Mental models, meaning, & games: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of player meaning making in a complex STEM themed video game

This research addressed increasing understanding of how players make meaning during play of a complex STEM game and explores to what extent player mental models of STEM concepts shift as a result of interacting with the game simulation. Game based learning is attracting increased attention and interest as a novel platform for experiential learning, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The affordances of real-time interactive simulations in video games are being leveraged to create complex games for learning, designed with components arranged to reflect models of real-world systems in physical, biological, and social sciences. To build these models, designers use the complex multimedia nature of video games to encode and represent information in an array of game components with key attributes and relationships with one another, to provide a system that players can interact with to achieve game goals. Much work has been done to study outcomes of learning games in terms of post-intervention knowledge assessments, but relatively little has been done to explore the process of player mental model construction and adaptation at the level of specific interactions with components over time. This research aims to expand understanding of how players make meaning during gameplay in the STEM themed game Oxygen not Included, specifically through their interaction with game objects and their relationships. Using the approach of interpretative phenomenological analysis, in conjunction with formal analysis of gameplay and continuous think-aloud interview techniques, this work endeavored to collect rich qualitative data on player meaning-making processes during gameplay to address the following research questions: What major themes of interpretation can be identified for youth meaning making of knowledge structures in games for learning? To what extent do player mental models of STEM phenomena that are modeled in game shift during play? What are design implications and recommendations for learning game designers based on these results? (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Sensors, Students, and Self: Exploring Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Interest Impact of Ocean Sensor Learning on High School Marine Science Students.

This study examined the effect of online technical lessons of how ocean sensors function on student interest in ocean science technology, as well as knowledge gain outcomes. Additionally, the study contributes novel findings to sensor-based learning literature by measuring changes to self-efficacy and confidence gains stemming from sensor-based learning, as well as changes in interest in ocean careers. The area of educational focus was also novel-focusing on how the sensors themselves function, not just what they do. Precipitated by COVID-19 pandemic constraints, the team used a remote learning approach to provide lessons on sensors at a distance, providing an additional opportunity to contrast this approach with previously studied hands-on learning modes. A sample of students from four high school marine science classes completed two assessments both before and after a series of lessons on ocean sensors. This included a self-reported survey (N = 48), and an open-ended knowledge assessment (N = 40). Results showed modest gains in knowledge assessments, and students experienced statistically significant gains in confidence in their ability to explain what sensors are, confidence in their ability to use sensors and understand resulting data, and confidence in accuracy of sensor data (p < 0.05). No changes were observed for several measures of interest in ocean technology, nor were there changes in an already high belief that understanding these sensors is important to marine science careers. Notably, these findings measure a positive shift in several measures of self-efficacy and confidence, which is a new finding for sensor-based learning. The findings also contrast with prior related work that included hands-on activities with sensors, which reported an increase in interest after working with sensors, whereas this intervention did not. This suggests a hands-on component is key to increasing interest in ocean technology.

Families Playing Animal Crossing Together: Coping With Video Games During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic was stressful for everyone, particularly for families who had to supervise and support children, facilitate remote schooling, and manage work and home life. We consider how families coped with pandemic-related stress using the video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Combining a family coping framework with theorizing about media as a coping tool, this interview study of 27 families (33 parents and 37 children) found that parents and children individual coped with pandemic-related stress with media. Parents engaged in protective buffering of their children with media, taking on individual responsibility to cope with a collective problem. Families engaged in communal coping, whereby media helped the family cope with a collective problem, taking on shared ownership and responsibility. We provide evidence for video games as coping tools, but with the novel consideration of family coping with media.