Title: Evaluation of pupils' interest in adventure activities during school physical education lessons Objectives: The aim of the master thesis is to evaluate the interest in adventurous activities of pupils aged 11 to 15 at the Elementary school Bronzová in Prague, based on a set up adventurous program. Methods: The research sample consisted of 145 pupils, aged 11 to 15, 78 girls and 67 boys. Data were gathered by a questionnaire, which included closed, semi-closed and open questions addressed to pupils. Further data were collected by teachers' observation. Gathered data were recorded in writing, graphically processed and evaluated. Results: Results showed that pupils were actively involved in the adventurous programme and were interested in adventurous activities within the physical education lessons. They have experienced the greatest adventure on the obstacles and during trust activities. Pupils do not seek adventurous activities during their free time. Keywords: adventure, experience, adventure education, initiative games, adventure programme

M.Ed. (Subject Didactics) / The focus in this study is on roleplay as a technique for second language education, wi the specific reference to oral communication. The field study as well as the theoretical framework is placed against the background of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) as language education approach or; The theoretical research encompasses role-play as Anthropological phenomenon and especially also as a didactic principle. This framework is complemented by a brief exposition of LT as language education paradigm. The field work is based on qualitative observation. The researcher had participant observation st.atus at a school for a month. A multi-faceted analysis of two oral communication lessons were made. The qualitative observation is triangulated with structured interviews (questionnaire type), open-ended interviews, document analysis as well as structured systematic analysis of two recorded lessons. It was found that there was a significant difference in interpersonal social language usage in the two lessons. The lessons in which role-play was implemented as a technique showed a qualitative increase in language production. It is to be concluded that role-play accommodates oral communication in second language context meaningfully as a mode of pedagogic discourse, supported by a simulated naturalistic milieu.

Nous nous intéressons au problème de la spécification du séquencement des actions dans un environnement virtuel collaboratif. Il s’agit de définir puis de contrôler ce qui peut ou doit se passer au cours de la simulation dans un contexte potentiellement multiutilisateur. Ceci passe, entre autres, par la spécification (puis l’exécution) d’un ensemble de scénarios possibles lors d’une session de simulation ainsi que par la distribution des actions réalisables entre les différents acteurs (réels ou virtuels) intervenant dans la simulation.Nous présentons #SEVEN, un modèle fondé sur les réseaux de Petri, permettant de décrire des agencements temporels et causaux des actions dans un environnement. #SEVEN est ensuite utilisé pour répondre aux problèmes de la spécification de l’ensemble des scénarios possibles et de la distribution des actions entre les acteurs. Les propriétés de #SEVEN en font un modèle capable de s’adapter facilement aux besoins de la spécification de scénarios notamment, car il permet de fournir différents niveaux de guidage. Il peut par exemple définir précisément les actions à réaliser et l’ordre qu’elles doivent avoir ou encore indiquer les changements d’état de l’environnement devant avoir lieu sans préciser les actions nécessaires. Ensuite, nous abordons le problème de la distribution des actions en proposant un modèle d’équipe permettant de modéliser les comportements et règles liés à l’organisation d’un groupe d’acteur. Ce modèle permet de faire évoluer les possibilités d’action offertes aux acteurs au cours de la simulation suivant leurs compétences, leur position dans l’équipe, les ressources auxquelles ils ont accès. / We are interested in the problem of the specification of the sequencing of actions in collaborative virtual environments. It is about defining, then controlling what must or can occur during the simulation in a potentially multi-user context. It is done, partly by the specification (and the execution) of a set of possible scenarios during a simulation session, and partly by the distribution of the feasible actions between the different actors (reals or virtuals) in the simulation.We present #SEVEN, a Petri nets based model, allowing to describe causal and temporal sequencing of actions in an environment. #SEVEN is then used to answer to the problem of the specification of the possible scenarios and of the distribution of the actions between the actors. #SEVEN’s properties made it a model able to be adapted to the needs of the specification of scenarios, especially because it can provide different guidance levels. As an example, it can define precisely the actions that need to be performed or indicates the changes that must occur in the state of the environment without defining precisely the actions to perform. Then, we address the problem of the distribution of the actions from perspective of the role theory, proposing a team model allowing to model the behaviours and rules related to a group of actors. This model allows to make evolve the possibilities of actions offered to the actors during the simulation depending on their abilities, their position in the team or the resources they have access to.

