Richard Van Eck

Perceived realism in shooting games: Towards scale validation

Perceived realism is a key concept in explaining the mental processing of media messages and the societal impact of media. Despite its importance, few studies have examined its conceptualization and dimensional structure from an empirical point of view, especially with regard to digital games. In this paper we present three studies aimed at 1) validating a dimensional structure of realism judgements on shooting games and 2) creating a valid measurement instrument. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support five dimensions of perceived game realism that are commonly presented in previous studies. An investigation of the internal reliability and psychometric properties of the constructs reveals that the measurement instrument conforms to a large extent to the requirements of scale validation.

Project NEO: A Video Game to Promote STEM Competency for Preservice Elementary Teachers.

The need for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors for our future workforce is growing, yet fewer students are choosing to major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics areas, and many are underprepared, in part because elementary school preservice teachers are also underprepared. This National Science Foundation-supported project developed and tested the first of several planned modules of a video game based on the Next Generation Science Standards. Results suggest that preservice teachers who play the video game demonstrate improved science content knowledge. The study also found that preservice teachers had positive attitudes toward video games as instructional tools. Implications for preservice teacher education relating to games and science education are discussed.

SAPS and Digital Games: Improving Mathematics Transfer and Attitudes in Schools

Many suggest that digital games are a way to address problems with schools, yet research on their ability to promote problem solving, critical thinking, and twenty-first century skill sets appears to be mixed. In this chapter, I suggest that the problem lies not with digital games, but with our conceptualization of what it means to promote problem solving and critical thinking, and how transfer of such skills works in general and, specifically, with games. The power of digital games lies not in some magical power of the medium, but from embedded theories (e.g., situated learning and problem-centered instruction) and from good instructional design (the principles of learning and teaching to which all good instruction must adhere). This chapter describes situated, authentic problem solving (SAPS): a model to explain how digital games can promote transfer and improve attitudes toward mathematics. By examining research on the instructional practices (situated learning) and outcomes (transfer, problem solving, attitudes) that lie at the heart of SAPS, we can chart a path forward for best practices of digital games in mathematics education.

Integrating Geriatrics Knowledge into a Medical Student Clerkship Using Twitter Poll: GERIATRIC TWITTER POLL FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION

A controlled, prospective, 2‐year cohort observational study was conducted to test whether weekly geriatric questions delivered through Twitter Poll could improve geriatrics knowledge during an internal medicine clerkship for third‐year medical students. Pre‐ and post‐rotation test results used a modified University of California, Los Angeles geriatric knowledge test that included questions linked to 26 Association of American Medical Colleges geriatric competencies for medical students. Data were analyzed using a general linear model repeated‐measure design and Student t‐test. The primary outcome showed that Twitter Poll participants had more than twice the geriatrics knowledge (p = .002) than students who did not use Twitter Poll. Subset analysis showed different test performances according to sex (p = .03), training site (p = .002), and cohort (p = .003). This study is the first demonstration of Twitter Poll efficacy in medical education and raises questions about whether it could be even more effective if linked to spaced timing of didactic content or supported by annotated answers to geriatrics questions. J Am Geriatr Soc 66:2389–2393, 2018.

Development and validation of the Value-Expectancy STEM Assessment Scale for students in higher education

BackgroundScience, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) jobs are expected to make up a significant portion of the U.S. workforce. Unfortunately, the trend in retaining students in STEM majors has been going down. If higher education institutions are going to retain more students in STEM majors, it will be important to understand who leaves STEM fields and why. More than 32% of women college students who declare a STEM major are likely to switch to non-STEM majors before they graduate, whereas only 25% of their male counterparts do so, and women may be as much as 1.5 times more likely than men to leave STEM fields. Thus, women represent a significant potential source for increasing STEM majors. Research suggests that values and expectations are powerful predictors of motivation and persistence in a wide variety of activities, tasks, and careers. This paper describes the development and validation of an instrument to measure student motivation, particularly that of women, leading to decisions to persist in or switch out of collegiate STEM programs.ResultsThe Value-Expectancy STEM Assessment Scale (VESAS), adapted from the Values, Interest, and Expectations Scale, or VIES, was validated with 356 women students from a Midwestern research university as part of a larger study on the reasons that women persist or leave STEM majors. A confirmatory factor analysis suggested a two-factor model, which reflected the components of Eccles et al.’s expectancy-value model. Cronbach’s alphas suggested that the VESAS subscales had high internal consistency. Statistically significant differences were found between STEM switchers and persisters on all of the VESAS subscales, thus lending additional support for the validity of the instrument.ConclusionsThe VESAS appears to be a valid scale for measuring female college students’ value for and expectations regarding STEM majors. Suggestions are made for use of the VESAS in future studies to examine how motivations of women students enrolled in STEM programs change over time and to better understand when retention interventions might be needed and with whom.

Project NEO: Assessing and Changing Preservice Teacher Science Knowledge with a Video Game

The need for STEM majors for our future workforce is growing, yet fewer students are choosing to major in STEM areas, and many are under prepared, in part because elementary school preservice teachers (PSTs) are also under prepared. This NSF-supported project developed and tested the first of several planned modules of a video game based on the Next Generation Science Standards. Results suggest that PSTs who play the video game demonstrate improved science content knowledge. The study also found that PSTs had positive attitudes toward video games as instructional tools. Implications for PST education relating to games and science education are discussed.