Educational Games and Simulations at School:

Experimental Comparison with Classic Teaching

Methods and Requirements of Successful Implementation

into School Environment and Curricula

Michaela Buchtová

, Vít Šisler

and Cyril Brom

1,2

Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague

Nám. Jana Palacha 2, 116 38 Prague 1, Czech Republic

Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague

Malostranské nám. 25, 118 00 Prague 1, Czech Republic

Abstract. Digital game-based learning is increasingly penetrating formal

schooling system; however, it is still largely unknown which game elements (if

any) have the most influential effect on learning. Based on qualitative explora-

tory study, we present outcomes suggesting that real-world grounding, complex

systems/processes simulation and teacher’s attitude, are crucial elements for in-

creasing students’ learning engagement and knowledge acquisition. The study

stems from focus group discussions conducted as part of a complex experiment

taking place at three high-schools in the Czech Republic in 2011 (N=64; M=32,

F=32). Additional data were obtained from in-depth interviews with 8 teachers

(M=5, F=3) who used at least one game within their classwork. The exploratory

study utilized three educational games: Orbis Pictus Bestialis (animal training);

Bird Breeder (genetics heredity); Europe 2045 (EU political, economic, and so-

cial issues). The study has been conducted within a research project focusing on

developing a complex educational game Czechoslovakia 38-89 (contemporary

Czech history).

1 Introduction

Today, educational simulations and digital games (including so-called serious games),

are used in multiple fields such as military training, medical and public health train-

ing, rehabilitation, and foreign language practicing [1, 2]. It seems that they could

also support classical curricular schooling; as argued, serious games can increase

motivation of learners [3, 4] and improve knowledge acquisition or skills develop-

ment [1, 5, 6, 7, 8]. However, serious games pose new challenges for the educational

system [9, 10, 11, 12] and while these games gradually enter schools [13], it is far

from clear how to design them to improve formal schooling environment.

Our research aim was to bring data from real school environment, which can serve

as the most valuable and reliable source of understanding the process of learning with

Buchtová M., Šisler V. and Brom C..

Educational Games and Simulations at School: Experimental Comparison with Classic Teaching Methods and Requirements of Successful Implemen-

tation into School Environment and Curricula.

DOI: 10.5220/0004597301250132

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Interaction Design in Educational Environments (IDEE-2013), pages 125-132

ISBN: 978-989-8565-65-5

 2013 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

educational game and its implementation to educational curricula. This exploratory

study had qualitative design and focused on learning motivation within game-based

learning and on issues that play the crucial role in successful implementation of

game-based learning methods to school curricula. Through the comparative design

we searched for the main differences (if some) in knowledge acquisition while com-

paring an educational digital game with classic schooling methods.

We developed two educational games that have been successfully integrated with-

in formal secondary schooling system: a multi-player game for social sciences Europe

2045, a complex game featuring storytelling and role-playing aspects [12, 14], and a

single player micro-game Orbis Pictus Bestialis (OPB) for biology [15]. Additionally,

we used the educational mini-game Bird Breeder [16]. The second part of the article

describes used educational games; in the third part we focus on research methods of

our qualitative study; and the discussion of results follows.

The study has been conducted within a research project focusing on developing a

complex educational game Czechoslovakia 38-89 aimed at teaching contemporary

Czech history.

2 Research Instruments

Europe 2045 is an educational role-playing team-based computer game. The games’

aim is to improve students’ several high-level skills (most notably to increase their

ability to discuss, work in teams, etc.); to teach facts about EU institutions and poli-

cies; and to help build mental models of large-scale processes and sociopolitical no-

tions such as a model of “energy dependence” or “liberalism”. The game is played in

multi-user virtual environment and also in a classroom, where role-playing game

activities take place. Each student assumes a role of a European state leader (defines

the domestic policy as tax levels and environmental protection). In the classroom, the

player has an opportunity to present drafts for policy changes to the EU. The discus-

sions about these changes are moderated by teacher. The initial state of the game is

based on real-world data [14].

Orbis Pictus Bestialis and Bird Breeder are both of similar complexity and both

less complex than Europe 2045. They can be classified as single player micro-games,

they both present a simulation environment and they feature only limited number of

gaming elements, such as game goal and, in the case of Bird Breeder, score. The topic

of Orbis Pictus Bestialis is animal training, mainly major phenomena of positive rein-

forcement learning and basic training techniques such as behavior capturing, shaping

and chaining, and knowledge of how to use a clicker during the training. The goal of

the player is to train an animal – more precisely a dog, a parrot or a lemur – to per-

form a task [15].