Digital game-based learning has traditionally been examined from an ‘artefact-centric’ perspective that focuses on understanding how game design and principles of learning are, or can be, intertwined. These types of examinations have resulted in many descriptions of games’ educational potential, which has subsequently led to many types of arguments for why games should be used more extensively in formal education. However, comparatively little research has been done to understand the educational settings in which many game-based learning processes and educational games are intended to be applied. The relative lack of research on formal education settings has resulted in a scenario where the educational potential of games is well detailed through theory and understood independently of their actual contexts of use, while successful examples of games “making good” on their promises as educational tools remain rare. This thesis explores and describes the various challenges that the realities of formal education present to developers and educators who attempt to work with educational games. In order to examine the multi-faceted nature of educational games, the research has used a qualitative mixed-method approach that entails extensive literature reviews coupled with several case studies that involve educators, students, and developers. Interviews were conducted in order to investigate these actors’ various attitudes towards, and experiences of, educational games and game-based learning. In addition, more in-depth researcher participation methods were employed during case studies to examine the processes involved in developing, integrating, and using educational games in formal settings. The research revealed obstacles which indicate that processes associated with “traditional” game development are incommensurable with educational game development. Furthermore, the research demonstrates that the use of games in formal education introduces heavy demands on the recipient organisations’ infrastructures, cultures, and working processes. So, while games created for “formal” and “informal” use are superficially similar, the different contexts in which they are used make them distinctly different from one another.  The conclusion of this research is that educational games manifest a unique mixture of utility, gameplay, and context-dependent meaning-making activities. Educational games cannot be understood if they are only seen as a teaching utility or only as a game experience. To make educational games viable, both educators and developers need to alter their working processes, their own perceptions of games and teaching, as well as the way they collaborate and communicate with each other and other actors within the educational game ‘system’. The thesis thus argues that a more systems-oriented understanding of educational games, where the game artefact is not treated separately from the context of use, is necessary for both research and practice in the field to progress. To contribute to such an understanding of educational games, a comprehensive model (dubbed the Utility, Gameplay, and Meaning Model) of the ‘educational game system’ is presented, as well as a series of recommendations and considerations to help developers and educators navigate the complex processes involved in creating and using educational games. / I denna avhandling presenteras en djupgående undersökning av digitala lärospel och hur de utvecklas för, och används inom, skolutbildning. Lärospelsforskning har traditionellt sett främst fokuserat på att undersöka spels utbildningspotential ur ett produktcentrerat perspektiv där spel och spelare sätts i centrum. Detta perspektiv har bidragit till en högre förståelse av sambandet mellan olika typer av spelmekanik och pedagogiska principer, samt vad spelare lär sig av sina interaktioner med spelinnehåll. Allteftersom denna typ av forskning påvisat olika typer av positiva sammanhang mellan spelande och lärande har således även argumenten och trycket för att använda spel i skolan ökat. Men trots att vår förståelse för vad som händer i förhållandet mellan spel och spelare stärkts, så är förståelsen av de krav och förutsättningar som spel ställer som utbildningsverktyg fortfarande väldigt begränsad; prioriteringen av att förstå spelens inneboende potential har lett till ett synsätt som inte tar utbildningsmiljöers realiteter i beaktande. Resultatet av detta är att det i dagsläget finns en stor mängd argument för varför digitala spel har stor potential för lärande och därmed bör användas mer i skolutbildning. Men det finns få studier som påvisar hur denna potential faktiskt kan uppnås, eller om den ens uttrycker sig som förväntat när spel används i verkliga utbildningssammanhang. Med denna kunskapsbrist i åtanke undersöker och beskriver denna avhandling hur formella utbildningssammanhang och digitala spel förhåller sig till varandra både konceptuellt och praktiskt. Genom fältstudier som inkluderat både utvecklare, utbildare och elever har utmaningar som uppstår i det unika mötet mellan utbildning och spelande identifierats. Observationer från fältstudier stöds även av intervjuer där lärare och utvecklares arbetsprocesser och synpunkter kring utbildning och lärospel undersökts. De huvudsakliga utmaningarna som uppdagats i dessa studier är att den ”traditionella” synen på spelutveckling, spelande och spelare är svårförenlig med skolutbildnings realiteter, pedagogiska principer och skolan som marknad för spelkonsumtion. Kort sagt så delar spel skapade för informellt och formellt spelande (till exempel för hemmabruk respektive klassrumsanvändning) många ytliga likheter, men användningskontexterna introducerar så pass olika krav och förutsättningar att informella och formella spel och spelsituationer inte är jämförbara. I avhandlingen konstateras slutligen att lärospel utgör en unik blandning av användbarhet, spelupplevelser och kontextberoende aktiviteter för meningsskapande. Lärospel kan inte förstås till fullo om de endast ses som läroverktyg, eller endast som spelupplevelser. För att lärospel ska mogna och bli användbara och effektiva inom skolutbildning i större utsträckning behöver både utvecklare och utbildare förändra arbetsprocesser i sina organisationer, och metoderna genom vilka de skapar och använder spel som läromedel. Lärospel kan inte förstås som ett förhållande mellan spel och spelare då de i själva verket utgör ett stort system av aktörer, processer och användningskontexter, som var och en påverkas av individuella och lokala krav och förutsättningar. Med detta i åtanke yrkar denna avhandling för en mer systemorienterad förståelse av lärospel där spelobjektet inte separeras från kontexter och arbetsprocesser. Avhandlingen bidrar till detta systemperspektiv genom att presentera modeller som beskriver systemet som lärospel utgör, samt en serie rekommendationer som kan hjälpa utbildare och utvecklare att navigera de komplicerade processerna involverade i användandet och utvecklingen av lärospel.

