive Development, 49, 20-32.

Ober, T. M., Brooks, P. J., Plass, J. L., & Homer, B. D. (2019). Distinguishing Direct and Indirect Effects of Executive Functions on Reading Comprehension in Adolescents. Reading Psychology, 40(6), 551–581.

Parong, J., Mayer, R. E., Fiorella, L., MacNamara, A., Homer, B. D., & Plass, J. L. (2017). Learning executive function skills by playing focused video games. Contemporary Educational Psychology51, 141-151.

Plass, J. L., Homer, B. D., Pawar, S., Brenner, C., & MacNamara, A.P. (2019). The effect of adaptive difficulty adjustment on the effectiveness of a game to develop executive function skills for learners of different ages. Cognitive Development, 49, 56-67.

Plass, J.L, Homer, B.D., Pawar, S., & Tam, F. (2018). Connecting Theory and Design Through Research: Cognitive Skills Training Games. In S. Göbel et al. (Eds.): Joint Conference on Serious Games 2018, pp. 1–14, 2018. Spring Nature, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02762-9_15

Plass, J.L., Homer, B.D., MacNamara, A.P., Ober, T., Rose, M.C., Hovey, C.M., Pawar, S., & Olsen, A. (2019). Emotional Design for Digital Games for Learning: The Affective Quality of Expression, Color, Shape, and Dimensionality of Game Characters, Learning and Instruction.

Plass, J.L., Mayer, R. & Homer, B.D. (Eds.) (2020) Handbook of Game-based Learning. MIT Press.

Sirin, S., Plass, J.L., Homer, B.D., Vatanartiran, S. & Tsai, T. (2018). Digital game-based education for Syrian refugee children: Project Hope. Vulnerable Children & Youth Studies, 13(1), 7-18. doi: 10.1080/17450128.2017.1412551

Vacca, R. Bromley, M., Leyrer, J., Sprung, M., & Homer, B.D. (2014). Designing Games for Emotional Health. In Schrier, K. (Ed), Learning, Education, and Games (pp. 123-142). ETC Press.

All You Can ET, A game to train Cognitive Flexibility

Icon for All You Can ET, A game to train Cognitive Flexibility

All You Can ET is a game designed to train task shifting (cognitive flexibility), a subskill of executive functions. Shifting involves effectively switching between different tasks, rules, or goals.

In this game, players need to apply frequently changing rules to give differently colored aliens, who have different numbers of eyes, the correct food or drink. As the levels progress, the rules get more complex. To succeed in this game, children must be able to adapt to the new sets of rules, which requires shifting, or cognitive flexibility.

Download for Free: AppStore | Google Play

All You Can ET is part of SMART Suite, a set of games to train executive functions (also including Gwakkamole and CrushStations) that has been developed by the CREATE lab at New York University in collaboration with researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara and The Graduate Center, CUNY. Published, peer-reviewed research with hundreds of students has validated the efficacy of SMART Suite for training executive functions (see bibliography), including the Handbook of Game-Based Learning.


Bibliography

Homer, B. D., Plass, J. L., Raffaele, C., Ober, T. M., & Ali, A. (2018). Improving high school students’ executive functions through digital game play. Computers & Education, 117, 50-58.

Homer, B.D., Ober, T.M., Rose, M.C., MacNamara, A.P., Mayer, R. & Plass, J.L. (2019). Speed Versus Accuracy: Implications of Adolescents’ Neurocognitive Developments in a Digital Game to Train Executive Functions, Mind, Brain & Education, 13(1), 41-52.

Homer, B.D., Plass, J.L., Rose, M.C., MacNamara, A.P., Pawar, S., & Ober, T.M. (2019). Activating adolescents’ “hot” executive functions in a digital game to train cognitive skills: The effects of age and prior abilities. Cognitive Development, 49, 20-32.

Ober, T. M., Brooks, P. J., Plass, J. L., & Homer, B. D. (2019). Distinguishing Direct and Indirect Effects of Executive Functions on Reading Comprehension in Adolescents. Reading Psychology, 40(6), 551–581.

Parong, J., Mayer, R. E., Fiorella, L., MacNamara, A., Homer, B. D., & Plass, J. L. (2017). Learning executive function skills by playing focused video games. Contemporary Educational Psychology51, 141-151.

