Playing Bingo to learn Boolean operators Alain El Hofi Patrick Labelle Outline ▰ Game-based learning (GBL) in library instruction ▰ Project overview and methodology ▰ Playing BIBLIOBINGO ▰ Results and discussion ▰ Limitations and next steps ▰ Your questions and experiences GBL in instruction ▰ Achieve learning outcomes ▰ Enhance motivation and student engagement ▰ Address different learning styles ▰ Enable self-discovery of information ▰ Build on prior knowledge ▰ Increase retention Best practices for GBL ▰ Minimal instruction and complexity ▰ Engaging content and elements of fun ▰ Built around rules, goals and challenges ▰ Tied to learning outcomes ▰ Assessing prior and post-game knowledge Best practices for GBL ▰ Immediacy of feedback ▰ Ability to learn from failure ▰ High level of participation, low level of frustration ▰ Targeted shorter games may be more effective ▰ Student involvement during game development Research project overview ▰ To determine whether playing a game increases students’ learning of Boolean logic ▰ Limited research on specific info lit skills ▰ To inform local teaching practices and encourage the use of games to enhance learning and increase enjoyment Research questions ▰ Does playing a Boolean-themed game affect student performance in using Boolean operators to build search strings? ▰ Does reported enjoyment of the game correlate with higher performance in using Boolean operators for building search strings? Research project context ▰ Most instruction at uOttawa is done through one-shot, 80-minute sessions at all levels ▰ Challenge of motivating students is prevalent ▰ Limited use of games as a learning activity ▰ SCS 1150 course was targeted for this study ▰ Conducted in Fall 2017 and Winter 2018 Methodology ▰ Pre- and post-test experimental design ▰ Convenience sampling ▰ Students were randomly assigned to groups ▰ Session structure ▰ Instruction ▰ Pre-test ▰ Game ▰ Instruction ▰ Post-test ▰ Post-test Methodology ▰ Focusing on a specific skill – Boolean logic ▰ Using non-linguistic representation ▰ Note – research ethics approval obtained Let’s play BIBLIOBINGO Results and discussion Response rates, overall ▰ 165 students participated (214 enrolled) ▰ Response rate = # valid responses / enrollment ▰ Overall responses: 77.1% (including incompletes) Response rates, per test ▰ Pre-test: 73.4% ▰ Post-test (1): 71% ▰ Post-test (2): 77.6% ▰ Question about “fun”: 57% GROUP PRE-TEST POST-TEST 1 POST-TEST 2 Experimental 46.4 49.5 50.2 Control 49.1 47.1 51.5 Means of experimental and control groups GROUP PRE-TEST POST-TEST 1 POST-TEST 2 Experimental 46.4 49.5 50.2 Control 49.1 47.1 51.5 Means of experimental and control groups GROUP PRE-TEST POST-TEST 1 POST-TEST 2 Experimental 46.4 49.5 50.2 Control 49.1 47.1 51.5 Means of experimental and control groups Research question #1 ▰ Does playing a Boolean-themed game affect student performance in using Boolean operators to build search strings? ▰ Experimental group appeared to make higher gains BUT ▰ no statistically significant difference between the means of both groups Research question #2 ▰ Does reported enjoyment of the game correlate with higher performance in using Boolean operators for building search strings? “Fun” variable survey question ▰ “Which answer best describes your feelings about the following statement? - “I found playing BiblioBingo fun.” ▰ Strongly disagree ▰ Disagree ▰ Neither agree nor disagree ▰ Agree ▰ Strongly agree “I found playing BiblioBingo fun” 4 3 41 58 16 strongly disagree disagree neither agree nor disagree agree strongly agree Research question #2 ▰ Does reported enjoyment of the game correlate with higher performance in using Boolean operators for building search strings? ▰ 60.7% agreed or strongly agreed game was fun BUT ▰ no statistically significant correlation between amount of “fun” reported and scores Limitations and next steps ▰ Sampling method ▰ Incentives/motivation to participate Limitations and next steps ▰ Experimental design ▰ Changing order of administration (Latin square design) ▰ AND operator conceptually present in control cards ▰ Next steps: isolate results for questions relating to OR/NOT Concluding remarks ▰ GBL in instruction has increased significantly with mixed results ▰ Trying something new to energize the one-shot while improving student learning ▰ Disappointing results overall, but maintaining a positive outlook for future applications ▰ Learning opportunity to enhance methodology Additional information ▰ Link to supplemental material - http://bit.ly/bibliobingo ▰ Acknowledgement: Riva Lieflander for advice on and assistance with methodological questions and statistical analysis ▰ Presentation template: SlidesCarnival Questions and comments