The Cognitive Learning Outcomes of Digital Game-Based Learning

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The proposed research is designed to address a major deficit in digital game-based learning research,namely, the lack of an established research strategy to evaluate the effectiveness of digital games ineducation. Study methodologies across the field are inconsistent, leading to contradictory findings.Despite these inconclusive results, teachers have begun incorporating digital games into theircurriculums. Therefore, it is essential to properly determine the effectiveness of digital game-basedlearning to ensure that the additional time and money that is being invested into the application ofdigital games in education is worthwhile. This is the focus of my proposed research, which will involve aseries of experiments comparing digital game-based learning to traditional learning. Conditionsincorporating techniques that are already known to be effective for learning, such as retrieval practiceand distributed practice, will also be included as comparisons. The comparisons between all theseconditions means that not only will I be able to determine whether digital games are effective forlearning, but also exactly how effective they can be. To date, no other studies have compared theusefulness of digital game-based learning to that of well-established learning techniques. This will buildtowards a more conclusive answer regarding the effectiveness of digital game-based learning, informingits potential application in education and suggesting a possible baseline study design to evaluate thepotential learning benefits of digital games.