A review of the game-centred approaches to teaching and coaching literature since 2006

Background: In 2006, Oslin and Mitchell published a review of the game-centred approaches (GCAs) to teaching and coaching literature highlighting a number of core concepts thought to provide justification for the use of GCAs including (a) its potential to enhance participant motivation, (b) potential for tactical transfer, and (c) development of decision-making skills and effective decision-makers. Oslin and Mitchell also suggested recommendations for future GCA research.Purpose: The purpose of this paper was threefold: (a) to present a review of Anglophone research into GCAs building on the previous review of Oslin and Mitchell published in 2006; (b) to identify new trends in research since 2006; and (c) to investigate the extent to which the initial suggestions and future research directions suggested by Oslin and Mitchell have been addressed.Data collection: GCA literature since 2006 was searched systematically using a three-phase approach. Phase 1 included initial searches of the EBSCO database using terms associated with GCAs and their acronyms (e.g. TGfU (teaching games for understanding), GS (Game Sense), etc.). Phase 2 expanded the search adopting more generic terms from keywords located in the recent literature (e.g. teaching games, tactical development, game performance, etc.). Multiple searches through the EBSCO database were conducted, whereby key terms were cross-referenced until a saturation point was reached. Phase 3 involved removing those publications that were not empirical, peer reviewed, intervention studies or published in English.Findings: Forty-four studies on GCA implementation were identified and the methodological and substantive nature of these studies was examined. The review noted two positive trends: (a) the expansion of research which included the growth of research on GCAs in Europe and Southeast Asia and (b) an increased amount of research in the affective domain. The review found, however, that a number of key challenges remain within GCA research, which include (a) the need for improved articulation of GCA verification procedures; (b) further assessment of tactical awareness development; (c) extended inquiry about GCAs in coaching contexts; (d) more research into ‘newer’ GCAs (i.e. PP (play practice), IGCM (invasion game competence model) and TDLM (tactical decision learning model)); (e) use of longitudinal research designs; (f) inadequate length of GCA induction and training for teachers and coaches, and (g) examination of GCAs in terms of fitness and special populations.Conclusions: GCA pedagogies are of significant importance as they have the potential to promote change within current adult-centric cultures of youth sport and encourage engagement in physical activity over the life course. To meet these needs, it is recommended that GCA research undergo continued expansion with the use of research designs and data collection techniques that aid the examination of different philosophical understandings of GCAs (e.g. ethnographic, phenomenological and psycho-phenomenological). These are paramount to the exploration of ‘who the individual is’ and ‘how the learner is motivated to continue to participate’ and further permit the in-depth, contextual and ecological analysis of GCA interventions that Oslin and Mitchell recommended in their previous review.

Child play therapists’ understanding and application of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: a narrative analysis

Narrative inquiry was used to explore the ways in which play therapy practitioners understand and uphold the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in their practice. Seven play therapy practitioners responded to questions about their experiences of working within a rights-based framework. Analysis of their responses revealed 5 themes: Child play therapy upholds Article 39; respondents demonstrated an implicit rather than explicit understanding of children’s rights; children are sometimes perceived only in terms of their behaviors; there can be a tension between the rights of the child and adults’ rights; and therapists aim to support children’s right to choice, privacy, and confidentiality, but this is not always easy. These findings are intended to support further development of curriculum and course content for trainee therapists and professional development for practitioners. The results add further evidence regarding the need to engage a rights framework when developing policy for early years therapeutic support services.

One size does not fit all : monitoring faecal glucocorticoid metabolites in marsupials

Marsupial research, conservation, and management can benefit greatly from knowledge about glucocorticoid (GC) secretion patterns because GCs influence numerous aspects of physiology and play a crucial role in regulating an animal's response to stressors. Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) offer a non-invasive tool for tracking changes in GCs over time. To date, there are relatively few validated assays for marsupials compared with other taxa, and those that have been published generally test only one assay. However, different assays can yield very different signals of adrenal activity. The goal of this study was to compare the performance of five different enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for monitoring adrenocortical activity via FGM in 13 marsupial species. We monitored FGM response to two types of events: biological stressors (e.g., transport, novel environment) and pharmacological stimulation (ACTH injection). For each individual animal and assay, FGM peaks were identified using the iterative baseline approach. Performance of the EIAs for each species was evaluated by determining (1) the percent of individuals with a detectable peak 0.125-4.5days post-event, and (2) the biological sensitivity of the assay as measured by strength of the post-event response relative to baseline variability (Z-score). Assays were defined as successful if they detected a peak in at least 50% of the individuals and the mean species response had a Z⩾2. By this criterion, at least one assay was successful in 10 of the 13 species, but the best-performing assay varied among species, even those species that were closely related. Furthermore, the ability to confidently assess assay performance was influenced by the experimental protocols used. We discuss the implications of our findings for biological validation studies.

