Generative conversations in game-based learning

Abstract

This study examines a secondary level game-based learning curriculum centered on a multi-player 3D game, in which students collaboratively make sense of phenomena related to the behavior of charged particles in electric and magnetic fields. We study the interaction among the students while they enlist resources in the form of the game and curriculum materials that serve as scaffolds for sense-making. Through the consideration of coordination of the perception-conception of resources with actions related to scientific inquiry processes, potential sites for generative conversations were identified. We suggest future directions for the design and study of game-based learning curriculum to foster generative conversations that better shape students' sense-making trajectories.