How to Study Something That Does not (yet) Exist: Making Design Interventions With Learning Games.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	How to Study Something That Does not (yet) Exist: Making Design Interventions With Learning Games.
Authors:	Hanghøj, Thorkild¹ tha@dpu.dk, Meyer, Bente¹ bm@dpu.dk
Source:	Proceedings of the European Conference on Games Based Learning. 2010, p123-130. 8p.
Subject Terms:	Educational games, High school teachers, Education methodology, Activity programs in education, Computer game programming
Abstract:	During recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the educational use of learning games - both among game designers, researchers and educators. At the same time, the processes of studying how educational computer games are being enacted in educational settings face several methodological challenges. As an example, it may be quite difficult to locate and/or follow how teachers teach with particular games on a regular basis. Consequently, many studies of educational games tend to be based upon interventions, where researchers introduce particular game designs to be taught within an educational context. In this way, educational game researchers take an active part in framing the overall aims, meanings, and outcomes of gamebased learning environments. In this paper, we wish to explore different approaches to educational design interventions, and what methodological consequences different design interventions may have. More specifically, we will analyse three studies of learning games carried out within the same research project. The first example involves a series of design interventions with the Global Conflicts games, which was introduced to and taught by a group of Danish secondary teachers. This study was inspired by design-based research, and tried to explore how the game design could be further developed in order to let students write articles based upon their game experience. The second and third examples concerns ethnographically inspired studies of how the game platform Mingoville was used by a group of respectively Finnish and Portuguese teachers and students. Our analysis suggest that there was a significant difference between the way that the teachers tried to fulfill the researchers' agendas and/or accomplish their own goals. The point here is that both design-based research and ethnographic approaches involve interventions, however with different consequences, practices, and meanings involved. The aim of the paper, then, is to discuss different methodological aspects to be considered when conducting educational design interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	During recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the educational use of learning games - both among game designers, researchers and educators. At the same time, the processes of studying how educational computer games are being enacted in educational settings face several methodological challenges. As an example, it may be quite difficult to locate and/or follow how teachers teach with particular games on a regular basis. Consequently, many studies of educational games tend to be based upon interventions, where researchers introduce particular game designs to be taught within an educational context. In this way, educational game researchers take an active part in framing the overall aims, meanings, and outcomes of gamebased learning environments. In this paper, we wish to explore different approaches to educational design interventions, and what methodological consequences different design interventions may have. More specifically, we will analyse three studies of learning games carried out within the same research project. The first example involves a series of design interventions with the Global Conflicts games, which was introduced to and taught by a group of Danish secondary teachers. This study was inspired by design-based research, and tried to explore how the game design could be further developed in order to let students write articles based upon their game experience. The second and third examples concerns ethnographically inspired studies of how the game platform Mingoville was used by a group of respectively Finnish and Portuguese teachers and students. Our analysis suggest that there was a significant difference between the way that the teachers tried to fulfill the researchers' agendas and/or accomplish their own goals. The point here is that both design-based research and ethnographic approaches involve interventions, however with different consequences, practices, and meanings involved. The aim of the paper, then, is to discuss different methodological aspects to be considered when conducting educational design interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	20490992