This research addressed increasing understanding of how players make meaning during play of a complex STEM game and explores to what extent player mental models of STEM concepts shift as a result of interacting with the game simulation. Game based learning is attracting increased attention and interest as a novel platform for experiential…

Language learners need to map a continuous, multidimensional acoustic signal to discrete abstract speech categories. The complexity of this mapping poses a difficult learning problem, particularly for second language learners who struggle to acquire the speech sounds of a non-native language, and almost never reach native-like ability. A common…

Currently, educational games are designed with the educational content as the primary factor driving the design of the game. While this may seem to be the optimal approach, this design paradigm causes multiple issues. For one, the games themselves are often not engaging as game design principles were put aside in favor of increasing the…

This dissertation presents an interpretative content analysis of the "Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing." A joint publication from major professional organizations in the field of composition studies, the "Framework" articulates the principles of the field in response to assessment standards. Composition scholars,…

As shown by the neuropsychological educational approach to the cognitive remediation model, first-person-shooter video game play eliminates gender-related deficits in spatial rotation. Spatial rotation increases academic success and decreases social and economic disparities. Per the general aggression model, first-person-shooter video game play…

This dissertation presents an ethnographic account of the launch of "The Downtown School for Design, Media, and Technology," one of the most prominent American school reform projects in recent years. Drawing on popular accounts about children and young people's pervasive affinity for digital media, and especially video games, the…

The first decade of the twenty-first century has seen dramatic advances in Internet technologies. Digital social spaces have emerged as popular Internet applications that are radically changing how firms and consumers of digital content interact. In the first chapter "Research Agenda" I introduce my research and the context within which it is…

This study, based on experiential play methodology was used to explore student engagement while playing "Medal of Honor (2002)" and "Call of Duty (2003)". It identifies some of the key issues related to the use of video games and simulations during the training phase of game play. Research into the effects of gaming in education has been extremely…

An achievement gap between Anglo and Mexican American students is profound in many school districts. The lack of academic vocabulary that many Mexican American students possess is a major constituent that contributes to this educational gap. Conversely, children who enter school with limited vocabulary find reading, difficult, resist reading,…

Two theories guide two very different ideas about learning. Social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1977, 1989) places the greater emphasis on observational learning, or learning by watching a model produce a behavior before doing it oneself. Other researchers purport that experiential learning, or learning by doing, results in stronger learning (Kolb,…