Have adults lost their sense of play? An observational study of the social dynamics of physical (in)activity in German and Hawaiian leisure settings

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity is one of the biggest health problems nowadays. Recent research shows that socio-cultural barriers to physical activity are mostly related to modern lifestyles. However, there is a lack of research on how social and group dynamics influence engagement in physical activity. Furthermore, there are few cross-cultural studies that have compared the social dynamics of (in)activity in different cultural settings. This paper therefore aims to analyse how social group dynamics influence physical activity and inactivity in informal social environments and whether physical activity is influenced by the socio-cultural settings. METHODS: The paper presents the qualitative data collected within a covert participant observation study. Data was collected by keeping observational notes in order to record typical, regular patterns regarding physical (in)activity related behaviour of groups at an artificial open air swimming pool in Germany and a natural pond in Hawai'i. The data collection period was eight and a half months. Data was interpreted based on constant comparative analysis in order to identify most generative patterns in the field notes. RESULTS: Group structures appear to play a significant role regarding the activity of the group members. In this study, we identified four key factors that influence group based physical activity: 1) Physical activity seems to be a group disturbing behaviour particularly in larger groups of adults; 2) Physical activity appears to be more functional and less joyful in adults than in children; 3) Group activity is influenced by (in)activity anchors, including 'domestication' of a group's site, obesity, and controlling parents. 4) Physical activity is to a certain extent socially contagious, particularly with regard to playful activities. CONCLUSIONS: Successful promotion of physical activity should target the social structures of inactive individuals' groups. In this regard, one of the main problems is that fun and wellbeing, as very important targets of public health strategies for the adult population, appear not to be compatible with physical activity. Developing strategies to reframe physical activity rather as 'fun' and less as functional may be one way to engage inactive individuals in physical activity in leisure settings.

Playing with the history of Middle-Earth: board games, transmedia storytelling, and The Lord of the Rings

Contemporary cases of transmedia storytelling have thrown many conventional understandings of ‘adaptation’ into disarray. The resurgence of tabletop game culture has thus far played a significant role in this, though scholars have largely neglected the subject, particularly in terms of how transmedia relationships reconfigure the meaning(s) shaped by and through games by players. This paper addresses this phenomenon through a close analysis of two board games based on The Lord of the Rings, in which the (re)construction of the story-world of the source text(s) impacts strongly on ‘conventional’ modes of narrative and identification. Governed by the adoption of various mechanics and innovative uses of the ‘competitive-cooperative’ spectrum, such transformations frequently have significant implications for how narrative meanings might be generated through play.

Critical perspectives, enabling classrooms and digital games: challenges for teachers and researchers working with games-based learning

There is significant interest in the potential of digital games for Twenty first century pedagogy and curriculum in schools. However, developing an informed and granular understanding of the challenges facing 'everyday' teachers in introducing work with digital games in a range of schools, across diverse subject areas, age groups and system requirements, is not straightforward. This paper reports on the initial stages of a three-year research project investigating the introduction and use of games in a variety of contexts, and discusses some of the challenges entailed in introducing teacher participants to working with games in critical and productive ways.

The role of serious games in robot exoskeleton-assisted rehabilitation of stroke patients

his chapter describes how serious games can be used to improve the rehabilitation of stroke patients. Determining ideal training conditions for rehabilitation is difficult, as no objective measures exist and the psychological state of patients during therapy is often neglected. What is missing is a way to vary the difficulty of the tasks during a therapy session in response to the patient needs, in order to adapt the training specifically to the individual. In this chapter, we describe such a method. A serious game is used to present challenges to the patient, including motor and cognitive tasks. The psychological state of the patient is inferred from measures computed from heart rate variability (HRV) as well as breathing frequency, skin conductance response, and skin temperature. Once the psychological state of the patient can be determined from these measures, it is possible to vary the tasks in real time by adjusting parameters of the game. The serious game aspect of the training allows the virtual environment to become adaptive in real time, leading to improved matching of the activity to the needs of the patient. This is likely to lead to improved training outcomes and has the potential to lead to faster and more complete recovery, as it enables training that is challenging yet does not overstress the patient.

Similar, but not the same: comparing the game based approaches of TGfU and game sense

The development and use of game based approaches (GBAs) across a range of global teaching and coaching settings has expanded significantly over the last two decades. And with each GBA underpinned by similar theories of learning, distinctions between each approach can often be blurred. Arguably, this can lead to teachers' and coaches' blended conceptualisations of different pedagogical approaches. Thus, although similar there is a need for teachers and coaches to recognise that not all GBAs are the same with each model or approach chosen impacting significantly upon learner experiences. Through analysis of literature and presentation of teaching/coaching lesson/session outlines, this paper presents similarities and differences of two game based instructional pedagogies - TGfU and Game Sense - and discusses the need for teachers and coaches to recognise and respond to the contextual differences of each when considering their use.

