Wendy L. Bedwell

Relationships Between Game Attributes and Learning Outcomes

Games are an effective and cost-saving method in education and training. Although much is known about games and learning in general, little is known about what components of these games (i.e., game attributes) influence learning outcomes. The purpose of this article is threefold. First, we review the literature to understand the “state of play” in the literature in regards to learning outcomes and game attributes—what is being studied. Second, we seek out what specific game attributes have an impact on learning outcomes. Finally, where gaps in the research exist, we develop a number of theoretically based proposals to guide further research in this area.

Toward a Taxonomy Linking Game Attributes to Learning: An Empirical Study

The serious games community is moving toward research focusing on direct comparisons between learning outcomes of serious games and those of more traditional training methods. Such comparisons are difficult, however, due to the lack of a consistent taxonomy of game attributes for serious games. Without a clear understanding of what truly constitutes a game, scientific inquiry will continue to reveal inconsistent findings, making it hard to provide practitioners with guidance as to the most important attribute(s) for desired training outcomes. This article presents a game attribute taxonomy derived from a comprehensive literature review and subsequent card sorts performed by subject matter experts (SMEs). The categories of serious game attributes that emerged represent the shared mental models of game SMEs and serve to provide a comprehensive collection of game attributes. In order to guide future serious games research, the existing literature base is organized around the framework of this taxonomy.

The cognitive underpinnings of adaptive team performance in ill-defined task situations A closer look at team cognition

As the nature of work changes due to technology, organizational restructuring, and globalization, complex tasks have emerged that necessitate the use of teams. Oftentimes, teams complete tasks that have more than one plausible solution or engage in performance episodes under uncertain circumstances. Therefore, teams are called upon to be highly adaptable to these ill-defined tasks by responding to continuous changes in the task environment. We propose that dimensions of team cognition (i.e., shared mental models and transactive memory systems) help drive adaptation. In recognition of the additional cognitive demands placed upon teams who must be highly adaptable, we believe much can be gained from taking a closer look at the facets of team-level cognitive variables. The current effort aims to provide a more comprehensive explanation of emergent cognitive states, and how they interact to drive adaptive team performance, especially within the context of ill-defined problems.

Computer‐based training: capitalizing on lessons learned

Computer-based training (CBT) is a methodology for providing systematic, structured learning; a useful tool when properly designed. CBT has seen a resurgence given the serious games movement, which is at the forefront of integrating primarily entertainment computer-based games into education and training. This effort represents a multidisciplinary integration and application of lessons learned from human factors, multimedia design, as well as training effectiveness literatures. The authors suggest 10 practical considerations for CBT design and development, designed to challenge traditionally held beliefs about CBT effectiveness based on previous CBT failures of the 1960s/1970s. These practical considerations are critical to the continued evolution of CBT and should be considered during design and development to most effectively capitalize on the advantages that CBT can offer.

Helping fluid teams work: A research agenda for effective team adaptation in healthcare

ABSTRACTAlthough membership changes within teams are a common practice, research into this phenomenon is relatively nascent (Summers et al.; Acad Manag J 55:314–338, 2012). The small literature base, however, does provide insight into skills required for effective adaptation. The purpose of this effort is to provide a brief research synopsis, leading to research hypotheses about medical team training. By generalizing previous scientific findings regarding skills required for effective membership adaptation in different kinds of teams, we posit mechanisms whereby teamwork training might also support adaptation among medical teams (Burke et al.; Qual & Saf Health Care 13:i96–i104, 2004 and Salas et al.; Theor Issues Ergon Sci 8:381–394, 2007). We provide an overview of the membership change literature. Drawing upon literature from both within and outside of the medical domain, we suggest a framework and research propositions to aid in research efforts designed to determine the best content for helping to create adaptable medical teams through team training efforts. For effective adaptation, we suggest ad hoc teams should be trained on generalizable teamwork skills, to share just “enough” and the “right” information, to engage in shared leadership, and to shift from explicit to implicit coordination. Our overarching goal was to present what is known from the general research literature on successful team adaptation to membership changes, and to propose a research agenda to evaluate whether findings generalize to member changes in medical teams.

