Journey into the Brain -- Educational Research

Scientific Research was funded by grants from the Small Business Innovation Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health.

Three research studies were conducted. The first was conducted by Sandra Calvert, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Georgetown University and the second by the Claremont Graduate University Research Institute.

Computer Versus Lecture Presentations for Children's Comprehension of Educational Material

Sandra L. Calvert, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Georgetown University

Discussion. The purpose of the Phase I evaluation was to determine the efficacy of a computer game as a way to educate children about the brain. To do so, the computer game was compared to a traditional lecture format and a control group.

As expected children from grades 2 through 5 who interacted with the computer game derived significant gains in motivation in their activity, motivation in learning about the brain, and memory of important learning about the brain. In the comprehension area, children who interacted with the computer understood 90% of the content compared with 70% and 69% for the traditional lecture and control groups, respectively. These results suggest that the computer interaction is far superior to traditional ways of teaching children about complex subject matter, such as the brain.

The way that comprehension increased was directly linked to children's motivation to participate in their activity. That is, children who reported the most interest in their activities also understood the most about the brain. Indeed interest scores predicted 30% of the variance in comprehension. This finding suggests that interest and motivation are key ways that new technologies can improve children's mastery of relevant content when compared with traditional approaches. Moreover, future interest in learning about the brain was superior for those who interacted with the computer game rather than heard the lecture.

Gender differences in interest with the computer, an often reported finding in the literature (e.g., Lepper, 1985), was not found here. Boys and girls were equally interested in the computer game. Interest in the computer game by girls may have been facilitated by having an African American girl play the lead role in the computer story.

Minority children also displayed more interest in their activities than did Caucasian children. Most of these children were of Asian descent, perhaps reflecting the more serious approach than many Asians take toward educational material (Stevenson & Lee, 1990). The continued inclusion of children from minority backgrounds in Phase II, will provide further information about the appeal of the computer game to all children.

Age differences in comprehension, a common finding in the technology area, (e.g., Calvert et al., 1982; Collins, 1983), were found here as well. Not surprisingly, older children understood information about the brain better than did younger children. Some of these differences were experiential as well as age related, as older children also reported more prior knowledge about the brain than did younger children.

In summary, the Phase I evaluation for Journey Into the Brain succeeded in its test of feasibility and provides strong support for further development of this project and Phase II funding. Children from grades 2 through 5 were more interested in their activities, were more interested in learning about the brain, and understood more information about the brain following a computer game experience than a traditional lecture or no treatment at all. Boys and girls benefited equally from the computer experience.

Studies 2 and 3

The Effectiveness of An Educational CD-ROM Game:
Evaluation of Journey Into the Brain©

Claremont Graduate University Research Institute
Anita Blanchard
Dale Berger, Ph.D.
Tom Horan, Ph.D.

Discussion

The effectiveness of an educational CD-ROM about the brain was examined in two studies. The first study compared children who played the game to other groups of children. The second study examined its effectiveness in typical, at-home use. Effectiveness was defined as increases in participants' knowledge about the brain and their interest in playing the CD-ROM game.

We found dramatic differences in knowledge in the brain between participants who played the CD-ROM game at home and those who played the game at school. The children who played the game at home showed stronger gains in knowledge than the school participants. One reason for the higher performance of the home participants could be the additional time the children were able to spend playing the game than was allowed in the study at the school. That is, the children who played the computer at home played the game longer and more often than the children at school. Since the home children were choosing to play the game during their "free" time at home, this higher level of use of the CD-ROM game is impressive.

This CD-ROM game has been designed primarily for use at home during children's free time. The game's ability to teach information about a subject not generally covered in elementary curricula demonstrates that video games have the potential to be a fun and educational resource for children.

There were also some interesting findings related to gender in this project. Girls enjoyed helping the main character more than the boys did, although the difference between the genders was less in the home study. Additionally, there was an interaction between the genders' preference for characters in the school study; children expressed higher preference for characters of their own gender and less preference for characters of the opposite gender. Although this finding was not replicated in the home study, it was quite strong in the school study.

Video Games have the potential to teach children skills and knowledge outside of the classroom through the use of educational and fun extra-curricular technology. Topics can be introduced to children in conceptually appropriate formats to take advantage of their natural curiosity. While acknowledging the tremendous opportunity to develop software that teaches children as well as it entertains them, we stress the importance of carefully assessing how children learn. Attention should be paid to evaluating the effectiveness of video games in educating, not only its effectiveness in entertaining. The current study shows that it is possible to do both.