This paper situates a critical review of studies that we have conducted within the broader research literature to analyze the affordances of integrating modeling within disciplinarily-integrated games from computational thinking and science as practice perspectives. Across the studies, the analyses pursue two themes: (a) the role of agent-based…

Mission HydroSci (MHS) is a 3D game-based learning environment and curriculum that supports middle school student learning of water systems science and scientific argumentation. MHS is a rigorous, coherent and engaging 6 to 8-day curriculum with all learning activities and social interactions taking place in the virtual world and with teachers…

This design case describes design decisions and their impacts during three redesigns of an educational game called the "Rocks and Minerals Challenge." This game was developed as a laboratory supplement for the rocks and minerals component of a university-based geology course. The game has evolved through three distinct design phases:…

This article aims to contribute new knowledge about the media literacies children assemble as they play the digital game "Minecraft" which it describes as a children's digital making platform. The article argues media literacy's tendency to use socio-cultural and humanist accounts of media participation limit its ability to fully explain…

Deviant behavior has become a daunting problem lately. More pupils are displaying abnormal behavior and thus destabilizing learning processes within school settings. It is a well-known fact that teenagers usually learn how to adapt to society and that aberrant behavior may lead to problems with conformity to societal values. Although the main…

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in learning achievement, flow, and overall cognitive load between digital game-based learning (DGBL) and traditional computer-based learning (CBL). This study was conducted with 103 Taiwan college students: 50 college students in the experimental group used DGBL; 53 students in the control group…

The rate of digital media usage among eight to 18-year-old students, since late 1990s, has risen by over 30%, yet the official acceptance of such technology for educational outcomes remains limited. Due to such a remarkable growth of digital media usage in absence of formal educational recognition, researchers began to explore how specifically…

The present work reviewed the literature associated with the low levels of student achievement in literacy among early grade students in Brazil, the problem of practice. Under an ecological systems theory perspective, I identified that the usage of assessments, phonological awareness instruction, and quality learning materials could be key factors…

This paper explores the relationship between digital games and learning along the continuum from formal to informal learning. Games are an increasingly important component of our learning ecologies but their potential can prove difficult to fully harness due to the downsides of gaming in informal contexts and to the limitations games can present…

Across stages of acquisition, second language (L2) competencies are contingent on the variation among individuals learning the language, in both informal and formal learning contexts. This study investigates a group of outliers whose extreme test scores serve as a foundation to examine them as individuals. The study addresses the outliers'…

Traditional teaching methods rely solely on the use of textbooks, but teaching effectiveness assessment methods have demonstrated that most students taught by this method do not absorb the course content up to the expected level. Multiple researchers have introduced nontraditional teaching methods, but there is no scientific consensus on the best…

This review examines the second language acquisition (SLA) literature with regard to the role of "massively multiplayer online games" (MMOGs) in second language (L2) learning. It focuses on commercially developed off-the-shelf (COTS) MMOGs only (some of them modified for educational purposes such as Reinders' & Wattana's work). It…

This study examined the effects of two types of Information communication technology and media (ICT/media) use on college access using ICT/media to obtain college information as a mediator paying focused attention to English language learners. The study analyzed the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS) from the US Department of Education,…

Gamified Authentic Mobile Enquiry in Society (GAMES) is a GPS-supported mobile application for gamifying social enquiry learning in outdoor environments. Teachers are always the "educational innovation gatekeepers" in schools. This paper reports on a 3-year study in which the Stages of Concern model was employed as a quantitative…

Evaluating the subjective playing experience and engagement in learning is important in the design of advanced learning technologies (ALTs) that respond to the learners' cognitive and emotional states. This article addresses students' attitudes toward an educational game, Heroes of Math Island, and their responses to the emotional agent, an…