Assessing Learning Outcomes Through Digital Game-Playing: A Systematic Literature Review

This paper aims to present a systematic literature review on empirical digital games (DG) studies. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was followed as a standard systematic literature review methodology. Twenty-five research papers were included in this review to determine the attributes of DGs that differently influenced learners’ cognition, attitude and behaviour. It shows also how researchers of the included studies measured participants’ progress whether during or after playing educational games. Based on the categories established and the analysis, the findings suggest that some features of games have affected diverse learning outcomes. There are also different ways of assessing the players’ learning progress while playing a game which can be summarised in three methods: by using the feedback system in the game, analysing players’ log file data, or applying external pre-tests and post-tests. This systematic review offers a helpful guideline for designing an effective educational game by considering games’ attributes with different learning subjects and outcomes. Furthermore, it extends the guidance by providing a general list of how educators have assessed students’ progress after playing an educational game. Thus, combining game attributes to attain specific learning outcomes and assessment methods to measure players’ progress is a specific purpose of this paper. Recommendations for future research and for practice are provided as well as the paper’s limitations.