Margarida Romero

To rubric or not to rubric? The effects of self-assessment on self-regulation, performance and self-efficacy

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of situations in which self-assessment was conducted using rubrics and situations in which no specific self-assessment tool was used. Two hundred and eighteen third-year pre-service teachers were assigned to either non-rubric or rubric self-assessment for designing a conceptual map. They then assessed their own maps. The dependent variables were self-regulation measured through a questionnaire and an open question on learning strategies use, performance based on an expert-assigned score, accuracy comparing self-scores with the expert’s scores and task stress using one self-reported item. The results showed that the rubric group reported higher learning strategies use, performance and accuracy. However, the rubric group also reported more problems coping with stress and higher performance/avoidance self-regulation that was detrimental to learning.

Designing a Course for Stimulating Entrepreneurship in Higher Education through Serious Games

Enhancing the offer for entrepreneurship education is an important challenge for the nowadays knowledge societies. The eSG project is addressing this issue by analysing the added value that could be contributed by employing serious games (SGs) as a tool for allowing students – in particular technology students - to become familiar, mainly through practice, with basic concepts of entrepreneurship and company management. This paper presents the main requirements for the course and SGs obtained by surveying literature, entrepreneurs, students and teachers. We represented the requirements in a table template keeping into account usability, pedagogy, the entrepreneurship skills expressed by state of the art models and three major axes for entrepreneurship education at universities. These table descriptors were then used to assess validity of SGs and choose an appropriate mix for the courses. We have also defined a set of metrics to evaluate the advancement of students during the course. Based on these tools and knowledge, the next steps of the project will involve extensive user testing in the actual courses that are being performed in Genoa, Delft and Barcelona.

Can Serious Games Contribute to Developing and Sustaining 21st Century Skills

Serious games (SG) are innovative tools that are widely recognized as having considerable potential to foster and support active learning. This article addresses the question of whether and how SG can contribute to the development of the so-called “21st century skills” in education. This article starts by characterizing the current need for 21st century skills and the identification of these core skills. Thereafter, it reports on a literature review of studies analyzing SG impact on the development of one or more 21st century skills; and finally, it analyzes which, among the most relevant game characteristics, are those that could facilitate 21st century skills development. This study offers a multifold perspective on the use of SG to support 21st century skills development that may be helpful for both teachers and SG designers.

Serious Games Integration in an Entrepreneurship Massive Online Open Course (MOOC)

The current crisis in Europe has raised the need to increase the entrepreneurship orientation of students and adult citizens. At the same time, Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) has appeared as a disruptive innovation that permits to engage a large number of persons in an online open course available through Internet to anyone aiming to enrol. MOOC has been deployed based on basic technologies such text-based materials, video-lectures and forum based interactions. In this study we introduce the design of a MOOC for Entrepreneurship education that aims to go one step further by integrating the use of Serious Games as a key part of the methodology for teaching and learning entrepreneurship basics in the context of a MOOC.

Serious games and the development of an entrepreneurial mindset in higher education engineering students

Abstract The paper discusses adoption of Serious Games (SGs) for supporting development of an entrepreneurial mindset in university students of technical and scientific universities. The paper relies on the authors experience in the eSG project, which aims at introducing students, mainly through practice, to basic concepts of entrepreneurship and company management. In the framework of the project, courses have been designed and carried out in three different countries: Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. The paper discusses the main requirements for the courses and presents a table template, based on state of the art models for entrepreneurship education, that we have used for the scouting of the most suited SGs and defining the most appropriate mix for their use in the courses, keeping into account targeted competences and skills, usability and pedagogical effectiveness. Using the template, the paper draws a comprehensive overview of relevant SGs available on the market and identifies, through an expert analysis, key benefits and issues concerning their adoption in teaching entrepreneurship for the target students. Finally, the paper critically analyzes the state of the art, indicating directions for future research that should lead to development of more effective SGs for entrepreneurship education.

Hot Issues in Game Enhanced Learning: The GEL Viewpoint☆

Abstract The territory of Game Based Learning has been widely explored, yet much has still to be done in the field. Both the methodological and the empirical aspects of adopting games for educational purposes require further in-depth investigation. What are, then, the current hot issues in the field? What relevant research questions are still to be answered? This is the a rea that this paper showcases, encapsulating in a nutshell the efforts of the GEL Theme Team, a working group on Game Enhanced Learning active in the framework of the STELLAR European Network of Excellence.

Interdisciplinary and international adaption and personalization of the metavals serious games

Serious Games (SG) in Higher Education should be able to be adapted to particular learning needs and different university contexts in a sustainable way. In this respect, this study aims to describe the adaptation and personalization mechanism through the analysis of a case study developed in three countries and learning contexts. The adaptation is analyzed through the perspective of the perceived usability, utility and ease of use of the game in Spain, the UK and Romania. First results point to a positive evaluation by users of adaptable games, in the particular field of SGs for adult formal education. Future releases of the MetaVals game will be addressed towards the implementation of a complete and multi-language management interface, together with an improvement of the present static design.

Supporting Human Capital development with Serious Games: An analysis of three experiences

Serious Games (SGs) are increasingly being used in formal educational settings and it is almost universally acknowledged that they have strong potential for bringing innovation to education and for enhancing learning, this way also contributing to the development of Human Capital. This paper proposes some reflections on the usefulness and effectiveness of SGs when used in formal learning contexts. The considerations are derived from a set of SG-based educational experiences carried out in three European countries: Italy, Spain and Romania. The paper briefly summarizes the key aspects of the three research experiences and, by referring to the main lessons learnt, it also draws some general conclusions as to the potential of SGs to support the development of Human Capital both from the cognitive and from the affective/behavioural standpoint.

Educational Social Software for Context-Aware Learning: Collaborative Methods and Human Interaction

The emergence of Web 2.0 has triggered a trend towards global online social interactions and has brought sociology into the global interactive picture, creating educational issues relating to individual and social learning for the internalization and externalization of information and knowledge. Educational Social Software for Context-Aware Learning: Collaborative Methods and Human Interaction examines socio-cultural elements in educational computing focused on design and theory where learning and setting are intertwined. This advanced publication addresses real-life case studies where evaluations have been applied and validated in computational systems.

Learning Mechanics and Game Mechanics Under the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory to Foster Motivation in Digital Game Based Learning

Background. Using digital games for educational purposes has been associated with higher levels of motivation among learners of different educational levels. However, the underlying psychological factors involved in digital game based learning (DGBL) have been rarely analyzed considering self-determination theory (SDT); the relation of SDT with the flow experience has neither been evaluated in the context of DGBL. Aim. This article evaluates DGBL under the perspective of SDT in order to improve the study of motivational factors in DGBL. Results. In this paper, we introduce the LMGM-SDT theoretical framework, where the use of DGBL is analyzed through the Learning Mechanics and Game Mechanics mapping model (LM-GM) and its relation with the components of the SDT. The implications for the use of DGBL in order to promote learners’ motivation are also discussed.