The study aims to examine the effects of game-based learning on motivation, engagement, and achievement of 9th grade students. A sample of 28 students from an urban high school will participate in pre- and post-assessments and interviews about their motivation and engagement. They will then participate in game-based learning activities using Kahoot, Quizlet Live, and Goosechase for 30 minutes per day over 3 weeks. The study is grounded in constructivist theory, the theory of proximal development, and cognitive theory of multimedia learning. If successful, the findings could inform the use of game-based learning across other content areas and age groups to increase motivation, engagement, and achievement.

1. Enhanced Practices
Game based Learning: An Action
Plan
Meighan Richardson
msrich1118@gmail.co
m

2. “In play a child is always above his average age,
above his daily behavior; in play it is as though he
were a head taller than himself. As in the focus of a
magnifying glass, play contains all developmental
tendencies in a condensed form; in play it is as
though the child were trying to jump above the level
of his normal behavior” (Vygotsky, 1967)
PLAY AS LEARNING

3. The purpose for the study the effect of game-based learning on
motivation, engagement and achievement. The specific goal of
the study is how the pedagogy of game - based learning works in
an urban district with varied learners in the same classroom. The
theories used for the study are: constructivism, theory of proximal
development, and cognitive theory of multimedia learning.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

4. Engagement Through Game Based Learning

5. POPULATION FOR STUDY
The population for the study was a cohort of 9th grade ELA
students composed of 28 regular education learners at the
Jones Leadership Academy of Business in Toledo, Ohio. The
school is a 7-12 urban high school with 200 students, 98% of
whom are African American and on free or reduced lunch. The
sample for this study was one of convenience as they are in my
class five days a week. The rationale is that this information will
be able to be used district wide across content.

6. The Problem
Forty percent of high school students are chronically
disengaged from school” ("Motivation Matters: 40% Of
High School Students Chronically Disengaged From
School", 2019). When motivation is lacking, engagement
is affected, and achievement is lacking. The traditional
way of teaching complex texts is usually teacher lead with
most of the work of making meaning going from the
teacher to the students in hopes that the student will
retain. This pressures the teacher to ensure every learner
understands the material, even more difficult in diverse
settings with reading levels within one classroom varying.

7. THE SOLUTION
Schools should embed the use of game-based learning across the
content areas to increase motivation, engagement, and achievement. The
use of game-based learning is a valuable educational technology innovation
is that it excites learns about the process of learning itself.

8. Theories in Support of Game Based Learning
• Constructivism
• Theory of Proximal Development
• Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning

9. CONSTRUCTIVISM- BRUNER
• Learning is an active process in which learners construct new
ideas or concepts based upon their current/past knowledge.
• The learner selects and transforms information, constructs
hypotheses, and makes decisions, relying on a cognitive
structure to do so.
• The instructor should try and encourage students to discover
principles by themselves.

10. CONSTRUCTIVISM CONTINUED
• The instructor and student should engage in an active dialog.
• The task of the instructor is to translate information to be learned into a
format appropriate to the learner’s current state of understanding.
• Curriculum should be organized in a spiral manner so that the student
continually builds upon what they have already learned.

11. THEORY OF PROXIMAL
DEVELOPMENT VYGOTSKY
● The difference between what a learner can do without
help and what he or she can do with help.
● Human development is a complex interplay between
the processes of natural, biologically determined
development and the cultural development created by
the interaction of a growing individual with other
people.
● (ZPD) as the distance between the level of
independent performance and the level of assisted
performance is probably the most famous Vygotskian
concepts

12. COGNITIVE THEORY OF MULTIMEDIA
LEARNING -MAYER
• There are two separate channels (auditory and visual) for
processing information (sometimes referred to as Dual-Coding
theory)
• Learning is an active process of filtering, selecting, organizing, and
integrating information based upon prior knowledge
• Multimedia instruction helps students learn more deeply through the
process of making multiple models to really understand the material
that is presented to them.

13. Diversity
• Game based learning is effective for
differentiation.
• Using game based learning allows
for the students to learn at their own
paces at their own comfort level.
• Game based learning is accessible
to all learners.

14. Diversity
• Using game-based learning in low
socioeconomic settings can bring
to the forefront.
• Challenges with acquiring and
taking care of devices when
families are transient.
• Keeping backup devices and
charging stations in the school has
become a temporary solution.

