Using Game- and Play-Based Learning to Foster Critical Thinking Skills

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 1528

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Head of Anglia Learning & Teaching, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
Interests: playful learning; use of play and games in adult learning contexts; learning & teaching strategy

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Guest Editor
Centre for Learning Enhancement and Education Development, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6BX, UK
Interests: playful learning; critical pedagogy; design; deweyan pragmatism; higher education

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Play and games have been used within educational contexts for centuries, and critical examination of their use and their effect on learning outcomes has emerged over the past century. There is a large body of work examining the role of play and games in child development, as well as a smaller but growing interest in the role it can play in adult learning and through digital games. There have been studies on overall engagement with game-based learning, as well as within particular disciplines. However, there has been very little focus on the effect play- and game-based learning can have on ‘soft’ or ‘transferable’ skills at any level or in area of learning.

This Special Issue, therefore, calls for original, theoretical and evidence-based articles on the use of games and/or play in a learning context to foster critical thinking skills. Critical thinking skills (see Cotrell, 2023) are key to academic and professional development in most learning contexts (whether formal education or professional training). Therefore, our aim is to curate a Special Issue that will contribute to knowledge across all education sectors.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Critical evaluation of game-based or playful approaches used in a teaching context that revealed improvements in critical thinking skills.
  • Critical evaluation of game-based or playful approaches used to teach critical thinking skills.
  • Studies on the application of critical thinking skills within any learning or practice context, where game- or play-based methods were used.
  • Theoretical papers identifying methods by which critical thinking skills can be mapped or connected to game- or play-based approaches. 

Dr. Alex Moseley
Dr. John Lean
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • critical thinking
  • soft skills
  • transferable skills
  • games
  • play
  • learning
  • education
  • playful learning

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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9 pages, 253 KiB  
Brief Report
Innovative Methodologies in University Teaching: Pilot Experience of an Escape Room in Nursing Students
by Javier Fagundo-Rivera, Rocío Romero-Castillo, Miguel Garrido-Bueno and Pablo Fernández-León
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(10), 1097; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14101097 - 9 Oct 2024
Viewed by 911
Abstract
The presence of playful elements in learning environments is increasingly frequent in university settings. The objective of this study was to evaluate the gaming experience of the participants of an escape room activity developed in the second year of the Bachelor of Science [...] Read more.
The presence of playful elements in learning environments is increasingly frequent in university settings. The objective of this study was to evaluate the gaming experience of the participants of an escape room activity developed in the second year of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. An escape room activity was carried out, based on 10 tasks, on the thematic content of the subject ‘History, Theory and Methods of Nursing II’, with students in the second year. After the game experience, the Gameful Experience Scale (GAMEX) questionnaire of 27 items in the validated version in Spanish and for nursing students was applied. An open-ended question was also included to allow the students to give their opinion on aspects of improvement, or their feelings during their performance, and a thematic analysis was utilized for this qualitative approach. A total of 107 students participated in the escape room activity, and 75 individuals acceded to the request to be surveyed. The results in the Enjoyment dimension showed that five of the six questions were assessed with the maximum score by the majority of respondents. In the Absorption dimension, between 15% and 25% of the sample did not manage to abstract themselves from the real world. In the dimensions of Creative Thinking and Activation, up to 70% managed to feel imaginative, creative, or exploratory, feeling active and excited. Nearly 85% of the sample reported the Absence of Negative Affect (hostility, annoyance, or frustration) during the game. In the Dominance dimension, up to 70% of the sample considered feeling influential during the game. Two categories were identified after analyzing the participants’ responses: room for improvement in the activity and feelings during the activity. In conclusion, the escape room is positioned as a useful tool for university teaching in nursing. This didactic game allows students to have fun while learning, and to value the knowledge and techniques provided by the subject while being able to work as a team. Full article
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