Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
AECT2021 International Conference, Illinois, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, 2 - 06 Kasım 2021, ss.1
It is stated that educational digital
games increase students' motivation (Sung, Hwang, and Yen, 2015) and positive attitudes
towards the lesson (Hwang et al., 2012), support participation and engagement in
the learning process (Byun ve Loh, 2015), and provide more interesting and
enjoyable learning environment (Ronimus, Kujala, Tolvanen, and Lyytinen, 2014).
It is also stated that game-based systems improve students' programming skills,
problem solving and analytical thinking skills (Ternik, Koron, Koron, and
Šerbec, 2017). Therefore, digital games are a suitable solution in teaching
programming subjects, which include abundant abstract subjects, to children.
However, while trying to reveal the teaching aspect in the design of
educational digital games, game elements and fun components remain in the
background. This situation decreases the motivation of the student and causes
disconnection from the game (Kiili, 2005). One of the important components to
consider in game design is player types. Game preferences and habits of
individuals affect the effectiveness of educational games (Manero et al.,
2016). For this reason, in the game design process, the adaptability of the
game according to the preferences of the player can increase the effectiveness
of the game (Ferro et al., 2013). In this context, it is stated that using
digital games and adaptive systems together will increase the effectiveness of
the learning and teaching process and the motivation of the player. Because
adaptive systems allow students to learn according to their performance,
individual characteristics, and needs (Zapušek and Rugelj, 2013). From this
point of view, an adaptive digital game suitable for player types was designed
for teaching programming to secondary school students. The digital game
designed in the study was developed within the scope of the TÜBİTAK 1001
118R034 project titled "Development of Game-Based Adaptive Environment for
Programming Instruction for Secondary School Students and Investigating the
Effect on Students' Computational Thinking Skills".
The game prepared within the scope of the
project includes 5 main games and 37 sub-games. In this study, the design and
evaluation of 11 sub-games in one main game designed for teaching algorithm and
variable-constant topics are presented. The learning outcomes for programming,
player types, game components, and adaptation criteria were taken into
consideration in the game design. In this context, while preparing the game
scenario; the programming gains of the Ministry of National Education for
secondary school students were taken as the basis. Each game has been adapted
for four player types as achiever, socializer, explorer and Killer, and the
games are designed to be novice,
beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert levels. Besides, in the design of
each game, designs were made by considering six game components: goal,
challenge, reward, rules, components, and scenario (Prensky, 2001). In 11 games, 5 games are designed for
algorithm teaching and 6 games are designed for teaching algorithm, variable,
and constant.
The study was conducted with the
developmental research method Type1, one of the design-based research methods.
Developmental research method Type 1 studies focus on the development of a
specific educational product, program, process, or tool (Kuzu et al., 2011;
Richey and Klein, 2005). Design, development, and evaluation phases of the
project were conducted by a 14-person working group. The design and development
phase were carried out by 4 experts, and the evaluation phase was carried out
by the entire project team.
During the development phase, both the
characters and the objects to be used in the game were designed. Animations for
the interaction of the characters in the game were created, the codes written
for the animations and the animations of the characters and their control in
the game were provided. During the development phase, the player type
adaptation was also made. For this, different game elements have been added to
be used by each player type in solving the problem in the game scenario. The
preferences of the player are determined in line with the items to be selected,
and the decision made on how to use these items and the updates in the player
types are checked with the FAHP (Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process) module. At
the start of the game, student selections are taken for the FAHP module to
determine the importance of the student for the player type, to calculate the
criterion weights of the elements in the game component pools, and to create
the game scene. On the selection screen, the student can choose the game
elements that are automatically listed by the system for their player type, or
they can make a different choice. In this case, the preferences made by the
player are evaluated by the FAHP module and the criterion weights of the player
type are dynamically updated in the next game.
In the evaluation phase, design and
development studies were evaluated. In the regular project meetings, the
evaluations of 6 field experts were recorded and the audio recordings were
transcribed, and content analysis was made. As a result of the analysis, it was
determined that the games were evaluated in terms of programming gains,
playability, and design components. The necessary arrangements have been made
with the evaluations made during both the design and development phases. The
final version of the game was re-evaluated by 6 experts according to the
programming gains, playability and design components, and the game was
finalized. At the end of the study, a three-dimensional digital educational
game that can be adapted according to player preferences and features was
developed. Ike and Hoe (2020) stated that in educational digital games, the
presence of the fun element inherent in the game is important as it satisfies
the psychological needs of students and provides behavioral change. In this study,
a design aiming to increase the motivation of the players in the game by
prioritizing player preferences and fun has been developed. The game developed
is an exemplary study for educators and designers as it is an educational game
suitable for programming gains at the secondary school level and an adaptive
game for player types.