The effects of computer games on primary school students’ achievement and motivation in geography learning Hakan Tuzun 1, Meryem Yilmaz Soylu 1, Turkan Karakus 2, Yavuz Inal 2, & Gonca Kizilkaya 1 AERA 2008, New York, NY March 25, Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey 2 Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Introduction Geography’s study area is “the world and all that is in it” (Fitzpatrick, 1993, p.156) Interpreting ordinary issues in our era requires a solid understanding of geographic issues Interest in teaching and learning about geography is declining on the contrary (McNally III, 1987) Many studies have pointed to the changing student characteristics in the new era, and indicated the need for a shift to a new pedagogy Computer games have emerged as a frontier for geography education

Purpose The general purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of a computer game in geography learning by primary school students. Specifically, the following questions were examined: What is the achievement of students learning through the game-based learning environment?, What is the nature of learners’ motivation in the game-based learning environment and how this motivation differs from their traditional school environment?, And what are the implementation issues when a computer game is used in geography curriculum?

Method ICT impact could not be fully understood without considering the whole educational context (Solomon, 1990) A mixed-method approach was undertaken A Combination of Quantitative (pre and post tests) Qualitative (observations, interviews, open- ended questions, digital records)

Research context Naturalistic school environment A private K-8 elementary school embedded in a state university in the center part of Turkey 1240 students between the ages of 7 and 14 with avarage class size teachers and 37 support personnel 3 computer rooms, each equipped with 15 networked computers and a whiteboard

Study context The school was part of a EU Comenious project 17 schools from 15 countries have participated to stimulate their students, aged 3 to 15, towards acquiring information, and working and learning together including new technologies in order to learn about similarities and differences among the world countries The project required the participating schools a) conduct on-site activities among local students, b) produce artifacts reflecting information related to their school, city, country, geography, and culture, and c) integrate these artifacts through collaborative activities among international project partners. The game implementation at this school served as part of this Comenius project, specifically functioning as one of the on-site activities among local students.

Participants Comenius Classroom (CC) consisted of 24 students 12 girls and 12 boys from 4th and 5th grades English fluency was above the avarage Capable of using word processing and presentation software and utilizing the Internet for research and communication All have computer at home and many of them played computer games Social and economic status of the students were above the avarage

Design of the GBL environment An educational computer game, Quest Atlantis (QA) was employed 21st-Century Curriculum: Reflexive Play Spaces and the Quest Atlantis Project Thursday, March 27, 2008, 12:25 pm to 1:55 pm New York Marriott Marquis Times Square QA is a Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE) immersing players into a rich narrative to complete curricular activities called as Quests QA is a socio-technical structure that facilitates learners in critiquing and improving themselves QA contains many components taking time to implement in any school or after-school context “Global Village” was developed in the QA universe

Implementation The CC utilized the game environment for 3 weeks, an hour a day once a week Computer teacher responsible from Comenius project and two other teachers guided and supported all implementation activities 24 students participated in the first week’s implementation that started by informing students about the procedure 17 students participated in the second and third week’s implementation activities

Quantitative data sources Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used Instruments for collecting quantitative data included an achievement test and a motivation scale An achievement test that was multiple-choice type including 17 questions was developed A motivation scale was developed based on the work of Lepper, Corpus, and Iyengar (2005) Two versions of the motivation scale were developed: One for measuring motivation of students learning in their traditional school context, and the other for measuring motivation of students learning in the game-based learning context

Qualitative data sources Four open-ended questions were asked through a paper-based instrument to qualitatively evaluate students’ learning and motivation “What did you learn about continents and countries while exploring the Global Village?,” “How and where you may use the information you obtained?,” “How did you feel while collecting information in the Global Village; was it fun or boring?,” “What would you recommended to your friends using Global Village in the future?” A digital audio recorder, digital camera, and 16-page single-spaced observation records, 2 interviews

Events during the implementation

Data analysis 13 students (4 girls and 9 boys) attended all sessions during implementation A paired-sample t-test was conducted to compare students’ learning before and after the intervention to compare intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of students between the school and game context Open coding of observation records (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) 44 codes were obtained grouped under three categories: Implementation context The GBL environment General implementation isues

Quantitative results For pre-achievement test; M = 6.2, SD = 1.0 For post-achievement test; M = 8.6, SD = 2.4 Difference was statistically significant (t(12) = 4.09, p <.01) For game context; M = 31.4, SD = 6.7 For school context; M = 27.6, SD = 7.2 Difference was statistically significant (t(12) = 2.21, p <.05) Intrinsic motivation; For game context; M = 27.8, SD = 6.0 For school context; M = 31.7, SD = 5.5 Difference was statistically significant (t(12) = 3.32, p <.01) Extrinsic motivation; Achievement;

Quantitative results – Motivational constructs

Qualitative results - 1 GBL Environment General characteristics a 3D MUVE (transporting, communicating) Learning activities were presented with a general goal and sub-goals with a storyline encompassing all of these goals These general characteristics resulted in a fun learning experience General characteristics generated 4 affordences Exploration (afforded by 3D MUVE) Interaction (afforded by 3D MUVE, use of avatars, and chat tool) Collaboration (afforded by interaction and the open space in the middle of the computer rooms ) Presence (afforded by all game characteristics) Follow me This is a nice place Where are you?, I am in the house, Which of them? I have seen you Let’s meet at the Japanese flag Dive into the pond

Qualitative results - 2 General implementation issues Expectation of players: Players had high expectations from the game environment Players’ interest toward the game: Students played the game with great interest and enthusiasm Role of teachers: Many technical and non-technical problems arose, The support given by teachers Interviews supported the findings from observations

Discussion - 1 Students achieved statistically significant learning gains When compared to the traditional school environment, students had statistically significant higher intrinsic motivations and statistically significant lower extrinsic motivations while learning through the game- based learning environment. Moreover, they had decreased focus on getting grades and they were more independent while participating in game-based activities. Computer games can be utilized in formal learning environments to support students in learning about geography The affordances of exploration, interaction, collaboration, and immersion in computer games may provide rich opportunities for geography learning In the areas of spatial, area studies, man-land inquires, and earth science studies

Discussion – 2 Teachers seemed to have transformed roles in game-based learning environments. Lecturer  guide and manager Problems originating from technology, flexibility in designs against problems Good documentations from instructional designers Support staff cultivated with awareness to emergent problems in instructional designs involving rich technologies

Discussion – 3 Aesthetic elements in game designs must have intentions Games embrace the characteristics of the new pedagogy the authenticity through which learners deal with issues that have local and global significance by using real- world data the relevancy of geography education to personal interests students’ undertaking more responsibility in their learning instructors’ shifting roles as facilitators in learning contexts

Questions & Comments Thank you for your participation! Quest Atlantis is supported by NSF, NASA, and MacArthur Foundation. Contact: Dr. Hakan TUZUN Web: