Effects of Game-based Learning on Motivation for Learning

Question

I have already asked this question here, but I did not receive my answer. I found this site a more appropriate place to ask it.

I found many studies discovering the impacts of game-based learning on motivation for learning.

For example, these papers

You can also find a summary of them in this book chapter.

However, it is still unclear to me if this motivation is for entertainment or for learning. I was wondering if there is any study showing that students who are adapted to this method of learning have a higher motivation to pursue learning in other forms. My concern is about long-term effects of this method of learning. What is the intrinsic reaction of K-12 students who have adapted to game-based learning when they start higher education in which game-based learning is not provided? Will they have a higher incentive to study? or a lower incentive, because they prefer to play games rather than studying?

Answer 1

I think it depends.

If the game is good, the player will be motivated to learn what they need to succeed in the game. The long term effects may vary depending on different attributes, which I divided into two groups.

This is of course not an exhaustive list.

Providing learning tools

• Did the game generalize enough, so that the player feels like the more they learn the better they will be in the game? as opposed to being predictable enough so that the user can learn exactly what they need and only that.
• Did the user learn how to learn independently or did they rely on specific instructions in the game?

providing learning motivation

• Why did the user not want to learn in the first place? If it's because of a sense of incapability, games are great. If it's lack of interest, the long term effect could be negligible.
• Did what the player learn in the game turn out useful for the player in real life? Did the player see it as a positive outcome of learning, or as an outcome of the game?
• Did a motivation swap occur? sometimes the user may be one that learns for fun, and after playing the game they will only learn for points etc.

Since the concepts 'game' and 'learn' are so wide and subjective, I'm doubtful you can get a clear cut answer on this question.