Session 1, Day 2
Session 1, Day 2
INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS:_Unpacking Gamer Expertise
The Role of Experience in Learning from Videogames: A Comparison of Expert and Novice Cases_— Meredith DiPietro
How Did You Get so Good? An Investigation of Expertise in World of Warcraft_— P. G. Schrader & Michael McCreery
Gaming & Trajectories of Technological Expertise_— Elisabeth Hayes
Constance Steinkuehler, Chair_
Meredith DiPietro
The Role of Experience in Learning from Videogames: A Comparison of Expert and Novice Cases
Why Study video game expertise
Theoretical frame
Methodology
Education and Gaming
What we know from existing research
- There is a link between videogame play and the development of cognitive skills
- Relationship between the development of cong. Skills and learning content related info
- Video game play is a demonstration of expertise
Need for further investigation
- the relathionship between game play conf. Skills and fidividual dinfference such as gender age and experience
Theories Of expertise
- Defines the role of experience as a critical element of expertise leading to the development of knowledge structures or schema
- The developed knowledge structures of expers direct domain related asction
Methodologies used to research expertise
- Investigate expert performance in relation to a set of representative tasks for a domain
Talk aloud protocols
- participant provides a life description of domain tasks
- observations
Participants
- 4 adults, 2 experts, 2 novices
- partcipant selection was defined by the 7 charss. Of expertise
- no experience with the video game lego star wars
- 30 min game play session
Interview data
- participant description of their experiences and preferences
- conversation based on video clips of their play
Qualitative Analysis
- Interview data coded for representative tasks, revealed 3 takk categories
o Skill development
o Judgements
o Strategy
Novice attention on superficial gameplay.. like on the controller, want to know all the buttons of the controller, very detailed oriented way of playing
The expert was more holistic in terms of gameplay, focusing on the gaming environment, doing meta thinking, there’s a higher level of cognitive thinking
10 cognitive skills identified, novices moved 5, experts used all 10
novice are using assessment and analysis strategies. Experts also used more judgment and strategic processes
The results of this study indicate that
- the role of experience in game play is consistent with it’s role in theories of expertise. Experience supports the development of schema that directs attention and reduces cognitive load
- The cognitive skills used by novice participants may be considered a base like of gognitive activity engaged by recreational video game play
- The cognitive skills used by expert participants canb e seen as a result of continued game play
Ccritical role of experience illustrated in theis study point to:
- can games be designed in a way that accomidates and supports novice knowledge?
- Can the use of specific pedagogic strategies when using video games in classroom settings accommodate and support novice knowledge?
- Can games be designed in a way that develops cognitives skills in relation to content knowledge delivered through a game?
Talk aloud Protocol
- the use of talk aloud protocols can interfere during task performance
Modification of TAP used in this study
- Elimineated interference effect
- In the moment descriptions were still captured
Full reference list: mdipietro@coe.ufl.edu
P. G. Schrader & Michael McCreery
How Did You Get so Good? An Investigation of Expertise in World of Warcraft
Rhoena
NE Druid
Ner Zhul Server
Did survey research that asks gamers how they achieved their level of compotence
WoW, why?
- Valuable learning context
o Gee, 2003; innovate vol. 1 #6, 2005,; young, 2004
- Collaborative
- Intratextual and intratextual resources
- Social Niches and Online culture
o Ctprofiles.net
ß lets you publish your gear/ build/ skills
ß is outside the game but takes in-game resources
o Machinama
Goals
- re-examine existing paraedigms of learning/ expertise within the contesxt of digital environments
- How do gamers view their development of expertise?
- MMOGs are social, how does that relate to expertise?
Glaser and Chi Characteristics of experts
- excel in their domains
- solve patterns vaster
- superior short and long term memory (domain specific)
- perceive meaningful patterns
- represent problems at a deeper level
- time analyzing
- strong self monitoring skills
Bereiter and scardmalia
- investmenmt in progressive problem solving
- performance in addition to the exisiting knowledge base
Alexander
- Model of Domain Learning (MDL)
- It focuses on learning
- Integration of affect
o Motivation
o Interest
- The whole model is a journey toward proficiency
Consistencies among these models
- posess extensive and integrated bodies of domain knowledge
- effective at recognizing underlying structures of domain problems
o know game mechanics
- select andd apply the appropriate problem solving prociedures
- can collect and recall appropriate info with very little cognitive effort
Instrumentation
- 39 item questionare pertaining to gaming practices and proficiency
o 7 pt scale
- 48 experienced gamers
- Single Guild – Ner Zhul Server, WoW
o Advanced content and skill
o PvP and PvE excellence
Participants
- 40 male
- 40 female
characters
- 58 male
- 41 female
General MMO experience level
- 85.1 % proficient – master
WoW experience
- 93% proficient
- 76% expert – master
Gamers value knowledge of
- mobs 97%
- items/ gear 97%
- char abilities 79% (at the highst level of agreement)
- Other’s char abilities 97.%
Underlyiing structures
- Understand their characters role 91%
- Understand game mechanics 85%
Select Procedures/ Action
- research
o Trial and error 83%
o Forums 66%
o Multiple resources 68%
- Plan/ strategize with guild 70%
- Value the prediction of outcomes 89%
Access Information Fast
- Can rely on me to act quicly 87%
- Respond effectively 91%
Social collaboration
- vent / teamspeak use
- Participants DO
o Talk to guildmates
o Value collaboration
o Modify interface
- The do NOT
o Talk to non-guildies
o Use quests to master content
o Use commercial strategy guides
o Value an in-game mentor
Pg.Schrader@unlv.edu
Peagea AIM. Ichat
Elisabeth Hayes
Gaming & Trajectories of Technological Expertise
Centers of expertise
- An islan of expertise is a topic in which children happen to become interested and in which they develop relatively deep and rich knowledge. K. Crowley & M. Jacobs
Expertise
- A process of Progressively advancing on the problems of constitute a field of work
Progressive problem solving
- reinivestment in learning
- seeking out more difficult problems
- Tackling more complex representations of current problems
- (vs. problem reduction, which is what they claim experienced non- experts do, once you reach a level of knowledge, you try to fit the problem to what you already kno w how to do)
Expert Subcultures
- Social environments in which individual andvancements progressively change the standards of performance
Zelda subculture
- partially wanted to look at a broad sampling of games to see where expertise develops
- also wanted to look at a game that would have a broad interest base
Davognones
- 22 yr old male
- launched a first website at age 14, nintndo image archive (became the largest
- founded The Legend of Zelda at age 16
- He was really interested in the storyline, started his site to make a better storyline section than the pre-existing one
- Went through and wrote down all the important quotes
o Then found text dumps
o His expertise starts to focus and grow
- Starts to learn how to deal with jap. Text dumps
- The Zelda community starts to challenge him
- He realizes himself that he’s becoming this expert i the field
Koroks Rock
- Age 18
- Studying graphic design
- Fan fiction admin
- 59 fan art files
Video Games offer
- compelling technology –mediated experiences (meaningful goals)
- Not just programming: multiple and integrated tech applications
- Communities with specilist language, distributed knowledge, social recogition, multiple forms of participation
Issues
- What are the strength and limitations fo differet games as starting points for IT learning?
- IT learning at the center or in support of another passion
- Progressive problem solving vs. just learning
- Fan sites as expert subcultures? Not
- Where are the girls?