Computer Adventure Games as Problem-Solving Environments

mike.lawson@flinders.edu.auClaims that computer-based adventure games are productive environments forthe development of general problem-solving ability were tested in a study of 40students’ interactions with a novel computer-based adventure game. Two sets offactors that are thought to influence problem-solving performance wereidentified in the literature – domain-specific knowledge (schema) and generalproblem-solving strategies. Measures of both domain-specific knowledge andgeneral strategy use were developed and applied in the study. A cognitive modelto explain performance is developed in which there are complex relationshipsamong key concepts. General strategies were found to have important influenceson problem-solving performance, but schema was negatively related toperformance. The implications of these findings for both classroom practice andfuture research designs are discussed.

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