教育游戏对学生学业成就影响研究———基于４８项实验与准实验研究的元分析

Effect of Educational Games on Students' Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis of 48 Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Studies

Based on the education ideal of edutainment， people have high expectations for a positive role of educational games in education and teaching. In order to explore the effect of educational games on students’ academic achievement， scholars at home and abroad have carried a large number of experimental studies. However， experimental results are very different and there are three distinct research conclusions. Some studies find that educational games have a positive impact on students' academic achievement. On the contrary， some studies get the opposite conclusions. Other studies find that educational games have no significant impact on students ' academic achievement. So far， no agreement has been reached in academia for this question. This not only causes controversies in theories but also hinders the corresponding practices. In order to reach a scientific agreement and promote practices， there is an urgent need to understand the actual effect of educational games on students ' academic achievement. This article used meta-analysis method to make a quantitative analysis of 48 experimental and quasi - experimental studies from abroad on educational games that has been influencing students ' academic achievement for the last ten years， reviewing and evaluating the actual effect of educational games. We also examined the differences of education game effects on different student objects， the number of students in classes， study discipline， and specific subjects. Data analysis results showed that the education game had a positive influence on students ' academic achievements ， and its overall effect size is 0. 560. The effect of education game on students ' achievement had no significant differences among students from elementary school， middle school and college. The effect of education game also had no significant difference on the size of classes. Although the effect of educational games had no significant differences between science and arts， it had significant differences on specific subjects. English， computer， science， physics and chemistry were greatly influenced by education games ， and had a wide education game application prospect. Biology， geography， history， and social study were moderately influenced by education game， and had a certain education game application prospect. Math was affected by the education game at a minimum level， and its education game application prospect was not clear. Business management and sports may be influenced by education game at a certain level， but their actual effects and education game applications remained to be proven. Suggestions were also provided in the research. First， exploring influence mechanisms of education games is the basic way to promote its effective application . Second， promoting the collaborations among academic communities is the practical approach to facilitate the applications of education games effectively. Third， relative research and application of education games have a long way to go.