Voluntary video game teaching basic computational concepts to early-age children, grounded in intrinsic motivation¶
Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 associational),q2· 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study
Description¶
A voluntary video game addressing basic computational concepts, deployed for early ages and grounded in intrinsic motivation. The abstract notes that game-based environments often lack "sufficient voluntariness to assess aspects related to intrinsic motivation, such as interests, skills, persistence in solving a problem and behavior in response to rewards", which this design makes measurable. Data were collected via game learning analytics for 15 months, with 4124 users playing more than 28187 games.
Design Implications¶
Context¶
Requirements¶
- Voluntary play so that interests, skills, persistence, and response to rewards can be observed as motivation-related aspects
Constraints¶
Target Learners¶
- Children aged 3 to 6 years
Learning Goals¶
- Basic computational concepts / learning to program as a vehicle for Computational Thinking development
Claims¶
- Computational Concepts Achievable Ages 3 To 6 Mastery By 4 [+M]
- Age Gender Differences Interests Skills Achievement [+M]
Related Designs¶
Examples¶
-
Key Sources¶
- M. Zapata-Cáceres and E. Martín-Barroso, "Applying Game Learning Analytics to a Voluntary Video Game: Intrinsic Motivation, Persistence, and Rewards in Learning to Program at an Early Age," in IEEE Access, vol. 9, pp. 123588-123602, 2021, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3110475
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
design |
id |
voluntary-intrinsic-motivation-programming-game |
title |
Voluntary video game teaching basic computational concepts to early-age children, grounded in intrinsic motivation |
description |
A voluntary video game addressing basic computational concepts, deployed for early ages and grounded in intrinsic motivation. |
status |
review |
generated |
by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-16 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — zapata-cáceres-2021 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.