Electronic sports (Esports) is a fast-growing competition that has increased modern sports families' market value and size worldwide. It has become a popular competitive gaming and intramural activity in American university campuses. However, what are the perceptual differences toward Esports among university students in America? Therefore, this…

In an increasingly competitive higher education marketplace, institutions are seeking innovative strategies to grow or maintain their existing student populations. As student interests shift over time, institutions must stay informed of the rise and decline of various sporting activities and the impact those activities have on the student body. As…

This case study investigated middle school students' perceptions of digital game-based learning (DGBL) in the classroom, focusing on engagement, motivation, and academic achievement. Using Piaget's (1962) Constructivist Learning Theory as a framework, the research examined the influence of interactive digital games on students' educational…

Disengagement from school represents the beginning stages of the general process which can end with dropout (Archambault et al., 2022; Henry et al., 2012). Disengagement, amplified by the recent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to impact the education of students in the United States, which if not addressed, can begin a cycle which may…

The purpose of this study was to examine the Problem of Practice (POP) to determine if and how creating an Esports extracurricular program could potentially benefit and impact academic performance and attendance among high school students. The Dissertation in Practice (DIP) investigated how providing a daytime program could engage and motivate…

The fifth-grade boys at an elementary school in Texas consistently perform lower than girls on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) reading portion. The gender gap in reading is not exclusive to this school. Boys score lower than girls on state-administered reading assessments each year in the United States (U.S.) and have…

Over the last decade, the advancement of competitive collegiate esports has shown that there can be new and innovative ways for students to represent their schools competitively, earn scholarships, and make a living after college - all through "gaming." It is currently unknown whether college students and administration perceive…

Institutions of higher education have been traditionally tasked with the challenge of educating individuals for a changing economy and society. As the economy and education drive innovation, highly skilled workers are required to keep up the new status quo. However, as the perceived value of higher education shifts, institutions of higher…

Many secondary students in the United States are struggling to find success in math creating a preparation gap in the U.S. STEM workforce. Based on national and international assessments, little improvement has been made over the past several decades in U.S. secondary students' knowledge and skills in higher-order math tasks like translating and…

Video-gaming has become a popular extracurricular option for students in higher education. More than 70 percent of undergraduate students reported they played video-games at some level with heavy-video-gaming students reporting they invest over 14 hours a week on games. When extracurricular activities take 14 or more hours of commitment, students'…

Esports has been adopted by high schools across the country and around the world as a school-based opportunity for students to engage in competitive video gaming. Growth of esports in secondary schools has been informed independently by student and industry interests, leaving school administrators little understanding surrounding the motives and…

Games have shown to be great tools for learning a variety of topics, but few games have been developed mathematics topics at the undergraduate level. One possible avenue is to pursue digital game-based learning. The game "Vector Unknown" was designed from a task from the Inquiry-Oriented Linear Algebra (IOLA) curriculum to connect…

Students studying in beginning level foreign language classrooms often lack the opportunity to speak spontaneously (Kogan, 2023). Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is a pedagogical approach to language instruction that advocates for the use of tasks to develop learners' second/foreign language (L2) abilities. Games can act as tasks that prepare…

The purpose of this sequential mixed methods study was to explore differences in students' STEM identities, game play motivations, and game preferences. The need to grow and support STEM education and careers in the U. S. is a widely-held concern for those in leadership, industry, and education. A purposeful sample of 167 9th grade-12th grade…

Game-based learning, or the process of adapting an educational concept into a game-based structure, has been studied by researchers for nearly a century. Over the last several decades, new technologies have allowed digital media to create a multibillion-dollar entertainment industry commonly known as video games. Video games have become a tool for…