Serious games research shows that games can increase engagement and improve learning outcomes over traditional instruction, but the impact of specific elements of serious games has yet to be fully explored across many contexts. Additionally, many existing intervention studies omit the details of the game design and development theory that informed…

This dissertation observed and analyzed the experiences of five higher education students participating in a modified tabletop role-playing game (TRPG) intentionally modified for teaching adaptive leadership concepts. The study observed participants' capacity to learn the adaptive leadership concepts taught throughout the game and the ways in…

The Gamification Game ON! Starter Kit provides educators with resources and instruction to create a gamified classroom. This kit aims to simplify the process for educators while maintaining their creative freedom, and outlines a summary of the research, design, and development of an educator kit to incorporate gamification in their classroom.…

The Gamification Game ON! Starter Kit provides educators with resources and instruction to create a gamified classroom. This kit aims to simplify the process for educators while maintaining their creative freedom, and outlines a summary of the research, design, and development of an educator kit to incorporate gamification in their classroom.…

Registered nurses (RNs) working in today's healthcare environment must consistently learn new knowledge and skills, keep abreast of practice changes, and implement strategies to improve patient outcomes. However, healthcare organizations face significant challenges as they attempt to facilitate efficient training. Nursing professional development…

Given the connection between problem-solving and computational thinking (CT), studying the connections between these two constructs is critical. This study focused on students' computational problem-solving strategies, specifically how they applied conditional logic to solve CT-related puzzles within a game-based learning environment called…

Creativity is an important part of education. Teachers need to be able to understand and develop creativity to be able to successfully model it for their students. They can achieve this through pre-service training. Past research has provided implications in pre-service training that helped pre-service teachers develop creativity, albeit from a…

This dissertation follows a manuscript-style format, beginning with an introduction and literature review, followed by three distinct studies and a concluding section. All three studies use "Lucky Codes," an educational board game designed to foster computational thinking skills in elementary students, as the intervention. The first…

This study explored the dynamic interplay of social constructivism, game-based learning, and communities of practice in the context of teachers using Minecraft as an educational tool. This study used a teacher survey to collect insights from teachers who use Minecraft and are members of the Minecraft Teachers' Lounge. The research investigated how…

We are witnessing an excitement about digital games and related immersive media as these become ever more prevalent in the world. Governments, private companies, and research institutes are investing in these technologies in hopes of transforming education. However, while scholarship on digital game-based learning has been steadily growing over…

Students across the nation struggle with learning mathematics for a variety of reasons such as the abstract nature, there is only one correct answer and how math is foundational. With the recent increase in the use of digital programs, school districts across the nation have turned to digital math programs for math intervention and learning.…

Student behavior is a major concern for all teachers as classroom management is key to improving educational outcomes. Despite many schools utilizing punitive strategies, research suggests that positive behavior intervention supports (PBIS) are more appropriate and effective at improving student behavior. One such intervention, the Good Behavior…

This dissertation delves into the pedagogical implications of handheld/mobile game features on EFL learners' vocabulary learning outcomes. The research is segmented into two comprehensive studies. The first study, a systematic review spanning from 2011 to July 2022, scrutinizes empirical research detailing the correlation between various game…

Struggling math students often have difficulty developing a sense of self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation to learn math, which has been found to predict future math achievement (Pitsia et al., 2017). Conventional methods of math instruction and assessment may provoke elevated levels of math anxiety for many students, which has been found to…

The current study aimed to contribute to the literature by implementing an intervention that examines the effects of explicit metacognitive strategy training and prompts embedded within a Game-Based Learning Environment (GBLE), "Missions with Monty," on metacognitive monitoring accuracy, game performance, and science knowledge of…