Search Results (118)

Italian hand gestures constitute a distinctive and widely recognized form of nonverbal communication, deeply embedded in everyday interaction and cultural identity. Despite their prominence, these gestures are rarely formalized or systematically taught, posing challenges for foreign speakers and visitors seeking to interpret their meaning and pragmatic use. Moreover, their ephemeral and embodied nature complicates traditional preservation and transmission approaches, positioning them within the broader domain of intangible cultural heritage. This paper introduces a machine learning–based framework for recognizing iconic Italian hand gestures, designed to support cultural learning and engagement among foreign speakers and visitors. The approach combines RGB–D sensing with depth-enhanced geometric feature extraction, employing interpretable classification models trained on a purpose-built dataset. The recognition system is integrated into a non-immersive virtual reality application simulating an interactive digital totem conceived for public arrival spaces, providing tutorial content, real-time gesture recognition, and immediate feedback within a playful and accessible learning environment. Three supervised machine learning pipelines were evaluated, and Random Forest achieved the best overall performance. Its integration with an Isolation Forest module was further considered for deployment, achieving a macro-averaged accuracy and F1-score of 0.82 under a 5-fold cross-validation protocol. An experimental user study was conducted with 25 subjects to evaluate the proposed interactive system in terms of usability, user engagement, and learning effectiveness, obtaining favorable results and demonstrating its potential as a practical tool for cultural education and intercultural communication. Full article

This article introduces a theoretical framework centered on enhancing creativity through gaming, termed the Game-based Creativity Enhancement Framework (G-CEF). Rooted in experiential learning and game-based learning theories, the framework adopts an input–process–output paradigm: two inputs (personal attributes and game attributes), one process stage (learning situation), and outputs (learning improvements and acquisitions). Personal attributes take the form of conative dispositions and variables common to both creativity and games, which help explain why gaming habits and creativity are linked, particularly outside the laboratory. Six variables are identified and presented: playfulness, imagination, mind-wandering, mindfulness, psychological capital and motives. The second input corresponds to game attributes, which help explain why and how games can help improve creativity. Two forms of game attributes are presented: affordances and game mechanics. Eight types of affordances were identified: degree of flexibility, narrative, tools, environment, content creation, avatar, progression and replayability. Five types of game mechanics were also identified: originality, divergent thinking, convergent thinking, mental flexibility and creative dispositions. The learning situation within games represents a four-step cyclical experiential learning process: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Lastly, the framework details enhancements in creativity due to gaming, supported by a literature review examining the impact of different game types on creativity. Full article

In many developing countries, seismic vulnerability remains high due to the widespread presence of informally constructed buildings without professional design or technical supervision. In Colombia, where nearly 60% of structures are non-engineered, this issue is especially acute. The objective of this study is to design, implement, and quantitatively evaluate the Learning Experience for Earthquake Awareness Program (LEAP), an experiential educational strategy for young students that enhances seismic knowledge, promotes sustainable construction awareness, and contributes to disaster risk reduction as a component of social sustainability. To address this challenge, LEAP introduces students to basic principles of structural mechanics and seismic behavior through playful, hands-on activities combining theoretical instruction, practical experimentation, collaborative design, and the testing of model structures. An experimental design with pre- and post-surveys was implemented with 141 participants, including 80 secondary school students (grades 8th–11th) and 61 university students enrolled in engineering, architecture, and construction programs, using 3D-printed models, earthquake simulators, and interactive games. Statistical analysis using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test ($p<0.05$) revealed significant improvements in conceptual understanding and perception, including gains in distinguishing between the hypocenter and epicenter ($+45.39\%$, $p=5.10\times {10}^{-8}$, $r=0.50$), understanding seismic magnitude ($+39.01\%$, $p=1.67\times {10}^{-12}$, $r=0.71$), and visually identifying structural vulnerabilities ($+25.50\%$, $p=4.50\times {10}^{-2}$, $r=0.41$). Overall, LEAP contributes to disaster risk reduction and social sustainability by strengthening seismic awareness and responsible construction practices. The most significant results were observed among secondary school students, while university participants mainly reinforced applied and visual comprehension. Given its convenience sample, lack of control group, and immediate post-test, findings should be interpreted as exploratory and associative. Full article