Teaching an old game new tricks : long-term feedback on a re-designed online role play

Despite an extensive history of use in teaching Political Science subjects, long-term scholarly studies of online role plays are uncommon. This paper redresses that balance by presenting five years of data on the Middle East Politics Simulation. This online role play has been run since the 1990s and underwent significant technical upgrade in 2013-14. The data presented here covers student feedback to this upgrade process and the factors that can influence their response. Key indications are that students tend to recognise when something is fit (or not) for its purpose and will forgo attractive and well-appointed online environments if the underlying learning exercise is valued. However, there are limits to this minimalism and whilst designers do not need to replicate every Internet trend, attention needs to be paid to broader changes in technology, such as access platform and changing avenues of political communication. The study demonstrates that long-term monitoring of online role play exercises is important to allow informed changes to be implemented and their impacts properly assessed.

A to Z safari

An alphabet app designed by Deakin University researchers specialising in literacy education, IT and graphic design to support children beginning to learn letter-sound relationships using research into memory retention. Tested with Australian primary school students, the ‘form-taking’ images used in this app have been found to be more effective at assisting children to learn common letter-sound relationships than images that are not form-taking (e.g. integrated images). A to Z Safari offers engaging mini-games to explore and reinforce letter-sound relationships, along with a password-protected admin/data area where students’ progress and gameplay statistics are recorded – data which can be emailed directly to the teacher. A to Z Safari has not been designed to replace classroom activities, but was designed as an electronic application to complement them. An A3-sized alphabet chart accompanies the app in the teacher area so that teachers can print the charts out to place on their students’ tables for their reference outside of game play.

Experimental evolution reveals that population density does not affect moth signalling behaviour and antennal morphology

Population density can play a vital role in determining investment in reproductive behaviours and morphologies of invertebrates. Males reared in high-density environments, where competition is high but difficulties in locating mates are low, may invest more in reproductive structures associated with sperm competition such as testes, at the expense of those traits associated with mate location, such as antennae. In species where females advertise for mates, such as most moths, a high-density environment may also lead to a reduction in pheromonal signalling (calling) length and frequency as a result of high mate abundance. While such responses have been shown at the phenotypically plastic level in moths, heritable evolutionary adaptations have seldom been tested, and studies of how population density influences pheromone signalling strategies are scarce. Here we use behavioural assays and scanning electron microscopic measurements to test whether larval population density influences, at the genetic level, the ability of males to locate females and male investment into antennal morphology, in addition to its effect on the frequency and duration of female calling. We used two replicated populations of the Indian meal moth Plodia interpunctella that had experimentally evolved under high or low population densities for 35 generations. We found no significant divergence in antennal morphology or mate acquisition behaviours between the two density populations. These findings suggest that although population density has the ability to create plastic changes in both morphological and behavioural traits, this factor alone is unlikely to be causing evolutionary change in male and female signalling in this species.

Crying wolf: limitations of predator-prey studies need not preclude their salient messages.

A rapidly growing body of the literature reveals the important roles apex predators play in shaping the composition and functioning of ecological communities worldwide. The principal effects of apex predators—namely herbivore and mesopredator population suppression—are often evident following their removal from environments, or their reintroduction, including rewilding initiatives. What remains less clear, however, is to what extent humans versus other apex predators affect ecosystems, how both interact across gradients of anthropogenic pressure and how such interactions can be affected by underlying bottom-up processes. Such questions are critical to answer in the Anthropocene, where effective management of ecosystems and conservation of biodiversity requires a better understanding of how top-down and bottom-up processes vary according to anthropogenic influences.

Multimodal literacy, digital games and curriculum

Digital games offer enormous potential for learning and engagement in mathematics ideas and processes. This volume offers multidisciplinary perspectives—of educators, cognitive scientists, psychologists and sociologists—on how digital games influence the social activities and mathematical ideas of learners/gamers. Contributing authors identify opportunities for broadening current understandings of how mathematical ideas are fostered (and embedded) within digital game environments. In particular, the volume advocates for new and different ways of thinking about mathematics in our digital age—proposing that these mathematical ideas and numeracy practices are distinct from new literacies or multiliteracies. The authors acknowledge that the promise of digital games has not always been realised/fulfilled. There is emerging, and considerable, evidence to suggest that traditional discipline boundaries restrict opportunities for mathematical learning. Throughout the book, what constitutes mathematics learnings and pedagogy is contested. Multidisciplinary viewpoints are used to describe and understand the potential of digital games for learning mathematics and identify current tensions within the field.Mathematics learning is defined as being about problem solving; engagement in mathematical ideas and processes; and social engagement. The artefact, which is the game, shapes the ways in which the gamers engage with the social activity of gaming. In parallel, the book (as a textual artefact) will be supported by Springer’s online platform—allowing for video and digital communication (including links to relevant websites) to be used as supplementary material and establish a dynamic communication space.