Pre-service Teacher Education in Game-Based Learning: Cultivating Knowledge and Skills for Integrating Digital Games in K-12 classrooms

This mixed methods study investigates pre-service teacher education in game-based learning. Fourteen (9 graduate and 5 undergraduate) pre-service teachers completed a 10-weeks game-based learning course, which prepared them in game analysis, game integration, and ecological conditions impacting game use in school contexts using the Game Network Analysis (GaNA) framework. It was found that participants acquired knowledge of the methods involved in game-based learning. Learning about the significance of teacher roles, game selection, and contextual factors for successful adoption of games in schools was particularly insightful for participants. The quantitative component of the study examined knowledge gain using a range of instruments, including pretest-posttest knowledge surveys and pretest-midtest-posttest game integration scenario tests. Despite no prior education in game-based learning, casual to limited game playing experience, and emergent school practicum experience, participants acquired statistically significant knowledge about game analysis, game integration, and ecological conditions impacting game use in K-12 settings. They also successfully demonstrated the application of their knowledge to design game-based learning lesson plans. The interpretive component of this study examined the nature of understanding participants acquired about game-based learning and the methods involved in game-based learning. Data obtained from pretest-posttest knowledge surveys and pretest-midtest-posttest game integration scenario tests were triangulated with data collected using a pre-background survey, participant and video observations, and a post-focus group interview. Analyses of these data indicated that participants’ knowledge about game analysis evolved from game explorations and selection to evaluation, leading them use their information about the game for developing an implementation plan. Participants’ understanding of game integration encompassed teacher and student roles in a game-based classroom and the design of experiences to augment the impact of games for teaching and learning. Participants comprehended the situated nature of teachers' knowledge of game-based learning. They began to recognize how technological, social, and pedagogical factors within their context could not only impact teachers’ decisions during game analysis and integration, but also impact the overall success of adoption of game-based learning as an instructional approach. The findings of this study indicate that pre-service teacher education in the methods of game-based learning is important. This study can inform the design of opportunities for developing and assessing teachers’ competence in game-based learning. Finally, this research supports the arguments for research on advancing the use of digital games in K-12 education in an ecological manner.Ph.D., Educational Leadership Development and Learning Technologies -- Drexel University, 201