Game-based Learning: The Impact of Flow State and Videogame Self-efficacy

The science of serious games is growing at a substantial pace, providing new insights into the nature of game-based learning. Recently, research has begun to focus on the elements that comprise serious games and how these elements relate to learning (Wilson et al., 2009; Pavlas et al., 2009). As part of an effort to understand how these attributes impact learning outcomes, a study manipulating a number of game attributes in an immune system game was conducted. From this effort, two psychological constructs initially considered as mere covariates – video game self-efficacy and flow state – emerged as significant and highly explanatory predictors of learning. This article provides an overview of these constructs, describes the research that led to this finding, presents the results of this research, and offers implications and suggestions for future work.

Practicing What We Preach Teaching Teams Using Validated Team Science

The scientist-practitioner model, upon which many academic programs (including coursework on teams) are built, suggests that education should focus on more than just rote knowledge of a topic. The training literature also suggests that education must go beyond information to include demonstration, practice, and feedback. Accordingly, we suggest that educators teaching courses on teams should provide students not only with declarative knowledge regarding the science of teams, but also with practical experiences that will develop skilled team scientist-practitioners. We describe an example of how scientific team training was incorporated through experiential learning activities into a graduate-level psychology course on work teams. We conclude with a discussion of how this example represents an innovative approach to the pedagogy of teams, how our methods could be applied to other courses on small groups, and how to further the incorporation of validated team science into the classroom.

Performance measurement at work: A multilevel perspective.

For decades, one of the primary goals of organizational research has been the improvement and management of organizational performance. Inherent to the goal of improving performance is the concept of performance measurement (PM). PM is the mechanism that allows managers and researchers to gain an understanding of individual, team, and overall organizational performance. Without the ability to accurately measure a construct such as performance, it is impossible to truly understand, control, or improve it. As Sink and Tuttle (1989) asserted, one cannot manage what one cannot measure. Ultimately, the effective training and management of employees, teams, and organizations in any context is contingent on the quality of PM. Accordingly, much effort has been devoted over the past several decades to exploring theories, methods, and practices associated with PM (e.g., Bititci, Turner, & Begemann, 2000; Campbell, McCloy, Oppler, & Sager, 1993; Folan & Browne, 2005; Gershoni & Rudy, 1981; Kendall & Salas, 2004; Pun & White, 2005). The PM literature can generally be categorized into three distinct perspectives: individual-level PM, teamlevel PM, and organizational-level PM. Very little research has simultaneously examined multiple levels. This is problematic given that actual performance in organizations takes place at all three levels simultaneously, and perhaps more important, all three levels of performance are intertwined. Teams are becoming the predominant method for achieving organizational goals. These teams are made up of individual employees, who actually engage in behaviors that lead to performance. Thus, there is a need to integrate these three streams of PM research into one comprehensive understanding of PM and its implications. To address this need, this chapter presents a multilevel perspective on the field of PM. First, we discuss the criterion problem, which represents a broad issue underscoring the importance of PM. Next, we briefly describe five critical considerations when choosing or designing any PM system. Then, after the core underlying issues are clear, we dive into PM as described from the individual, team, and organizational perspectives. This includes the general definition of performance, key theories, and common measurement strategies used in each stream of literature. Once each perspective is discussed separately, we discuss a multilevel approach to PM. The chapter concludes with a review of current trends requiring future research and some concluding remarks. (See also Vol. 2, chap. 9, this handbook.)

Investigating the Attributes in Serious Games that Contribute to Learning

Though serious games have been the topic of much discussion within the scientific community, the theoretical underpinnings of this technology remains largely nascent. Although much of the knowledge base of the simulation and digital learning community applies to serious games, the play-based nature of these tools necessitates additional examination. Games have defining component attributes, and variation of these attributes may affect learning resulting from game play. Thus, understanding of the attributes involved in games and how they map to various learning outcomes will improve the communitys ability to effectively design and employ these tools. This article describes research designed to address this need through experimental manipulations of the privately developed InnerCell game. This effort is conducted in the context of game attributes and learning outcomes, and recommendations for attribute-outcome pairs are offered based on preliminary findings of this research.

Team workload A multilevel perspective

Extensive research has examined the effects of workload on individual performance. Despite the increasing prevalence of teams addressing complex tasks with high workload, less attention has focused on workload distributions beyond the individual to the team level, likely due to the inherent complexity of defining and measuring team workload. By drawing upon previous work by Funke et al. (2012), the authors synthesize existing literature detailing individual/team performance and workload theory and empirical findings across research domains. Based on this synthesis, a multilevel, theoretically derived framework of team workload, rooted in the science of individual/team performance in complex, dynamic environments is proposed.