By Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.
Chances are, you've taken advantage of the companion Web site provided by your textbook, and you've probably enjoyed the game-based approach to flashcards, multiple choice, and other interactive tasks. In your course, you may have gotten involved in a role-playing game (in Second Life™, or even text-based), or you may have gotten involved in a simulation or serious game. While you enjoyed your experience, you probably asked yourself, Am I learning anything? If so, where and how? Here is a brief overview of what and how you're learning in games and interactive tasks. Armed with information about how you're learning, you can then prepare yourself to get the most from your experience.
Classification Games
A number of online games involve placing things in categories, or classifying knowledge that you're gaining in the course. In many ways, you're involved in creating and reinforcing sets. For example, you may be taking a botany course, and you may be asked to classify different types of trees. Alternatively, if you're in a nursing program, you will need to be able to identify and classify many things, ranging from bones and muscle groups in the human body, to types of equipment and treatments used for patients. Keep in mind that the categories can be simple, or they can be complex.
As you are performing the tasks, your mind is engaged in a number of cognitive tasks. These include:
- Transfer of information from short-term memory to long-term memory.
- Relational framework established which maps how each chunk of information connects with others.
- Develop memory and mnemonic techniques for retrieving information and performing with it.
Multiple Choice Activities
While this is a popular "game," playing this one can be relatively high-stakes, when one considers that multiple choice is one of the most common means of assessing knowledge. After you have become comfortable with multiple choice, you'll begin to notice that each multiple choice maker or provider has a certain idiosyncratic way of creating/deploying multiple choice tests. There are numerous methods employed when developing the tests, and the astute test-taker begins to understand the underlying "grammar" — the characteristic organizational logic, and method of making sense and meaning. This is why it is very important to participate in as many practice exams as possible.
The mental processing required to choose correct answers helps learners to:
- Transfer of information from short-term memory to long-term memory.
- Deepen understanding of the content area.
- Build confidence in their knowledge of the content area.
- Identify and eliminate erroneous ways of thinking.
Fill-in-the Blank
What's missing in this statement? What items go together? What is the right sequence? The mental processing required to organize these statements helps learners:
- Transfer of information from short-term memory to long-term memory.
- Deepen understanding of the content area.
- Build confidence in one's knowledge of theories, concepts, and principles in a topic or content area.
- Make sense of a schema.
- Demonstrate an understanding of concepts by reviewing important principles and procedures.
- Develop an understanding of causal relationships and logical sequences.
- Explain how and why items in certain sets relate to each other.
True-False
Many people think that True-False is about truth and reality. In a certain philosophical way, it is. In a more basic way — cognitively speaking — it's more about categories. Your knowledge falls into categories, and whether or not a think fits into the category is either a yes or a no (true or false).
The reason that True-False tests can be so confusing is that the learner may not yet have a clear understanding of the categories that are being constructed. As you study the material, you'll need to create classification guidelines and mental schema for the following elements in your course:
- Concepts
- Principles
- Facts
- Processes
- Procedures
The mental processing required to match items to dichotomous categories helps the learner to:
- Transfer of information from short-term memory to long-term memory.
- Apply what you learn to personal tasks, or to your own jobs.
Simulation
Simulations can be invaluable training tools. They are important for demonstrating skills and the ability to analyze a task and actually execute it. The challenge to the simulation designer is to create a realistic scenario which truly engages the complex cognitive actions that are required. The learner has to be able to work with categories of knowledge, chunks of information, as well as cause-effect relationships and long-term and short-term outcomes.
If the simulation is truly aligned with a real-world situation or setting, the experience can be very valuable. It can be a predictor of whether or not a person can perform the task on the job. Of course, a lot depends on the individual's learning styles and preferences. Simulations are not for everyone.
Further, if a simulation does not accurately align with the real-world situation, the result could be costly and potentially disastrous accidents. Ideally, a good simulation leads to the discovery of underlying principles and the practice of appropriate skills.
The cognitive processing required to work through these simulation games helps learners to:
- Apply new knowledge to a setting that replicates real life.
- Move skills from the realm of theory to actual practice.
- Deepen understanding of concepts and procedures.
- Anticipate launching the knowledge and skills in the real world.
It is tempting to believe that simulations are ideal for all learners. This may be true, but it depends on the learner and the subject matter.
- Text-based: Ideal for situations that require processing text. (virtual pharmacy — the names of the medicines)
- Graphics-enhanced Text Simulations: Ideal for situations that have a combination of text and graphics. (virtual pharmacy — the appearance of drugs)
- Dynamic Graphics-based Simulation: Ideal for situations that require one to respond to unexpected situations. (virtual pharmacy — drug interactions)
- Simulator: Ideal for situations that require physical interaction in the real world (virtual emergency room — moving from pharmacy to an overdose situation)
As technology advances and learning programs incorporate mobile learning, games, simulations, and interactive tasks that you can use with your handheld (phone, PDA, media player) will become increasingly important in the acquisition of information and skills. Further, as more credit by exam courses and programs are developed, it will be increasingly important to be able to practice answering the questions.
Watch the related video "Future of e-Learning — Web 2.0 and Mobility" created by Dr. Nash.