Defense

This dissertation will be defended on Friday, March 1st 2024, at the TU/e Campus in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

For all the relevant information regarding the defense, please see here.

Introduction

One of the most influential determinants of efficient and effective learning is metacognition: the knowledge a learner has about how they acquire new knowledge and the skills to use that knowledge to monitor and regulate learning. Not all learners within higher education are equally or sufficiently apt in metacognition and, if not attended to, metacognition does not commonly develop autonomously. Providing learners with metacognitive training is a very effective way of improving their current and future learning skills and, in turn, their learning performance.

Game-based learning is best known for its qualities of offering active and interactive training that engage learners with the training content within a self-contained game-based learning environment. This makes game-based learning a suitable approach to metacognitive training, which must be active (for learners to understand and be able to apply metacognition to learning) as well as engaging (for learners to put in the additional effort over longer periods of time). While it is clear that game-based learning can help learners attain certain types of learning outcomes, current research lacks the design knowledge to effectively construct game-based learning environments that train metacognition in learners.

In this dissertation, the design of game-based learning for training metacognition is investigated. After conducting a qualitative review of current insights and example studies within this interdisciplinary topic, a design research methodology was used to investigate the design of game-based metacognitive training. To improve description and analysis of designs of GBLEs for training metacognition, a design framework was developed that defines the salient dimensions of the design space. Through the design and construction of prototypes that sample these dimensions, and through design experiments with students within real-world educational settings, a structured overview of relevant design principles and recommendations was created.

The dissertation ends with implications for design of game-based metacognitive training, as well as contributions to educational design research and a future outlook for higher education.

Dissertation

You can download the full dissertation as a PDF here:

Designing Game-Based Learning for Training Metacognition

You can download specific chapters of the dissertation below:

	Front matter
chapter one	General Introduction
chapter two	Research Methodology and Research Design
chapter three	Qualitative Review
chapter four	Design Framework
chapter five	Improving Metacognition with a Digital Tool
chapter six	Improving Metacognition with Game-Based Learning
chapter seven	General Discussion
	References
	Summary
	Publications & Presentations
	About the author
	Appendices

Cite this work as follows: Braad, E. (2024). Designing Game-Based Learning for Training Metacognition [Doctoral Dissertation, Eindhoven University of Technology].

About the Author

Eelco Braad (Smallingerland, 1981) completed his master in computing science at the University of Groningen, specializing in Computational Science & Scientific Visualization. Two papers on solving polynomial equations using combinatorial optimization were published from his graduation work. During his studies, he co-founded a game development studio and worked on various entertainment and serious game projects.

Unsatisfied with contemporary game education, he made a switch to Hanze University of Applied Science and commenced a long but steady road towards building a four-year international bachelor-level program in game design and game development. From the various cooperations with students, local companies, and researchers, two papers on design research and serious game design were published. This rekindled his interest in research, and he began as a part-time PhD-candidate.

In the present work, three main themes of his work come together: learning, playing, and technology. Eelco is currently working as a senior researcher at Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen. His research focuses on the design and implementation of digital technology to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and enjoyability of learning. Key areas of interest include self-regulated learning, game-based learning, and design research.

Publications & Presentations

The following publications and presentations resulted from the work described in this dissertation:

• Braad, E., Degens, D.M., IJsselsteijn, W.A. & Barendregt, W. (2023). Design experiments in game-based learning of metacognition. Proceedings of the 17th European Conference on Games Based Learning, 17(1), 86-93.
• Braad., E., Degens, D.M., Barendregt, W., & IJsselsteijn, W.A. (2022). Improving metacognition through self-explication in a digital self-regulated learning tool. Educational Technology Research & Development, 70, 2063-2090.
• Braad, E. (2022). Playful metacognitive tools. Presentation held at the Educational Innovators & Pioneers Conference (EPIC). May 30th to June 1st, 2022, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
• Braad., E., Degens, D.M., Barendregt, W., & IJsselsteijn, W.A. (2021). Development of a design framework for metacognition in game-based learning. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 32(4), 295-323.
• Braad, E., Degens, N., & IJsselsteijn, W.A. (2020). Designing for metacognition in game-based learning: A qualitative review. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 6(1), 53–69.
• Braad, E., Degens, N., & IJsselsteijn, W. A. (2019). Towards a framework for metacognition in game-based learning. In L. Elbaek, G. Majgaard, A. Valente, & S. Khalid (Eds.), Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Games Based Learning (pp. 101–109).
• Braad, E., Degens, N., & IJsselsteijn, W. A. (2019). MeCo: A digital card game to enhance metacognitive awareness. In L. Elbaek, G. Majgaard, A. Valente, & S. Khalid (Eds.), Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Games Based Learning (pp. 92–100).
• Braad, E. (2018). Learn-to-learn: Game-based learning for metacognition. Paper presented at the Doctoral Consortium of the Foundations of Digital Games (FDG) Conference. August 7-10, 2018, Malmö, Sweden.