Authors:
Renny S. N. Lindberg
;
Aziz Hasanov
and
Teemu H. Laine
Affiliation:
Ajou University, Korea, Republic of
Keyword(s):
Learning Styles, Play Styles, Educational Games, Adaptation, Programming Education.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Computer-Supported Education
;
e-Learning
;
e-Learning Platforms
;
Game-Based and Simulation-Based Learning
;
Learning/Teaching Methodologies and Assessment
;
Simulation and Modeling
;
Simulation Tools and Platforms
Abstract:
The drive to teach programming to K-12 students has amplified in the past few years as several European
countries have added programming to their national curricula. Teaching programming is not simple as even
older students struggle with the topic. Educational games have been shown to increase motivation and learning
efficiency, and many games have been created to teach programming. Adaptation is a technique that
could improve these benefits even further by personalizing the game to learners in a heterogeneous group. In
this study we presented Minerva, an adaptive programming education game designed for elementary school
students. The game uses Bartle’s Player Types and Honey and Mumford’s Learning Style Questionnaire to
adapt gameplay and learning content to match the player’s styles. We tested Minerva with 33 6th grade South
Korean students using a post-test questionnaire, interviews, and a game log that was designed to keep track
of the students’ profiles and how Minerva
adapted to them. Based on the results, we proposed how Minerva’s
adaptation system can be improved in the future. This paper can be of interest to anyone researching possible
uses of adaptivity in (programming) education games.
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