Design and development of a game to improve self-efficacy: A case study of addressing modes learning

Abstract

The low self-efficacy has been an important issue in the design of instructional methods, and its negative effects are mainly shown by the reduced willingness to learn and the high dropout and failure rates. Game-based learning has received attention in the design of instructional methods because of the combination of learning content and games. In this study, we use addressing modes learning in operation system course as a case object to explore the potential of improving the low self-efficacy by game-based learning. To this end, a side-scrolling video game was designed to complete the case study task to examine the effect of game-based learning on solving the low self-efficacy issue. According to the experimental results, there was no difference in learning achievement between the experimental group students who used game-based learning, and the control group students who used traditional learning methods. However, with similar scores in learning achievement, the experimental group students showed higher self-efficacy than the control group students. In addition, it was shown that the game-based learning approach did not impose additional cognitive load.