15. DATA COLLECTION- TOOLS
● Kahoot- pre-test & post test
● Google Forms- questions in quantitative and qualitative
survey form
● Interviews- narrative

16. FAIR AND RELIABLE TOOLS
Kahoot collects data from the mobile device and it can be uploaded into
a variety of formats. Educators can analyze by class, individual, team, or
question and make decisions based on the data. Teachers have a class
code which must be used to access games and pre and post tests.
Google Forms collects data and is cloud based so data is not lost.
Students must use their assigned Google username and password to
access. Data can be analyzed by group, student or question.

17. KAHOOT

18. GOOGLE FORMS

19. Timeline
❖ Kahoot pretest administered to sample cohort
❖ Data analyzed and games created
❖ Games played 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week for 3
weeks- Quizlet, Goosechase, and Kahoot
❖ Tiered groups created and plays created for
Shakespeare e-portfoilio
❖ Presentations given
❖ Posttest administered

20. STAKEHOLDERS
• Teachers
• Students
• Data Coordinator
• Building Leadership Team
• Parents
* parents may opt of out study

21. Data Analysis
• Kahoot pre-test will be administered
• Interviews about gaming will be conducted and
data collected
• Games in Quizlet Live, Goosechase and
Kahoot will be constructed or added based on
data
• After three weeks of game based learning
opportunities, students will take post
assessments and interviews will be conducted.

22. RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
1. Can game-based learning
increase motivation in current
learners?
2. Can game-based learning
increase engagement in current
learners?

23. Quizlet Live: Engaging
kids in game-based
learning.

24. Summary of Study and
its Implications
The theory of educational technology innovation most applicable in the setting
in which I teach is the use of game-based learning within constructivist theory,
theory of proximal learning and cognitive theory of multimedia learning. With
electronic textbooks, mobile technology, and instantaneous information, the
teacher’s job is to assist students in finding reliable information and applying
and transferring the skill to authentic use of technology. To accomplish this
goal, students need to move into the driver’s seat and educators to the
passenger side. Students require more autonomy in how they learn and make
sense of the content, and teachers need to trust that given the tools, the
student can achieve this goal. Since school-aged children have never been
without technology with the use of multimedia and games in their everyday
lives, educational innovations which embrace technology and by extension
games, are a method with which they are familiar.

25. THE STUDY
The study will be conducted over a three week
period where 28 students will be pre assessed using
Kahoot and Google Forms as well as interviews.
They will be asked questions about motivation and
engagement in school. Further, they will be asked
about their preferred learning styles.
Following the data collection, students will
participate in game based learning using Kahoot,
Quizlet Live and Goosechase. The will play 30
minutes a day, 3 days a week during the study.
When finished, students will take post assessments
and exit interviews.
If the study is successful in showing a
connection between game based learning and
motivation, engagement and achievement, this
information can be applied to other age groups and
other content areas.

26. REFERENCES
Bodrova, E., & Leong, D. J. (2017, 03). The Vygotskian and Post-Vygotskian
Approach. Theories of Early Childhood Education, 58-70.
doi:10.4324/9781315641560-5
Constructivist Theory (Jerome Bruner) - InstructionalDesign.org. (2019). Retrieved
from https://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/constructivist/
Davidson, N., & Major, C. H. (2014). Boundary crossings: Cooperative learning,
collaborative learning, and problem-based learning. Journal on Excellence in
College Teaching, 25(3&4), 7-55.

27. REFERENCES CONTINUED...
Garrett-Rucks, P., Howles, L., & Lake, W. M. (2014, 12). Enhancing L2 Reading Comprehension with
Hypermedia Texts: Student Perceptions. CALICO Journal, 32(1), 26-51.
doi:10.1558/calico.v32i1.26131
Licorish, S., Owen, H., Daniel, B., & George, J. (2018). Students’ perception of
Kahoot!’s influence on teaching and learning. Research And Practice In Technology Enhanced
Learning, 13(1). doi: 10.1186/s41039-018-0078-8

28. REFERENCES CONTINUED...
Martínez, J. D., Rigo, E., & Jiménez, R. (2017, 01). Multimedia and Textual Reading
Comprehension: Multimedia as Personal Learning Environment’s Enriching
Format. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 6(1), 3-10.
doi:10.7821/naer.2017.1.180
Mayer, R. E. (2014). Computer games for learning. An evidence-based approach.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
Sharp, L. (2014). Literacy in the Digital Age. Language And Literacy Spectrum, v24,
p74-85