Reconstructing Oneself Through Game-Based Learning

This paper reports findings from a mixed-methods study supporting twenty 9th grade students' learning as identity change in a yearlong game-based learning course. Three games - Dimension M, Physicus, and Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 (RCT3) - were used for mathematics, science, and social studies from September 2010 through June 2011. We examine the following research question: "To what extent does PCaRD facilitate learning as identity change, as defined by Projective Reflection?" Projective Reflection operationalizes learning as identity change by providing opportunities for identity exploration, building content knowledge, promoting interest and personal valuing, and facilitating regulated actions in specific academic domains (Foster 2014). The Play, Curricular activity, Reflection, Discussion (PCaRD) model (Foster & Shah 2015), designed to integrate games in classrooms, served as the pedagogical process to facilitate identity change. Specifically, PCaRD drove the process of Projective Reflection, allowing students to reconstruct their identities as learners in terms of what they knew, how they thought, what they cared about, how they saw themselves, what they wanted to be, and what they expected to be, in relation to academic domains. Data sources included interviews, in-class participant and video observations, and pre-post assessments for knowledge, intrinsic motivation, and self-regulation. Match-paired t-test analyses were conducted to measure students' knowledge gains and motivation in the subject areas. Interviews and observations were coded to document the projective reflection process via PCaRD activities. Projective Reflection data were triangulated based on interviews and surveys that targeted current and future identities. We report the statistical findings for knowledge gains and changes in motivation for all participants. We also present one case illustrating the extent to which PCaRD facilitated learning as identity change, as defined by Projective Reflection, from the start to the end of the yearlong intervention. We conclude with implications for educators and researchers interested in facilitating identity change using game-based learning.