Although conventional lectures can provide a wide range of information to a large group of people, maintaining attention and ensuring knowledge transfer can be a challenge. Therefore, it is important to look for new, engaging, and effective approaches. This pilot feasibility study explores the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) in increasing student engagement and knowledge transfer during lectures in the field of supply chain logistics and inventory selection systems. An educational VR game was developed through the systematic design of application logic, the creation of 3D assets, the construction of virtual scenes, and the implementation of gameplay. The application simulates three inventory picking methods: conventional selection, Pick by Light, and Pick by Vision systems. A total of 22 master’s students participated in the pilot study. They tested three different versions of the VR game, compared the time they needed to complete it, and participated in a guided discussion and questionnaire. The preliminary student reports indicated that students felt more engaged in the learning process and reported a perceived higher engagement with inventory picking systems compared to the traditional lecture format. On the other hand, participants mentioned concerns about nausea and the unavailability of VR headsets. The pilot results indicate that VR shows potential as an educational tool for teaching industrial logistics because it transforms the typical classroom environment into a more active and playful one, leading to a more natural understanding of the subject. Full article

This study explores the potential of educational game design as a pedagogical strategy for teaching Mathematics in lower secondary education, addressing persistent challenges related to students’ motivation and engagement with the subject. The research focuses on the creation and implementation of a game, CriaMat, an ideation tool developed to support students in designing their own mathematical games. A qualitative approach was adopted, structured as a case study conducted in four classes and involving a total of 50 students. Data collection followed a mixed-methods strategy, combining participant observation, document analysis, and questionnaire-based inquiry, each applied during different phases of the intervention. The results indicate a positive reception of the approach, particularly in terms of student engagement, collaboration, and perceived learning. Analysis of the games produced demonstrates students’ ability to create functional games that integrate the knowledge and skills developed throughout the process. The findings also suggest that learning to design games was perceived as a valuable strategy for engaging with and consolidating mathematical content, while simultaneously providing a privileged context for developing essential competencies—such as critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving—aligned with the national competency framework for compulsory education. The study does not aim to measure learning gains, but rather to explore students’ perceptions and experiences of learning mathematics through the process of game creation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Considering that current research highlights the role of well-being and play in children’s development and learning, and that the few publications reflecting research into relaxation methods suggest that these create conditions for well-being, the main objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of a playful intervention based on relaxation methods on the well-being of children in the first cycle of schooling. Methods: It is a mixed study, using quantitative and qualitative methods, with a quasi-experimental design, with an intervention group (a total of 24 sessions, based on Boski and Choque’s relaxation proposals for children) and a control group, with pre- and post-intervention assessment in both groups. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers, and focus group techniques were used with children. Sixty-three children participated in this study, with an average age of 8.79 years (M = 8.79; SD = 0.676), 55.6% (35) of whom were female and 44.4% (28) male. Results: The results of the study indicate that the children developed passive limb relaxation and proprioceptive function, without altering their life satisfaction or aspects of emotional development. However, according to the children and teachers, the intervention developed positive emotions, bringing benefits to the classroom. Conclusions: This research contributes to the understanding of the effects, possibilities and potential of relaxation for children in school settings. Full article

The international community has devoted substantial resources to advancing Sustainable Development Goal 4—Quality Education—but achievement gaps persist. In English as a foreign language (EFL) setting, vocabulary acquisition is often regarded as a tedious task. Game-based learning in playful narratives and rule-based interactions has established the premise of enhancing undergraduates’ learning outcomes and motivation; thus, it may also enhance learning outcomes and motivation among students. This study examines the impact of game-based learning on students’ learning outcomes and motivation compared to that of a lecture-based learning context. It also aims to explore the impact of demographic factors, such as gender and prior English proficiency. There are 129 participants: 42 male and 87 female. To ensure that all students benefit from the GBL environment, we explored their demographic background, including their prior English proficiency and gender. The results showed that students had greater gains in the GBL environment, especially those with lower English proficiency. The study finds a gender preference for game types, as well as an association between students’ satisfaction and confidence. The results indicated that integrating board games into English instruction can enhance undergraduates’ motivation and learning outcomes. A game-based context can enhance students’ motivation and learning outcomes regardless of their gender or prior English proficiency. Full article

