Promising Evidence for Using Immersive Games in Classrooms

In a series of recent pilot studies, my colleagues and I compared learning gains in SMALLab with those in a regular classroom among 72 at-risk ninth graders in earth science and chemistry classes. Results show that students made stronger gains in SMALLab.

SMALLab is a mixed-reality platform for learning. It is grounded in the belief that learning is effective when it is embodied (that is, engaging the body and mind in learning), multimodal (visual, sonic, kinesthetic), and collaborative.

Like the Wii, SMALLab moves students beyond the desktop and into a hybrid physical-digital environment. Students and teachers interact with digital elements via full body movements and gestures in real 3D space.

See it in action in this video at right.

To test the effectiveness of this approach, we divided students into two groups in a wait-list control design. We wanted to compare achievement during SMALLab learning against regular classroom instruction and also better understand how SMALLab learning fits with existing curriculum.

Group 1 received three days of regular classroom instruction followed by three days of SMALLab learning. Group 2 received three days of SMALLab followed by three days of regular instruction. Both groups completed the same paper/pencil test about geological evolution at the mid-point in the study and again at the end. We compared the mean scores for both groups.

The results showed that students in both groups made significantly greater gains during SMALLab learning than during regular instruction. For example, the 34 students in group 1 gained 3.6 points (effect size = 0.38; statistically significant) after the regular instruction but 19.4 points (effect size = 1.34; highly significant) after the SMALLab participation. The 37 students in group 2 gained 18.0 points (effect size = 1.44, highly significant) after SMALLab, but declined 1.6 points (effect size = -0.09; not significant) after regular instruction.

In a second, similar study, we compared SMALLab learning against a hands-on lab activity for chemistry. The results held. Students made greater gains (again, statistically significant) in SMALLab than in the lab/lecture control condition.

Although these preliminary findings are promising, further research awaits before we can generalize beyond the current population. Nonetheless, we are encouraged that the innovative nature of SMALLab learning can drive substantial improvements in student achievement within a school context.

The Digital Media and Learning grant to SMALLab and the Institute of Play funds a partnership between the EMLearning project and researchers and educators at the Institute of Play in New York City led by grantee Katie Salen. Gaming SMALLab unites work in mixed-reality learning with the Institute of Play’s work in games and learning. For more see http://ame2.asu.edu/projects/emlearning.

Comments

June (University of Southern California)

6/3/09
7:14pm

Thank you for the post Mr. Birchfield. I’m quite excited both about your study, and the capabilities of SmallLab. I was wondering if you might expound on what you think you got such great results…. Do you think perhaps the students were particularly engaged and attentive during the SmallLab sessions, so they retained more knowledge? Do you think that physically moving and engaging with a multi-modal tool enhanced their retention of the class content? As an educational technology scholar myself, I’m quite intrigued. Thanks!

David Birchfield

6/4/09
8:43pm

Thanks so much for your feedback!

We’re certainly looking more closely at the underlying mechanisms that are at play. The areas you mention are a definite focus. For example, we’ve found preliminary evidence that physical movement in the environment - embodied interaction - does play a role in students’ understanding of physics. We describe some of this work in an upcoming issue of the International Journal of Learning and Media. We’ve also found evidence that collaborative activity and discourse is elevated in SMALLab. We believe that this, along with engagement, is a feature of the experience that plays an important role in enriching student understanding.

Also, I want to let you know that we’re currently working on a longer Spotlight piece for the near future, so please stay tuned!

Rik Panganiban (Global Kids)

9/8/09
5:01pm

I have played with some of the tools created by SmallLab, and really enjoyed the experience. Definitely there is something to the embodiment of the learning content that is rich and engaging.

The kinds of activities that SmallLab have created are so different from the typical learning experience, that the young person has a much higher likelihood of remembering the experience and thus the content.

The question becomes, how would this apply over time if this kind of engagement because routine. I.e. part of a daily set of experiences during the school day over an entire semester? Would there be a drop-off in the gains in learning? And how dramatic, compared to other pedagogical approaches?

For example, when I have run youth programs at Global Kids that involve Second Life, we get a high level of youth engagement in the first week or so. But after the youth become accustomed to the environment and the kinds of activities they can engage in virtually, they start to lose that initial spark of interest in the subject matter as well. The allure of the “new toy” only lasts so long.

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