Behavioral Evaluation of Preference for Game-Based Learning Procedures

Recent research has studied game mediated learning and its motivational function. Educational games must maintain their educational function retaining clear definitions of the teaching objectives and instructional methods. This paper evaluated the impact of a game on a reading instructional procedure that has been successfully applied in Brazil. Two matching-to-sample teaching tasks were tested on 19 children in literacy ages. In the condition of standard teaching, only the matching-to-sample tasks were presented. In the game-based condition, the same matching-to-sample tasks were interspaced with game challenges. A behavioral choice procedure indicated the participant's condition choice. After learning 15 words, the participants responded a computerized version of the Learning Motivational Scale of Basic Education, which identified the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. Results show no motivation and reading scores correlation and validate the choice procedure as reliable predictor of preference.