Effects of constructing versus playing an educational game on student motivation and deep learning strategy use

In this study the effects of two different interactive learning tasks, in which simple games were included were described with respect to student motivation and deep strategy use. The research involved 235 students from four elementary schools in The Netherlands. One group of students (N = 128) constructed their own memory 'drag and drop' game, whereas the other group (N = 107) played an existing 'drag and drop' memory game. Analyses of covariance demonstrated a significant difference between the two conditions both on intrinsic motivation and deep strategy use. The large effect sizes for both motivation and deep strategy use were in favour of the construction condition. The results suggest that constructing a game might be a better way to enhance student motivation and deep learning than playing an existing game. Despite the promising results, the low level of complexity of the games used is a study limitation.