This paper presents Greenopoli, an innovative framework for sustainability and waste management education that has engaged over 600 schools and 90,000 students since 2014. Greenopoli is founded on the idea that children and youth can grasp environmental issues as well as adults and act as agents of change within their families and communities. The Greenopoli approach combines scientific accuracy with playful, creative pedagogy to simplify complex topics and stimulate peer-to-peer learning. It includes storytelling, games, field visits, and “green raps” (original environmental songs co-created with students). The framework is adaptive, with content and activities tailored to education stages from kindergarten through university. Educators adopt the role of moderators or facilitators, encouraging students to discuss and discover concepts collaboratively. Greenopoli’s participatory method has been implemented across all age groups, yielding enthusiastic engagement and tangible outcomes in waste sorting and recycling behaviors. The program’s reach has extended beyond schools through collaborations with national recycling consortia, NGOs, municipalities, and media (TV programs, social media, TEDx talks). Numerous awards and recognitions (2017–2025) have highlighted its impact. A comparative analysis shows that Greenopoli’s use of peer-led learning, gamification, and creative communication aligns with global best practices while offering a unique blend of tools. Greenopoli is a novel best-practice model in environmental education, bridging theory and practice and contributing to the goals of Education for Sustainable Development and a circular economy. It demonstrates the effectiveness of engaging youth as change-makers through interactive and creative learning, and it can inspire similar initiatives globally. Full article

Within the context of pedagogical renewal in Physical Education, Game-Based Learning (GBL) has emerged as a pedagogical model that can foster students’ motivation and engagement. This study explored university learners’ perceptions of a playful activity in a natural environment, entitled Autolycus’ Game, and its perceived contributions to their holistic development. A total of 114 undergraduate students enrolled in Early Childhood and Primary Education degrees participated in a two-hour session designed as a Breakout EDU in a university park. After the experience, their perceptions were collected through an online semi-structured questionnaire and analysed using qualitative coding techniques in Atlas.ti. Findings indicated that participants perceived Autolycus’ Game as motivating, creativity-enhancing, and supportive of social interaction and cooperative work. Most participants highlighted that this methodology helped them strengthen social and communication skills, while also valuing the use of the natural environment as a didactic resource. At the same time, participants identified areas for improvement—such as repetitive tasks, uneven difficulty across challenges, and limited supervision—that may reduce engagement if not carefully planned. Overall, participants described Autolycus’ Game as a valuable pedagogical strategy that may enrich learning experiences in Physical Education and support socio-emotional and motor competences, although the findings should be interpreted in light of the study’s limitations (single-institution sample, self-reported data, intact class groups taught by the researchers). Future work could examine outdoor Breakout EDU with mixed-methods and longitudinal designs to assess motivational processes and learning outcomes over time. Full article

Advocates for playful nature-based learning espouse the benefits of children’s self-directed play; however, past research has questioned whether this form of activity is beneficial to children of all ages, particularly the very young. In Australia, there are rapidly growing numbers of nature playgroups and bush kindergartens in which young children’s self-directed play-based learning is promoted. Bush kinders, as they are known in Australia, are a local adaptation of the European forest kindergarten approach, where three- and four-year-old children spend one day a week in outdoor contexts away from the kindergarten premises to learn and play. One further example of Australian nature-based approaches to Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is the nature playgroup where forests, parklands, and beaches are used by parents to regularly meet so their children can socialise and play. Science learning is often prevalent in these nature playgroups where children observe the sky, ground, plants, and animals across changing seasons. The children can mix earth and water and move their bodies as they run, dance, and roll on the grass. Despite the popularity of nature-based ECEC approaches globally, Australian nature playgroups led by facilitators other than parents, aimed towards young children aged from birth to four, have only gained popularity in the past decade. This paper draws upon fieldwork informed by ethnographic methods and undertaken in 2024 at one nature playgroup. The observations of facilitators, parents, and children and the interactions between the researchers and the playgroup participants are described using vignettes to understand the experience of science learning during facilitated nature playgroup sessions. Through analysing research in ECEC nature-based science teaching and learning, we propose that facilitated playgroups are valuable for young children to interact with nature as an avenue to build science knowledge. Full article

Although play naturally embeds computational thinking (CT) and mathematical learning in early childhood education, designing developmentally appropriate learning activities that purposefully nurture and extend these competencies remains a challenge. This study investigates how young children engage with foundational mathematical and computational concepts through analog (DUPLO^®) and digital (Blue-Bot) tools in a play-responsive early childhood education workshop setting. The study adopts a qualitative workshop format aimed at promoting playful exploration and active experimentation, involving eleven 4–5-year-old children and their two teachers. Based on a sociocultural perspective, the findings highlight that mathematics is a human activity embedded in everyday playful practices. In particular, unplugged analog activities, embedded within an open-ended narrative framework, guided and structured the process. Based on these findings, we suggest “computational play” as a framework for developmentally appropriate integration of computational thinking (CT) and mathematics. This framework offers implications for educators seeking to support early CT and mathematical learning in playful, exploratory early childhood education (ECE) environments. Full article