The thesis is focused on system simulators and their use in management education. It is concentrated on the use of management games and simulators. The work begins with a general overview of system simulation, clarification of basic concepts and more detailed information on simulation modeling. It informs readers about the history of this branch, data inputs, relation with other disciplines. I am interested in modeling and simulation goals of typical usage. I deal with the usual user profile of management games, the reasons for using simulation modeling, description various types of simulators, microworlds, possibility of a formal knowledge representation. Work describe area of management games. There is also a description of the influence of games on the managerial hard and soft skills, including their relationship with various levels of management. The thesis focus on market research of management games and simulators, and then selecting the appropriate management games for teaching at the Faculty of Management in Jindřichův Hradec. Suitable games are described in greater detail and compared.

After systematically using educational games in three secondary English classes over a one-year period, this project documents the effectiveness of games by analyzing students' opinions. Surveys were used to determine the perceptions of 150 students about the actual games used in their classes. Some examples of effective games are also given.

The unified learning model (ULM) focuses on students' engagement, motivation, prior knowledge, and working memory. This study employs the use of video games to assess students' learning through a 3D chemistry gaming environment. In this human-subjects research, students carried out missions and applied reasoning to solve problems appropriate for general chemistry content. For learning to occur, students must be engaged and motivated as stated in the ULM. Learning cannot necessarily be accomplished by experience alone, and critical thinking is required to turn the experience into learning. The interpretation of educational theory applied to video games and this proposed study are discussed. A moderately positive correlation was found between exam score and study time (playing the game). Essentially the more time spent playing the game or an online activity the higher the exam scores. There was an alpha level less than 0.05 (p < 0.05) between the experimental group and non-traditional group (no game or online activity). Supporting that there was a statistically significant difference between groups, the null hypothesis was accepted between the game and online activity. Furthermore, as stated under the ULM, engagement is necessary for optimal learning.

The ability to design controlled, unconfounded experiments in order to test hypotheses via the Control of Variables Strategy (CVS) is fundamental to all scientific reasoning and inquiry, considered a cornerstone of critical thinking as a whole which enables individuals to make valid causal inferences (Kuhn, 2005a). CVS is considered so crucial to science and science education, in fact, that various scientific and governmental agencies a have begun including it in student curricula, such as the Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012), Benchmarks for science literacy (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1993), and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS; NGSS Lead States, 2013). However, despite its unique power and flexibility as a cognitive tool and its centrality to the entire architecture of scientific inquiry, most children do not spontaneously develop use of CVS without some form of instruction or scaffolding. According to the National Academy of Sciences (1995), students of various ages still have difficulty manipulating variables and conceptualizing controlled experiments. Thus, a significant amount of research effort has gone into the examination of the circumstances under which the learning and transfer of CVS is best supported. One such avenue has been within the realm of embodied cognition. Embodied cognition is a concept in Cognitive Science which suggests people create mental perceptual simulations of concepts in order to understand them (Barsalou, 2004; Morrison and Tversky, 1997; Martin, 2007). In the realm of CVS research, the computerization of instructional and assessment materials has met with some success. Klahr, Triona, and Williams (2007), for example, found virtual training tasks in CVS to be equally effective as training tasks with real physical equipment, a result replicated by Smetana & Bell (2012), as well as Triona & Klahr, 2003). Nonetheless, even in these studies, the virtual tasks undertaken by students appear to largely be an extension of a classroom lecture, merely replicating the experience of a physical task without taking advantage of the more unique qualities of the medium. Black (2014) found strong evidence for the potential of video games as perceptually rich grounding environments for embodied learning. Further, significant literature exists establishing the beneficial impacts of game-based learning on motivation and engagement (e.g. Rigby & Przybylski, 2009; Cordova & Lepper, 1996; Malone, 1981). This study combines these two streams of research by investigating the impact of an interactive simulation game on scientific reasoning skills, specifically effective use of CVS. It seeks to know the impact of game-based learning on scientific reasoning skills and engagement with science, as well as whether structured or unstructured access to an interactive narrative simulation game has a differential impact on immediate learning and retention after a delay following formal instruction. Students were randomized into three groups—two with unstructured and structured access to the game and a control group and given tests of scientific reasoning at baseline, immediately following the training phase, and a week thereafter. They then took two surveys on their science engagement and game experience, the latter of which also included submitting a record of their thoughts and reactions while playing the game. The study found significant effects of group on all measures, with the game groups outperforming the control, and the unstructured group showing the strongest performance in the post-study test while the structured play group performed the most poorly in the retention test. The unstructured group also showed the highest level of intrinsic motivation, as well as higher self-determination and self-efficacy than the structured playing group in the science engagement survey. The dissertation begins with an establishment of a theoretical framework and literature review before going on to discuss the study and game design in detail. Results and implications are discussed in depth.

