A Review of Research Questions, Theories and Methodologies for Game-Based Learning

Abstract

One of the main tensions in both media studies and education studies can be found in the discourse on the impact of digital media on audiences and learners as connected to a dichotomy of risks and affordances. Contemporary forms of media literacy build on multiple forms of literacy to support critical analysis and critical production in a variety of forms as central to learning. This study reviews research on games and learning conducted from 2010-2016 and published in SAGE Publications, ACM publications, iEEE, Google Scholar and Science Direct databases from a sample of 52 peer reviewed articles. The review of the literature analyzes variables such as authorship, paradigms and learning theories, research questions and methodologies and type of the games used in game-based learning. The central research questions for this literature review build on a history of games for learning and seek to identify good practices that can be used to design meaningful learning experiences and to inform future research related to game-based learning.