Designing cognitive-based game mechanisms for mobile educational games to promote cognitive thinking: an analysis of flow state and game-based learning behavioral patterns

ABSTRACT

This study proposed a cognitive-based game mechanism based on the revised Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive processing dimensions. Moreover, a mobile Chinese history educational game, Void Broken: The Qing Dynasty, was developed based on the cognitive-based game mechanism to promote learners’ cognitive thinking in history learning. This empirical study conducted an experiment with a quasi-experiment design and the participants were 70 high school freshmen from northern Taiwan, who were selected by convenience sampling. The present study analyzed the participants’ historical knowledge gains and flow state. This study proposed an operational behavior coding scheme to analyze learning behaviors and evaluate the proposed cognitive-based game mechanism design and conducted sequential analyses to explore their learning behavioral patterns and their collaborative problem solving (CPS) behaviors in the game-based learning (GBL) process. The results suggested that the mechanism helped learners’ historical knowledge gains, flow, and CPS behaviors. The high flow groups showed more multifaceted and active problem-solving behavioral patterns than the low flow groups. We suggest educational game designers consider including the cognitive-based game mechanism and flow antecedents into their game designs.

KEYWORDS:

• Game-based learning
• collaborative problem solving
• behavioral pattern
• flow
• cognitive design
• game mechanisms

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the projects from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Republic of China, under contract number MOST- 107-2511-H-011 -003 -MY3 and MOST-108-2511-H-011 -003 -MY3.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan [Grant Number MOST-107-2511-H-011-003-MY3, MOST-108-2511-H-011-003-MY3].

Notes on contributors

Yi-Shiuan Chou

Yi-Shiuan Chou is a doctoral student of National Taiwan Normal University. His particular research interests include game-based learning and learning through digital technology.

Huei-Tse Hou

Prof. Huei-Tse Hou is a Professor of Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. He is also the Director of Mini-Educational Game development Group in E-learning Research Center in National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST MEG). His research interest focuses on e-Learning systems, behavioral pattern analysis and game-based learning systems.

Kuo-En Chang

Prof. Kuo-En Chang is a Professor of Graduate Institute of Information and Computer Education, National Taiwan Normal University. His research interests focus on instructional design and learning through digital technology.

Chien-Lun Su

Chien-Lun Su is a master student of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. His particular research interests include game-based learning and historical teaching.