Investigating 3rd Graders’ Behavioral Patterns of Playing an Educational Game for Learning Light and Shadow

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the students ’ game -playing behaviors and learning outcomes in terms of their different levels of prior knowledge . Based on the measurement of a pretest, 22 out of 44 third -graders were divided into high and low prior knowledge groups. They all played a game integrating the design of a self-explanation prompt. The log d ata of the game were analyzed by sequential anal ysis to visualize the game -playing patterns. The students ’ conceptual understanding was evaluated through a pretest and a posttest that occurred right after the treatment. The results indicate that although the design of the self-explanation prompt s could engag e the players in reflection on the causes of their failure during game -playing, it still had some limitation s when it came to improving the students ’ learning outcomes. Possible suggestions are proposed for future studies.