What?!?! Sims can be used for learning?!?!
Yes, Sims can be used for learning. . .
or that's what Andreassen and Syvertsen reported in their 2016 research paper titled "Playful Learning with The Sims, for Adult Learners."
When I first found the article, I was like
because I never really thought about the Sims in that aspect. I've always played the Sims as a good pass time with friends. However, it never struck me until I read the article about its potential in education. . . especially in adult learning (the group I'm interested in working with in the future).
Utilizing commercial games for learning is not novel. There is many research done on the subject area. However, the authors argued that this research was necessary because there is too little research on how commercial games affect adult learners. Most research has been focused on the younger generations. They also argued that the Sims is seldomly used in an educational context. Therefore, they want to know whether facilitators can use it to train individuals to learn workplace knowledge.
To address these questions, the authors partnered with a privately held company based in Oslo, Norway to test whether the "Sims 4: Get to work expansion" can teach adults from minority immigrant backgrounds workplace knowledge and computer literacy.
I will not discuss the background further because I will cover it in the video below. I will also present my critique of their research. As cool of research as it is, there are still some strengths and weaknesses to their study.
Watch my presentation below
Hi Kelly!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you sharing this informative article about SIMS to us. When I first saw the post's headline, I had no idea what SIMS was. I then looked up the game on Google and discovered that there are various profession choices, which is really cool. I have some concerns about how the researchers plan to evaluate the job content that requires practical work like chef or chemist, and whether these invited participants have relevant previous working experience. If someone is new to the field while someone else already has relevant job skills, how can they minimize such bias?
Hi Jiayu, I think the authors pointed out a really interesting future direction of the study. They want do future research with other tasks to see how effective it is. However, I think like all learning experiences, there would be limitations. For example, it would not make up for some practical experiences but it can simulate some practice. It might help chefs learn to memorize recipes or how to time manage a bunch of orders at the same time. Also, it's a good question whether people have prior knowledge. The authors did not mention their participants' occupational backgrounds so it would be interesting to see if prior skills would affect the outcome.
DeleteHi Kelly, great presentation! You were clear in explaining the study, and the slide deck was masterfully handled - you managed to get a lot of meaning across with very few words and great aesthetics:) I agree that the study lacked assessment - did they draw conclusions from self-reports by the participants? I get this impression from their use of surveys and interviews, but let me know if I misunderstood. Also, curious to see how exactly they formed the simulation in Sims, especially in terms of exploring what unique affordances Sims has as a game. Looking forward to seeing you in class!
ReplyDeleteHi Daniel, thank you so much! They did draw conclusions from the self-reports by the participants. They deemed that the SIMS helped adults learn occupational knowledge. They carefully worded it as people revealed that they felt like they've gained from the experience though. I think the wording is a bit ambiguous so it's definitely something to examine in future research! They formed the simulations in Sims by having the participants create their own business proposal plans! Afterwards, they would build their own stores and run it. I thought it is a unique way of getting people to learn on the job skills.
DeleteThanks so sharing this super-cool research, Kelly. This is so wild, I never thought about it how SIMS could be helpful in learning, I always looked at these games as mediums of pleasure, "just for fun". But I appreciate the research method that involves explicit research with reflection. I wonder, what do the researchers means by traditional methods of learning? Also, what demography of participants were recruited and what do they mean by "semi-structured" interviews? Were participants given a few prompts and asked to chat about them informally (the reflection!)?
ReplyDeleteHi Namita,
DeleteBy traditional learning methods, they mean formal learning environments like classroom setting etc. I actually do not have the demography of the participants that were recruited unfortunately. I wish there was an appendix that shows how they collected the data. Therefore, I listed it as one of the cons of the studies. By semi-structured, it means that there were a list of interview questions but they let the conversations flow. They aren't particularly stuck on a set of questions. Instead, they let refer to the questions, but are okay with veering into different topics if necessary.
I know you're into user research, so I'm going to drop a video about semi-structured research here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z8XV1S7548