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Assessing Problem-Solving Skills in Game-Based Immersive Environments

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Second Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

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Abstract

According to Pearson’s Law: “That which is measured improves.” But some important constructs, like problem-solving skill, are generally viewed as very difficult to measure for a variety of reasons (e.g., lack of a clear and agreed-upon definition, psychological and/or statistical multidimensionality of the construct, subjectivity of scoring, and so on). Adding to the challenge of validly measuring problem-solving skill is that formal education settings tend to focus only on well-structured problems – those that have correct and incorrect answers. However, these problems tend to have little transfer to the real world. In short, there is a gap in the kinds of problems being assessed and taught in schools and those desired in workplace environments. In this chapter, we focus on how game-based immersive environments, such as well-designed video games, can be used to both measure and promote the development of problem-solving skills in formal education settings. In this chapter, we discuss the theoretical foundations of problem-solving and provide a worked example of assessing it from gameplay using a well-designed video game. We conclude the chapter with a discussion on future implications for using game-based environments to measure and promote problem-solving skills in education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Valerie J. Shute & Benjamin Emihovich

Authors
  1. Valerie J. Shute
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  2. Benjamin Emihovich
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Correspondence to Valerie J. Shute .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Joke Voogt

  2. University of North Texas , Denton, Texas, USA

    Gerald Knezek

  3. University of North Texas , Denton, Texas, USA

    Rhonda Christensen

  4. University of Otago , Dunedin, New Zealand

    Kwok-Wing Lai

Section Editor information

  1. King's College London, London, UK

    Mary Webb

  2. University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany

    Dirk Ifenthaler

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Shute, V.J., Emihovich, B. (2018). Assessing Problem-Solving Skills in Game-Based Immersive Environments. In: Voogt, J., Knezek, G., Christensen, R., Lai, KW. (eds) Second Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education . Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53803-7_40-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53803-7_40-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-53803-7

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