Plass, J. L., Homer, B. D., Pawar, S., Brenner, C., & MacNamara, A.P. (2019). The effect of adaptive difficulty adjustment on the effectiveness of a game to develop executive function skills for learners of different ages. Cognitive Development, 49, 56-67.

Plass, J.L, Homer, B.D., Pawar, S., & Tam, F. (2018). Connecting Theory and Design Through Research: Cognitive Skills Training Games. In S. Göbel et al. (Eds.): Joint Conference on Serious Games 2018, pp. 1–14, 2018. Spring Nature, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02762-9_15

Plass, J.L., Homer, B.D., MacNamara, A.P., Ober, T., Rose, M.C., Hovey, C.M., Pawar, S., & Olsen, A. (2019). Emotional Design for Digital Games for Learning: The Affective Quality of Expression, Color, Shape, and Dimensionality of Game Characters, Learning and Instruction.

Plass, J.L., Mayer, R. & Homer, B.D. (Eds.) (2020) Handbook of Game-based Learning. MIT Press.

Sirin, S., Plass, J.L., Homer, B.D., Vatanartiran, S. & Tsai, T. (2018). Digital game-based education for Syrian refugee children: Project Hope. Vulnerable Children & Youth Studies, 13(1), 7-18. doi: 10.1080/17450128.2017.1412551

Vacca, R. Bromley, M., Leyrer, J., Sprung, M., & Homer, B.D. (2014). Designing Games for Emotional Health. In Schrier, K. (Ed), Learning, Education, and Games (pp. 123-142). ETC Press.

What do Emotions have to do with Learning?

happy game characters

Emotions? Aren’t they something to ignore during learning so we can focus on important things, such as meaning making and knowledge construction? If we look at current theories of learning with multimedia, we would indeed get the impression that emotions have no bearing on learning. And even when we ask practitioners, the most commonly cited connection between emotion and learning is test anxiety.

But wait – can we really turn off our emotions during learning?

As it turns out, emotions and cognition are intertwined on a neuro-physiological level that makes it unlikely that they could be separated on a functional level. Emotion and learning, we now realize, are inherently connected and deeply impact one another: Cognition elicits emotion, and emotion guides and modulates cognition. Interestingly, this is what allows us to adapt to the changes in our environment. It is also something progressive educators have known for centuries, we just seem to have forgotten with the dawn of the industrial revolution.

What is Emotional Design for Learning?

Taking advantage of this connection of emotion and cognition, we have begun exploring how the design of our digital learning environments can impact emotions. We use the term Emotional Design to describe the use of information design (visuals, sound), interaction design, and other methods, to induce emotions with the goal to facilitate learning. In fact, we were able to show that by redesigning learning materials simply by using round shapes and warm colors, we were able to induce positive emotions and enhance learning (Um, Plass, Hayward, & Homer, 2011).

How do I apply Emotional Design to my Projects?

The goal for emotional design is to impact learners’ emotion without changing the learning content itself. That means we use design features such as the shape of objects or their color: Round shapes and warm colors induce positive emotion, square shapes and neutral colors do not. In some of our most recent games, we use the game characters shown in the figures for the same purpose. Here we can use features such as their expression (sad, neutral, happy) or even their dimensionality (2D v. 3D).

Conclusion

The Cognitive Revolution in the 1950s has argued that learning is a cognitive process. Later, the Constructivist Revolution has introduced the notion that learning is a socio-cultural process. Is it time for the next revolution – the Emotional Revolution?

sad game charactersartwork by Keisha Milsom, NYU CREATE

Suggested reading about this topic

Plass, J.L. & Kaplan, U. (2015). Emotional Design in Digital Media for Learning. In S. Tettegah & M. Gartmeier, Emotions, Technology, Design, and Learning (pp. 131–162). New York: Elsevier.

Um, E., Plass, J. L., Hayward, E. O., & Homer, B. D. (2011). Emotional Design in Multimedia Learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(2), 485–498. doi:10.1037/a0026609

Plass, J.L., Heidig, S., Hayward, E.O., Homer, B.D., & Um, E.J. (2014). Emotional Design in Multimedia Learning: Effects of Shape and Color on Affect and Learning. Learning and Instruction, 29, 128–140. doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2013.02.006