The purpose of this research was to take the first steps in the creation of a simulation game, tailored for the needs of ISE-5204 Manufacturing Systems Engineering, that will provide students with the opportunity of applying their knowledge in realistic situations. The needs of ISE-5204 were established based on the course material and on interviews with appropriate faculty members. A game review showed that there is not a game available which combines all of the characteristics desirable to fit these needs. Therefore the a new simulation game is needed for use in the course. This research developed a simulation game framework, unique in driving a strategic business type game by low level production decisions. The framework consists of three components: conceptual, organizational and structural framework. The conceptual framework is based on a competitive game with a multiproduct environment, with operational decisions being the driving force. The organizational framework specifies that periodic decision are made by competing student companies and input into the game for production simulation and generation of status reports. The structural framework specifies that a discrete, next event simulation model of shop floor operation is used to model the production system and create output reports. A prototype model demonstrated the feasibility of running a high level strategic game by low level production modeling. Three competing companies were simulated for three production periods. Each company made decisions that were representative of a different strategy. Simulation outputs were indicative of the behavior characterized by the company decisions and inputs. / Master of Science

Based on the specificity of educational technology research, "Development Research Method" was adopted as the methodological framework in the whole study. Under this framework, a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods was employed for data collection and analysis, including the knowledge pre- and post-test, generic-skill test, perception survey, in-depth interviews as well as artifacts of students' reflective journals, reports and game-playing records. All of these intensively focused on investigating students' and teachers' perceptions, students' learning motivation, behaviors, effectiveness with respect to the VISOLE approach and researching the design strategies for situated educational games. / Designed to make use of the immense power of World Wide Web (WWW) and facilitate a paradigm shift in education, VISOLE (Virtual Interactive Student-Oriented Learning Environment) is a new game-based situated learning paradigm which aims to enable student-centered learning taking place in a game-based interactive virtual environment. Briefly speaking, the VISOLE approach is composed of 3 phases in which students have to (Phase 1) preliminarily acquire some high-level knowledge in specific subject domains through teachers' scaffolding; (Phase 2) actively participate as a game character in a game-based virtual interactive environment to construct knowledge and skills from their near real-life game-play experiences; (Phase 3) reflect and generalize their game-based learning experiences through teachers' debriefing. / In accordance with the philosophy of "Development Research Method", the theoretical context and the research findings, besides developing and further enhancing the VISOLE approach, a framework for designing constructivist situated educational games was also theorized in the present study. / In spite of the research limitation in the present study, I believe that the issues explored, the proposed educational-game design strategies and the research methodological innovation discussed are vital references for the researchers, teachers and educational-policy makers in designing, researching, applying as well as considering and making related educational policies in the area of game-based learning. / In the present research, most of the teachers and students were basically positive towards VISOLE, Farmtasia as well as the respective learning resources. It was empirically found that most of the students were much motivated during the entire learning process, in conducting active learning, collaborative learning and inquiry-based learning. Moreover, it was also found that after the VISOLE process, the students gained their self-constructed subject knowledge, enhanced generic skills for problem solving and improved non-intelligent skills, particularly in terms of attitudes and emotions. / Under the present theoretical context of learning, digital games and game-based learning, this dissertation exploited and reinforced the VISOLE learning paradigm. It also delineated the design and development of the first VISOLE game---"Farmtasia" and presented the empirical research on investigating the educational realization and accomplishment of VISOLE. / 尚俊傑. / Adviser: Fong Lok Lee. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: A, page: 0495. / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 516-536). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Shang Junjie.