From Karl Kapp’s post: Abstracts of Three Meta-Analysis Studies of Serious Games:
- Serious games were found to be more effective in terms of learning and retention than conventional instruction methods.
- Mixed results concerning if learning games are more motivating or not than traditional instruction.
- Games should be supplemented with other instruction methods.
- Games should be played in multiple training sessions.
- Games should be played in group.
- Games appear to increase learner confidence (self-efficacy).
- Games help increase declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge and retention over traditional non-interactive training.
- There is strong evidence of publication bias in games research.
- Trainees learned more, relative to a comparison group, when simulation games conveyed course material actively rather than passively.
- Learning occurred when learners could access the game as many times as desired.
- As above, the game was more effective when it was a supplement to other instructional methods rather than stand-alone instruction.
- Learners learned less from simulation games than comparison instructional methods when the instruction the comparison group received as a substitute for the game actively engaged them in the learning experience.(so activity, not game elements seems to increase the learning).
- The most frequently occurring outcomes and impacts of games for learning were knowledge acquisition/content understanding and affective and motivational outcomes.