Bird Breeder [16] comes from a library of educational simulations of Netlogo

toolkit [17]. The game’s topic is Mendelian genetics. A student assumes the role of a

bird breeder (or a dragon breeder in the second level) and his/her goal is to breed a

specific line of birds or dragons. The student makes decisions according to a simple

genetic representation of five traits, e.g. crest or wing color, gender, or he/she analyz-

126

es the underlying genotype directly from the code. The game goal can be achieved by

carefully selecting animals for breeding.

3 Methods

The study involved eight high-school classes in the Czech Republic. Students were

involved in learning sessions with educational game/simulation. The serious game

Europe 2045 was employed in three social science classes during one month of regu-

lar education. Students were engaged in the role-playing activities of Europe 2045

twice a week in a normal class (45 minutes; no computers were present) and they

interacted with the game environment via computers at homes.

As opposed to Europe 2045, going through the whole scenario of Orbis Pictus

Bestialis or Bird Breeder does not take longer than 20 minutes. Therefore both games

were investigated as part of a half-day biological workshop, supplemented by appro-

priate theoretical lectures and a debriefing. Five classes from two different schools

were involved: three for OPB and two for Bird Breeder.

Focus group discussions were used as the main research method for the qualitative

data collection. The focus groups lasted approximately 45 minutes and took place in a

separate classroom. Based on the class observation, we chose focus group participa-

tors (in each group three most active, three least active and two average active stu-

dents, gender balanced), final sample comprised 64 students (F=32, M=32) in eight

separate focus groups.

During the group discussions, students were also given a questionnaire to compare

classic lecture and educational game on 10-points Likert-scale in the characteristics of

(1) subjective evaluation of learning benefit, (2) entertaining value and (3) learning

difficulty.

Data were supported by semi-structured in-depth interviews collected with eight

high-school teachers (M=5, F=3) using one of three above mentioned educational

games in their school curricula.

4 Results

Within the analysis of focus group discussions with students and depth interviews

with teachers, several themes emerged repeatedly and indicated importance of several

features which might be crucial for efficient learning and implementation of educa-

tional games into school curricula. The main thematic categories that emerged are the

following: (1) Classic lecture for learning facts vs. game for building mental models;

(2) Real data: enhancing learning and learning motivation; (3) Crucial role of a teach-

er.

127

4.1 Classic Lecture for Learning Facts Vs. Game for Building Mental Models

Students commented on the knowledge differences gained through an educational

game in comparison with a classic lecture. Approximately one third of the students

(19 in total) spontaneously declared this fact. They expressed the difference by words

as “understanding”, “better representation”, “view from inside” while commenting an

educational game learning experience. The classic elements of games and simula-

tions, such as clear representation of complex processes, direct feedback on causali-

ties of the player’s behavior, and visualizing or modeling inner relations of system

and/or processes – subjectively help in the developing representative mental models.

Quotations:

“Maybe I more understand the connections. If I do something in the country, what

could be the consequences.“ (Europe 2045)

“If we only sit in the classroom and listen, we would not imagine it so well.” (Or-

bis Pictus Bestialis)

“It gave me an opportunity to understand [genetics] deeper. Always when some-

body explains me something – even two times or three times - it’s not that clear.

Maybe I don’t listen all the time. It’s much better if I try it alone.” (Bird Breeder)

“The simulation taught me to think politically, economically. In the lesson you

learn definitions, that’s the difference. In the simulation you wonder how it works in

reality.“ (Europe 2045)

In contrast to previous students quotes, in questionnaires comparing the subjective-

ly evaluated knowledge acquisition within classic lecture and educational game on

the scale from 1 = the least, 10 = the most knowledge, the average value for game

was 5.8 (SD = 1.9) and classic lecture 7.3 (SD = 1.5). From the following discussion

it emerged that approximately four fifth of the students perceived games and simula-

tions mainly as a tool for practicing and strengthening the knowledge gained by clas-

sic lecture or studying text or on-line sources. This outcome can be influenced by the

strong schooling tradition in the Czech Republic where the curriculum mainly fo-

cused on factual knowledge and “drill and practice” methods (there has been an on-

going school reform in the Czech Republic for the last about 10 years).

Quotations:

“The classic lecture is good to learn facts, in the simulation, we can practice it.”

