Using Game-Based Learning and Interactive Peer Assessment to Improve Career Goals and Objectives for College Students I-Tsun Chiang1,∗, Ru-Chu Shih2, Eric Zhi-Feng Liu3, and Alex Jun-Yen Lee4 1
National Changhua University of Education, Changhua, Taiwan
[email protected] 2 National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
[email protected] 3 National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan
[email protected] 4 National HsinChu University of Education, HsinChu, Taiwan
[email protected]
Abstract. This article aims to develop game-based learning and interactive peer assessment to improve college students’ career goals and objectives. A total of 36 students enrolled the “Sport Guidance and Counseling” course and participated the “Job Hunting” game. Each student completed a “future resume” and played the role-play game to demonstrate their ability to find a job. Peer assessments were completed during the game as in-class activity. Self-critiques and reflections were required to post on the course blog. Participation observation and blog feedback were two major qualitative research methods to collect the data. Constant comparison was utilized to analyze the data with QSR Nvivo7. The results identified that students learned through concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation in the interactive peer assessment. The finding showed that game-based learning and interactive peer assessment are viable combinations to motivate colleague students to collaborate and to improve career goals and objectives. Keywords: game-based learning, interactive peer assessment, sport, physical education.
1 Introduction Peer assessment is an arrangement for peers who have similar status to evaluate the level, value, worth, quality or successfulness of the learning outcomes of others [1]. Several studies of peer assessment between college students and found that these activities were very various in type and different types of peer assessment would create educational benefits by its different mechanism [2]. Formative and summative peer assessments are used for decision-making in education settings, but if the teach∗
Corresponding author.
M. Chang et al. (Eds.): Edutainment 2011, LNCS 6872, pp. 507–511, 2011. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011
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ers or administrator use the information of peers to make a single decision, it can be described as summative assessment [1]. Therefore, interactive peer assessment seems more likely to be formative assessment because the purpose of the assessment is to assist learning [3-7]. Interactive peer assessment is likely to involve intelligently and adaptively questioning, together with increased self-disclosure and assessment of understanding. This assessment help students to find out their misconception and error identification/analysis in the early stage of learning through the process of explaining, simplification, clarification, summarizing, reorganization, and cognitive restructuring and to improve their self-awareness, self-assessment and generalization to new situations [1,8]. Also, it increases learning motivation because it enhances learners’ sense of ownership and personal responsibility, greater variety and interest, activity and inter-activity, and improves self-confidence, self-identification and bonding, and empathy with others [1]. Recent research have identified that game-based learning is a viable way to help learners to construct knowledge from ambiguity, trial and error, and to assimilate new knowledge [9-13]. Past studies in game-based learning have focused too much on theoretical aspects of gaming and are lack of empirical evidence to validate its educational meaningfulness [14]. Wang and Chen [14] stated that game-based learning is linked with experiential learning and share the same theory, experiential learning cycle [15]. It uses four stages to describe the learning process in educational environment (Figure 1). Game-based learning provided learners to have opportunity to develop game strategies that include game scenario, matching, challenging, and problem solving and to generate simplification of abstract concepts and facilitate learners in developing transferable skills and knowledge [9,10] [12,13].
Fig. 1. Four stages of Kolb’s experiential learning cycle (Adapted from Wang & Chen [14])
2 Methodology A total of 36 sophomore college students voluntarily enrolled the “Sport Guidance and Counseling” course and participated the “Job Hunting” game-based testing to assess their career goals and objectives in 2011. Before one week of the “Job Hunting Game-Based Learning”, the instructor announced the content of the activity and asked students to prepare a “future resume” for themselves. The future resumes were used to project their career goals and objectives five years later. Students were asked to
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write down their ideal working experience, certification, academic performance and extracurricular activities on their future resumes for applying jobs. Each group was requested to develop a name of company, interview question lists, grading score system within 20 minutes. Then, each group started to send one of their member to different groups for 10-minute interview by turns until every member was interviewed. At the end of the game, the instructor asked all groups to select one “most wanted” and one “most unwanted” interviewees. Those groups published their lists on the blackboard and illustrated the reasons of their choices. After the game, the instructor asked students to write feedback on the course blog within three weeks. Participation observation and blog feedback and interactions were two major qualitative research methods in the data collection. Qualitative data were imported to QSR*Nvivo7 and constant comparison was utilized to analyze the qualitative information [16].
3 Results Using Kolb’s experiential learning cycle as a theoretical framework, the study found that students experienced four stages in the game-based learning process. 3.1 Concrete Experience Through this game, students were able to acquire concrete experience for their career goals and objectives. One participant shared his feedback with the primary investigator and said, “It made me nervous so much! I never image that it was such a terrible situation. Five “bosses” stared at me and asked me very sharp questions. I felt myself just like a rabbit in front of a herd of lions…they examined my resume carefully and found out lots of mistakes that I made… It is not only just an assignment, but also a bridge to my dream job…”
3.2 Reflective Observation The game also provided a channel for students to observe peers performance. During the interview process, students allowed to see peers’ performance when they had similar questions and reflect to themselves. One student who was marked as the “most unwanted” interviewee said, “Now I knew what my weaknesses are. I saw my classmates’ performance and thought of myself. I am just far behind. They wore really formal and what I wore just like a shit! With right dress, they looked professional. Now I know what to do if I have second chance…”
3.3 Abstract Conceptualization The game also provided an opportunity for participants to think of the strength and weakness of career goals and objectives. With peers’ critiques and questions, students examined their “ideal resume” and found lots of “unreal” goals and objectives. One participant said during the interview process, “Okay, I knew that some parts of my resume are not realistic, however, they are my goals. Probably, I did write down too much that I can do within five years…Yes, I never think of those before. Thank you so much for reminding me about this.”
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3.4 Active Experimentation After the game, students were requested to write down their feedback on the course blog. Most students not only write down what they have learned but also express what they plan to do. One student wrote down her refection on the course blog, “Now I know what I have to do now. I should attend classes for public speech, and attend many camps and training to gain more skills and knowledge, to gain volunteer experience, and professional judge and coach certifications!”
3.5 Interactive Peer Assessment Facilitating under game-based learning, interactive peer assessment also increased three different levels of feedback in this learning activity. Corrective feedback with immediacy. One student said, “I knew that I have to practice my oral and presentation skills. My reaction time is too long, cannot get to the point of those questions…they are all my weaknesses.” Confirmatory feedback with clarification. A participant said, ”Surprisingly I found that some outstanding classmates in academic performance were selected as “most unwanted” interviewees just because they don’t have good presentation skills with self-confidence… It just blow my mind…I must train myself more on that…” Suggestive feedback with cognitive restructuring. One student said, “This interview process is so real. We experienced what we have to face and really saw the “real” world five years later. This interview was not just a process that you show up in person or testing you physically, but also an examination about your mental and social abilities. Those are what I have learned from my interviewers… ”
4 Discussion A major strength of this study was to provide an empirical evidence for using gamebased learning and interactive peer assessment to facilitate a collaborative learning environment for improving learners’ career goals and objectives. According to previous study, college students in the department of physical education commonly have difficulty in academic performance and a strong alternative approach to motive their learning. Through the process of participating game-based learning and interactive peer assessment, students in the study perceived benefits from formative peer assessments and practiced the learning process of the experiential learning cycle.
5 Conclusions The study gives insight on how game-based learning and interactive peer assessment were used to enhance college students to enhance their career goals and objectives. The research findings showed that game-based learning and interactive peer assessment are viable ways to motivate college students to learn intrinsically. Further researches on different learning styles or types of peer assessment are suggested to understand alternative choices in higher education.
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