Role of Guidance, Reflection, and Interactivity in an Agent-Based Multimedia Game.

TLDR

The study examined whether guidance and reflection enhance science learning in an interactive multimedia game. College students used an agent-based game to design plants for varying weather, with conditions of corrective-only feedback, corrective plus explanatory feedback, and optional reflection through explanatory responses. Explanatory feedback improved transfer, reduced errors and misconceptions, while reflection alone had no effect; reflection aided retention and far transfer only in noninteractive settings unless focused on correct solutions, supporting targeted guidance and reflection in interactive games.

Abstract

The authors investigated whether guidance and reflection would facilitate science learning in an interactive multimedia game. College students learned how to design plants to survive in different weather conditions. In Experiment 1, they learned with an agent that either guided them with corrective and explanatory feedback or corrective feedback alone. Some students were asked to reflect by giving explanations about their problem-solving answers. Guidance in the form of explanatory feedback produced higher transfer scores, fewer incorrect answers, and greater reduction of misconceptions during problem solving. Reflection in the form of having students give explanations for their answers did not affect learning. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that reflection promotes retention and far transfer in noninteractive environments but not in interactive ones unless students are asked to reflect on correct program solutions rather than on their own solutions. Results support the appropriate use of guidance and reflection for interactive multimedia games.