(Bird Breeder)

“The lecture gives you more information.” (Orbis Pictus Bestialis)

“The game was good because it brought us to situation which we cannot experi-

ence in real life. It is more about the feeling to try it and also to enjoy. When you try

it you can remember it.” (Europe 2045)

The students (31 in total) proposed a combination of classic lecture and education-

al game as the best learning method. Quotations:

“The game is good for practicing. To verify if you understand well.“ (Orbis Pictus

Bestialis)

“Before, the image was hazy, the game has cleared it.” (Europe 2045)

“The lecture with a game has a better effect on remembering.“ (Bird Breeder)

Teachers were generally more optimistic about educational value of

games/simulations however there were quite large differences between each game. In

the case of Europe 2045 teachers generally accepted it as an independent learning

128

tool, while Orbis Pictus Bestialis was in their opinion comparable to classic lecture

and Bird Breeder required additional teacher’s intervention.

Quotations:

“In my opinion, a classic lecture would not offer more. And if yes, only for a short

term, it means that students would use the knowledge only in test and then they would

forget it.“ (Europe 2045)

“A classic lecture and the simulation were in this case comparable. Thanks to the

simulation, they could understand well and we did not need any supportive theoreti-

cal lecture. On the other hand a classic lecture is basically more time effective.“

(Orbis Picture Bestialis)

“I think the simulation is wonderful, it is attractive, it offers a clear image and ex-

planation of the processes. But I still insist on the importance of theoretical explana-

tion, because it helps me to assure that students did not miss any crucial infor-

mation.” (Bird Breeder).

4.2 Real Data: Enhancing Learning and Learning Motivation

Students and teachers similarly appreciated the benefits of real data incorporated in

game or simulation. Approximately one fifth (12 in total) of students spontaneously

commented on importance of real data, which gave opportunity to transfer the

knowledge from game to their appreciation of reality. In the case of Europe 2045, not

only did they appreciate real economic data but also vividness of in-game events and

game feedback. In the case of Orbis Pictus Bestialis, approximately one third of stu-

dents claimed they accepted the virtual dog as a real animal. Five students also com-

plained when an aspect of a game was not as real as they would prefer.

Quotations:

“The game gave me an opportunity to explore the existing ideologies from inside,

now I will be able to see the ideological and political problems from more points of

view.” (Europe 2045)

“I contrasted the game with my own world.” (Europe 2045)

“I learned how to train a real dog.” (Orbis Pictus Bestialis)

“I would appreciate a dog behaves more realistic. He might get fat while eating so

much. He didn’t even sleep.” (Orbis Pictus Bestialis)

Teachers shared students’ opinion. In addition, in Europe 2045 they appreciated

the connection with current socio-political events which can possibly help to deeper

knowledge transfer.

Quotations:

“Students could finally try the functions of decision-making processes and for the

first time they realized what European politicians do. They know that they exist but it

is hard to realize their real purpose. Also they saw the large extent and complexity of

European agenda.” (Europe 2045)

“All my students also read articles from real newspapers about their countries.”

(Europe 2045).

129

4.3 Crucial Role of Teacher

Teachers pointed out the importance of teacher’s good preparation, instant control of

learning process and last but not least a positive attitude towards the game-based

learning process. To incorporate the gaming experience, teachers spent in average one

hour of preparation before each gaming session. To strengthen students’ knowledge,

throughout lessons following the game-playing they constantly referred to game ex-

perience. Furthermore they verified a level of students’ understanding of the given

topic by repeated questioning. Also not every games/simulations are stand-alone

educational tools, not all of them are built on a mechanism forcing students to think

about the crucial processes. Some of them can be solved or even won by simple try-

ing. This was Bird Breeder’s problem in our case. Teachers need to be prepared for

these situations and to be able to provide students with additional reflection to make a

coherent mental model.

Quotations:

“Generally all the learning process can fail with a teacher who does not under-

stand EU and computers.” (Europe 2045)

“When I played the simulation, I did it through my knowledge of genotypes. The

students were only pairing letters [genotype mark], I think they could not understand

it deeply.” (Bird Breeder)

5 Conclusions

The qualitative study collected data from students and teachers using educational

games in their classwork. From our analysis it emerged that majority of students per-

ceive educational games mainly as a tool for practicing and strengthening the

knowledge gained by classic learning and teaching techniques. Generally they appre-

ciate a classic lecture as one of the most efficient method for learning facts, while

games and simulations can in their opinion offer a deeper understanding of inner

connections and factors within presented systems and processes. Teachers supported

educational games as full-fledged learning tool but emphasized a strong need of con-

stant monitoring of learning process because students can miss some important con-

nections.

