A serious game for students to learn computer science concepts

Abstract

Video games have the potential to be a highly effective educational tool, as is evident in how they can often be appealing to a wide range of users by catering to differing levels of skill and understanding while still providing entertainment value. Why not have it also then double up in providing educational value? The field of education is not too different – people learn in different ways and have varying strengths and weaknesses, be it in their fundamental understanding or general motivation. The core features present in most video games – providing immediate feedback, having interactive and helpful audio-visual content to reinforce concepts, and creating a judgement-free space where individuals learn and grow through failure, are all beneficial in creating a highly conducive learning environment. In a world of rapidly declining attention spans and the need for constant engagement to retain interest, traditional classroom-style teaching may no longer be as effective as it once used to be, so this is one possible avenue for educators to explore further in the future. The main objective of this project is to develop a serious game that will cover the tutorial material taught in SC1007 Data Structures and Algorithms course with the intention of using it to enhance the students’ understanding and overall learning experience. The game is designed as a puzzle game that tests tutorial-specific content level by level, with both conceptual-based puzzles as well as coding exercises. A study was conducted with 2 groups of NTU students – those that played the game and those that did the tutorials as per normal – and it was found that the game was effective in delivering educational content in an interesting and engaging way for students.