TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAY? A CASE STUDY OF TEACHERS’ CONFIDENCE AND PERCEPTION WITH REGARD TO DIGITAL GAMES AT SCHOOL
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Published:
May 8, 2019
Keywords:
Game Based Learning (GBL), Digital Games, Teachers’ Perception, Teachers’ Attitudes, Case Study
Main Article Content
Abstract
Teachers’ perception of the use of games for learning is a crucial aspect for the creation of Game-Based Learning experiences. At the same time, solid research on this point is still lacking. For this reason, this study analyses the confidence, knowledge and attitudes of teachers in an Italian school in the context of the use of digital games in teaching activities. To this end, we administered both the TPACK-G and ADGBL questionnaires, and conducted two focus groups. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the results of the questionnaires, and qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the focus group discussions. Results show that the teachers’ perception is characterised by several not necessarily interrelated aspects: they make sense of game based learning by comparing it with traditional didactics; they usually organise teaching activities with games to reach traditional goals (e.g. summative evaluation, individual study, etc.); and finally, they seem to be in a transitionary phase during which games have not yet been internalised as a resource for innovation.
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Articles - Special Issue
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Benassi, A. (2013). Videogames and collateral learning. Italian Journal of Educational Technology, 21(3), 141-144.
Casey, M. A., & Krueger, R. A. (1994). Focus group interviewing. In Measurement of food preference (pp. 77-96). Boston, MA, USA: Springer.
Chi, M. T. (1997). Quantifying qualitative analyses of verbal data: A practical guide. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 6(3), 271-315.
Clark, D. B., Tanner-Smith, E. E., & Killingsworth, S. S. (2016). Digital games, design, and learning: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 86(1), 79-122.
Eco, U. (2011). Apocalittici e integrati: comunicazioni di massa e teorie della cultura di massa. Firenze, IT: Giunti.
Felicia, P. (2009). Digital games in schools. A handbook for teachers. Brusséls: European Schoolnet. Retrieved from http://games.eun.org/upload/gis_handbook_en.pdf
Gee, J. P. (2004). Situated language and learning: A critique of traditional schooling. New York, NY, USA: Routledge.
Gee, J. P. (2013). Come un videogioco. Insegnare e apprendere nella scuola digitale. Milano, IT: Raffaello Cortina Editore.
Hamari, J., & Nousiainen, T. (2015, January). Why do teachers use game-based learning technologies? The role of individual and institutional ICT readiness. In System Sciences (HICSS), 2015 48th Hawaii International Conference (pp. 682-691). IEEE.
Hsu, C. Y., Liang, J. C., Chai, C. S., & Tsai, C. C. (2013). Exploring preschool teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge of educational games. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 49(4), 461-479.
Kiili, K. (2005). Digital game-based learning: Towards an experiential gaming model. The Internet and higher education, 8(1), 13-24.
Ligorio, M. B., Loperfido, F. F., & Sansone, N. (2013). Dialogical positions as a method of understanding identity trajectories in a collaborative blended university course. International Journal of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning.
McClarty, K. L., Orr, A., Frey, P. M., Dolan, R. P., Vassileva, V., & McVay, A. (2012). A literature review of gaming in education [Research Report]. Gaming in education, 1-35.
Perrotta, C., Featherstone, G., Aston, H., & Houghton, E. (2013). Game-based Learning: Latest Evidence and Future Directions (NFER Research Programme: Innovation in Education). Slough, UK: NFER.
Persico, D., Dagnino, F., Earp, J., Manganello, F., Passarelli, M., Pozzi, F.,..., Bailey, C. (2017). Report on interviews with experts and informants. Gaming Horizons Deliverable D2.3. Retrieved from https://www.gaminghorizons.eu/deliverables/
Potter, W. J., & Levine-Donnerstein, D. (1999). Rethinking validity and reliability in content analysis. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 27(3), 258 – 284.
Ritella, G., Martinelli, M., Loperfido, F. F., & Ligorio, M. B. (2015). Tecnologie (in)visibili: appropriazione in un percorso di training professionale. Italian Journal of Educational Technology, 23(1),19-25.
Rivoltella, P. C. (2015). Smart future. Teaching, Digital Media and Inclusion: Teaching, Digital Media and Inclusion. Milano, IT: FrancoAngeli.
Squire, K., Giovanetto, L, Devane, B., & Durga, S. (2005). From users to designers: Building a self-organizing game-based learning environment. TechTrends, 49(5), 34-42.
Veldhuis-Diermanse, A. E. (2002). CSCLearning? participation, learning, activities and knowledge construction in computer-supported collaborative learning in higher education. Retrieved from http://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/319732