THE EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS OF A COOPERATIVE AND COMPETITIVE VIDEO GAME FOR TEACHING INTRODUCTORY PROGRAMMING

Abstract

The subject of computer programming is highly practical and it is crucial that beginners participate in hands-on experimentation as part of the learning process. Unfortunately, many first year engineering students that are new to this discipline are often intimidated by the material and unmotivated to review or practice the concepts on their own. The purpose of this study is to measure the success of using a cooperative and competitive video game as a pedagogical tool in software engineering education. The video game that was developed for this research is called Space Race and it harnesses the power of group discussion to encourage students to share their individual understandings of basic programming concepts. This dissemination of knowledge within groups was able to teach many students new concepts that they did not understand previously.At least 67% of the students stated that the game motivates them to review course material. The game was wellreceived with at least 82% of the students that played Space Race agreeing that they would recommend that others also learn basic programming concepts with this game. Although the game does not directly teach students new concepts, it allows the instructors to identify what concepts students struggle with. Space Race encourages students to ask the instructor questions when they do not understand. In some cases, game participants outperform nonparticipants on course exams. On the final course exam, all of the statistically significant (p<0:05) comparisons (42% of the relevant questions) showed a performance improvement of game participants, with a maximum grade improvement of 41%. The findings also suggest that some students can retain the knowledge obtained from Space Race for at least 7 weeks. The results of this study provide strong evidence that a video game can be a successful pedagogical tool for software engineering education.