Children’s cognitive development and technology: exploring the use of serious educational games and a potential neuropsychological measure

Systematic Literature Review The systematic literature review explored what makes serious educational games engaging for children. A systematic search of four databases identified fourteen papers relevant to the review. Narrative synthesis was used to provide an initial synthesis of the literature. The articles identified several factors thought to increase children’s and adolescents’ engagement with serious educational games. The level of challenge, immediate feedback and player control were identified as important game factors for engagement. Explicit instruction, audio-visual qualities, the flexibility of interaction with the game, meaningful game content, and embedding learning in-game content were all related to children’s engagement with serious educational games. Player factors related to children’s engagement included previous game experience, the intensity of use, game attitudes, self-efficacy and perceived competence. Collaboration and social factors were also highlighted as being important for engagement. Empirical Report This exploratory feasibility study aimed to assess the validity and usability of the Short Parallel Assessment of Neuropsychological Status- extended (SPANS-X; Burgess, 2022) with children aged 11 and 12 years. A cross-sectional design was employed to compare scores of 11-12-year-olds and 18-22-year-olds on the SPANS-X. Convergent validity and acceptability of the SPANS-X were also considered. Mean scores of two age groups differed on the SPANS-X total score, attention/concentration index, visuomotor performance index, and efficiency index. Scores between the groups were comparable on the orientation index, language index, memory/learning index, and conceptual flexibility index. Score distributions were comparable between the two age groups. There were mixed results concerning convergent validity. Researcher observations and participant feedback suggest the SPANS-X is acceptable to children this age. The findings are considered from a cognitive development perspective.