A growing international consensus holds that science education must advance beyond content coverage to cultivate robust understanding of the Nature of Science (NoS)—how scientific knowledge is generated, justified, revised, and socially negotiated. Yet naïve conceptions persist among students and teachers, and effective, scalable classroom strategies remain contested. This narrative review synthesizes research and practice on games and playful activities that make epistemic features of science visible and discussable. We organize the repertoire into six families—(i) observation–inference and discrepant-event tasks; (ii) pattern discovery and rule-finding puzzles; (iii) black-box and model-based inquiry; (iv) activities that dramatize tentativeness and anomaly management; (v) deliberately underdetermined mysteries that cultivate warrant-based explanations; and (vi) moderately contextualized games. Across these designs, we analyze how specific mechanics afford core NoS dimensions (e.g., observation vs. inference, creativity, plurality of methods, theory-ladenness and subjectivity, tentativeness) and what scaffolds transform playful engagement into explicit, reflective learning. We conclude with pragmatic guidance for teacher education and curriculum design, highlighting the importance of language supports, structured debriefs, and calibrated contextualization, and outline priorities for future research on equity, assessment, and digital extensions. Full article

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping creative practices, yet many systems rely on traditional interfaces, limiting intuitive and embodied engagement. This study presents a qualitative observational analysis of participant interactions with a real-time generative AI installation designed to co-create Ukiyo-e-style artwork through embodied inputs. The system dynamically interprets physical presence, object manipulation, body poses, and gestures to influence AI-generated visuals displayed on a large public screen. Drawing on systematic video analysis and detailed interaction logs across 13 sessions, the research identifies core modalities of interaction, patterns of co-creation, and user responses. Tangible objects with salient visual features such as color and pattern emerged as the primary, most intuitive input method, while bodily poses and hand gestures served as compositional modifiers. The system’s immediate feedback loop enabled rapid learning and iterative exploration and enhanced the user’s feeling of control. Users engaged in collaborative discovery, turn-taking, and shared authorship, frequently expressing a positive effect. The findings highlight how embodied interaction lowers cognitive barriers, enhances engagement, and supports meaningful human–AI collaboration. This study offers design implications for future creative AI systems, emphasizing accessibility, playful exploration, and cultural resonance, with the potential to democratize artistic expression and foster deeper public engagement with digital cultural heritage. Full article

The introduction of new technologies has reshaped both workplaces and learning environments, requiring the development of transversal competences such as adaptability, reflection, and perseverance. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, playful approaches have been increasingly adopted in educational settings to enhance engagement, attention, and motivation, as well as to foster awareness of specific topics. In collaboration with the Cologne GameLab, a game prototype entitled Intergalactic Growth was developed to improve understanding of the growth mindset and to promote perseverance, self-awareness, and critical behavior in the use of ChatGPT. This study has two main objectives: to address the growth mindset from an educational and neuroscientific perspective, and to collect qualitative insights on the prototype’s usability and pedagogical potential. Data were gathered through a focus group and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) with NVivo 14. The findings suggest that Intergalactic Growth effectively stimulates emotional engagement and reflection but requires refinement to enhance its pedagogical impact, particularly concerning feedback authenticity and the integration of ChatGPT. Full article

In an increasingly data-driven world, sparking children’s curiosity for meaningful data exploration provides a powerful foundation for lifelong data literacy. Human–data interaction (HDI) offers a promising approach by making data more accessible and engaging, particularly in informal learning environments like museums. However, there is limited understanding of how children, as a distinct user group, engage with embodied, interactive data visualizations. This paper presents findings from an exploratory field study of a gesture-controlled HDI installation deployed in a large urban museum. We analyzed the interactions of over 200 children, primarily from visiting K-12 school groups, as they engaged with an HDI prototype, the data on display, and each other. Our thematic analysis reveals that children’s interactions are deeply social, playful, and imaginative, often prioritizing collaborative discovery and role-playing over direct data interpretation. Based on these observations, we present design recommendations for creating HDI installations that leverage these behaviors to foster meaningful data engagement. Full article