Both teachers and students agreed on positive value of real-data grounding, which

can enhance learning motivation and possibly also efficient mental model acquisition.

Teachers additionally commented on importance of teachers’ positive attitude to-

wards game-based learning and intense preparation for the classwork.

Our results nowadays serve as a springboard to a consecutive study running at

Charles University: a complex longitudinal comparative study that should help us to

pinpoint features of games that are most promising regarding mental models acquisi-

tion. The results of this study are also directly incorporated into the development

process of the educational game Czechoslovakia 38-89.

130

Acknowledgements

The research was supported by the grant project DF11P01OVV030 “Příběhy z dějin

československého státu: výzkum a experimentální vývoj softwarových simulací pro

výuku historie českých zemí ve 20. století” financed by the Czech Ministry of Culture

and investigated at the Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of

Charles University in Prague and the Institute of Contemporary History of the Acad-

emy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in 2011-2014.

References

1. de Freitas, S., “Learning in immersive worlds”, Joint information systems committee, 2006.

Available: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/eli_outcomes.html

2. Hays, R. T., “The Effectiveness of Instructional Games: A Literature Review and Discus-

sion, Technical Report 2005-04”, Orlando: Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems

Division, 2005.

3. Barab, S., Thomas, M., Dodge, T., Carteaux, R., Tuzun, H., “Making Learning Fun: Quest

Atlantis, A Game Without Guns”, Educational Technology Research & Development, vol.

53, no.1, pp. 86-107, 2005.

4. Kirriemuir, J., McFarlane, A., “Literature Review in Games and Learning”, Nesta Future-

lab series, Report 8, Bristol: Futurelab, 2004.

5. Gee, J. P., “What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy”, New York:

Palgrave/St. Martin’s, 2003.

6. Squire, K., “Game-based Learning: Present and Future State of the Field”, An x-Learn

Perspective Paper, MASIE Center, 2005. Available: https://files.pbworks.com/

download/X5sRuw315P/immersionfall09/12947894/Squire--2005--Game-

Based_Learning.pdf

7. Papastergiou, M., “Digital Game-Based Learning in high school Computer Science educa-

tion: Impact on educational effectiveness and student motivation”, Computers & Educa-

tion, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 1-12, 2009.

8. Sandford, R., Ulicsak, M., Facer, K., Rudd, T., “Teaching with Games: Using commercial

off-the-shelf computer games in formal education”, Bristol: Futurelab, 2006. Available:

http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/project_reports/teaching_with_games/T

WG_report.pdf

9. Egenfeldt-Nielsen, S., “Beyond Edutainment: Exploring the Educational Potential of Com-

puter Games”, PhD thesis, University of Copenhagen, 2005.

10. Sørensen, B. H., Danielsen, O. and Nielsen, J., “Children’s informal learning in the context

of schools of the knowledge society”, Education and Information Technologies, vol. 12, no.

1, pp. 17-27, 2007.

11. Becker, K., “The Invention of Good Games: Understanding Learning Design in Commer-

cial Video Games”, PhD thesis, University of Calgary, 2008.

12. Šisler, V., Brom, C., “Designing Educational Game: Case Study of 'Europe 2045'”, In

Transactions on Edutainment I, New York: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 1-16,

2008.

13. Wastiau, P. et al., “How are digital games used in schools: Complete results of the study”,

European Schoolnet, 2009. Available at: http://games.eun.org/upload/gis-synthesis

_report_en.pdf

131

14. Brom, C., Šisler, V., Slavík, R., “Implementing digital game-based learning in schools:

augmented learning environment of ‘Europe 2045’”. In: Multimedia Systems, vol. 16, no.

1, pp. 23-41, 2010.

15. Brom, C., Preuss, M., Klement, D., “Are Educational Computer Micro-Games Engaging

And Effective For Knowledge Acquisition At High-Schools? A Quasi-Experimental

Study”, Computers & Education, vol. 57, pp. 1971-1988, 2011.

16. Novak, M., Wilensky, U., “NetLogo Bird Breeder model”, Center for Connected Learning

and Computer-Based Modeling, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 2007. Available

at: http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/BirdBreeder.

17. Wilensky, U., “NetLogo, Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling”,

Northwestern University, 1999. Available at: http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo

132