All games are not created equally: How different games contribute to learning differently in engineering

Abstract

Reviews of game-based learning literature treat games as a unified technology whose learning contributions are comparable across cases. However, there are actually many types of games that contribute to and transform learning processes differently. This qualitative, secondary analysis of a systematic literature review catalogs six ways digital and non-digital game implementations have contributed to learning in engineering education, and classifies how radically each type of contribution has transformed learning processes in engineering classrooms. For researchers, results reinforce that contextual variables like learning objectives should be considered when studying game-based learning. For instructors, results support the merit of nondigital games as resource-effective means of transforming engineering learning processes, and suggest that teaching processes will likely change based on the game's intended learning contribution.