Serious game-based learning and learning by making games: Types of game-based pedagogies and student gaming hours impact students' science learning outcomes

Game-based learning (GBL) has garnered significant attention as a means to enhance student science learning. However, researchers often broadly categorize GBL without specific attention to teachers' practices or the different game-based pedagogies (GBPs) such as serious game-based learning and learning by making games. Serious game-based learning involves the use of games designed primarily for purposes beyond entertainment, engaging students in learning activities. Learning by making games goes further by enabling students to construct and expand their knowledge through creative activities. Furthermore, the impact of students' weekly gaming hours on their academic performance under different GBPs has not been thoroughly explored. In this study, we analyzed pre- and post-science unit assessment data to investigate the effects of serious game-based learning and learning by making games, along with gaming hours, on the science learning outcomes of 129 sixth-grade students in a Midwestern urban school district in the United States. Employing Bayesian paired t-tests and ANOVA, we examined the effects of two GBPs (serious game learning and game-making) implemented by two science teachers and the interaction between each GBP and students' weekly gaming hours. Our findings indicate that both GBPs led to improvements in students' learning, with those participating in making games showing an average increase of 3.5 points more on the posttests than those engaged in serious game-based learning. Additionally, data on student-reported weekly gaming hours showed that in both GBP conditions, students with medium gaming hours showed the most improvement compared to those with fewer or more gaming hours. There was also a potential interaction between types of GBP and the effect of gaming hours outcomes in that the learning gain difference between the two GBPs was more pronounced among students reporting fewer gaming hours, although this effect was not significant. This study contributes to the GBL field by providing practical design recommendations for integrating GBL into formal Kindergarten to 12th grade (K12) settings, taking into account teachers' pedagogical agency and students' gaming experiences.