Paper Info
Title
The concept of flow in collaborative game-based learning
Abstract
Generally, high-school students have been characterized as bored and disengaged from the learning process. However, certain educational designs promote excitement and engagement. Game-based learning is assumed to be such a design. In this study, the concept of flow is used as a framework to investigate student engagement in the process of gaming and to explain effects on game performance and student learning outcome. Frequency 1550, a game about medieval Amsterdam merging digital and urban play spaces, has been examined as an exemplar of game-based learning. This 1-day game was played in teams by 216 students of three schools for secondary education in Amsterdam. Generally, these students show flow with their game activities, although they were distracted by solving problems in technology and navigation. Flow was shown to have an effect on their game performance, but not on their learning outcome. Distractive activities and being occupied with competition between teams did show an effect on the learning outcome of students: the fewer students were distracted from the game and the more they were engaged in group competition, the more students learned about the medieval history of Amsterdam. Consequences for the design of game-based learning in secondary education are discussed.
Year
DOI
Venue
2011
10.1016/j.chb.2010.12.013
Computers in Human Behavior
Keywords
Field
DocType
Game-based learning,Engagement,Collaborative learning,Secondary education
Social psychology,Experiential learning,Collaborative learning,Active learning,Game mechanics,Psychology,Game design document,Game design,Student engagement,Game Developer
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
27
3
Computers in Human Behavior
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
53
1.98
12
Authors
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Wilfried Admiraal129521.12
Jantina Huizenga21788.47
Sanne Akkerman31769.56
Geert Ten Dam41717.96