Background
Driven by the growing popularity of serious games and their great potential for teaching and learning, the use of game-based learning (GBL) is gaining importance in and out of schools and is linked to high expectations in terms of motivation and learning success. There are numerous digital and analog serious games offered from a wide range of providers–with respect to economics, particularly to promote financial literacy. However, there is little empirical knowledge about the effective use of the assumed potential of serious games in economics education. Although there are empirical indications of the general potential of GBL, it is unclear how this potential can be used for learning in this domain. The effective use of GBL to promote financial literacy, especially interest in this domain, is not a sure-fire success but depends on many aspects. These are grounded on theoretical considerations of the corresponding domain and the respective target group, in this case, students in upper secondary school who are about to graduate and start the next phase of their life, which for them entails greater economic responsibility. In addition, evidence on the use of GBL can be accessed, regardless of the professional classification. Thus the importance of reflective phases for the transfer of learning is undisputed. This also applies to the role of game mechanics, which determine the actual game action. However, there is still no answer to the question of which game mechanics are suitable for promoting financial literacy and how corresponding reflection phases should be structured.
Method and aims
We developed a GBL environment to promote learners’ interest in the financial domain. The development of “Moonshot” comprised a two-year process including several pilot phases that involved experts from various disciplines (e.g., domain-specific didactics, educational sciences, game and communication design). It is designed for upper secondary school students (age: 15 years and older) and can be played by groups of 3-5 players. Our aim is to analyze the effects of this game and its reflective environment.
For the upcoming main study (2020/21), four treatment groups in the GBL environment “Moonshot” will be established and tested within the research design. The following two questions will be addressed. (1) How do specific game mechanics influence the basic needs experience of the players so that their interest in the financial domain increases? (2) How can the design of reflection phases support this learning goal? The experiment consists of 2x2 group design: All four groups will play the game "Moonshot". Two groups will play the game with a game mechanic that chooses the opportunities on a random basis (I and II), whereas the two other groups (III and IV) will play the game with a strategic game mechanic. Furthermore, two groups with different game mechanics will reflect freely on their game experience as well as on the role of the game experience in their personal life (“generic reflection”; II and IV), whereas the other two groups (“direct reflection”; I and III) will reflect with the help of specific tasks given by the teacher. Thus, the following groups will be compared: group I (random game mechanic; direct reflection), group II (random game mechanic; generic reflection), group III (strategic game mechanic; direct reflection), and group IV (strategic game mechanic; generic reflection).
Answering the questions outlined above will provide needed empirical evidence on the development and implementation of serious games within schools to foster students’ financial literacy as well as other learning goals in different school subjects. In this regard, discussing promising methods for teaching and learning as well as advancing a well-founded use of GBL methods could be major implications of this study.
Project Funding
The research project is funded by the BMBF project edu⁴ - Overcoming Borders - Networking Learning Cultures (https://www.bise.uni-konstanz.de/projekte/edu4/), the Committee for Research Questions (AFF) of the University of Konstanz (https://www.uni-konstanz.de/universitaet/leitung-organisation-und-verwaltung/gremien-und-ausschuesse/ausschuesse-der-universitaet-konstanz/ausschuss-fuer-forschungsfragen-aff/) and Konstanzia MEiN (https://www.uni-konstanz.de/gleichstellungsreferat/gleichstellung/programme-mentoring-und-ausschreibungen/mentoringprogramme/mein/) and has been approved by the Regional Council Freiburg.