Research
Promoting girls in mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology, the STEM subjects, is of great importance in order to give them career prospects in this field and reduce gender inequality. Despite considerable efforts, there is a persistent gender gap in STEM education and the world of work. One reason for this is seen in differences in self-perception. Despite objectively equal performance, female students rate their abilities in STEM fields lower than male students in terms of future success, i.
Women are still underrepresented in technical professions today. Self-concept and self-efficacy expectation play a role in career choice, but while self-concept is considered stable, self-efficacy expectation can potentially be promoted through interventions such as the serious games presented in this chapter. In Serena Supergreen, technical professions in the field of renewable energies and in Lights Out the basics of electrical the basics of electrical engineering. The games were used with 13-15-year-old pupils in secondary schools and secondary schools and improvements in self-efficacy expectations, intrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation and the perceived competence of the young women were determined.
The article is dedicated to the question of the extent to which traits such as self-concept and self-efficacy expectation are visible in the game behavior of a serious game and are changed by playing and whether game strategies depend on personal characteristics. The question is relevant against the background of how motivation for technical content can be promoted alongside knowledge.
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Although the performance of female students in STEM subjects is as good as that of male students, their self-efficacy expectations are at a low level. Given the influence of self-efficacy expectations on academic careers and later career decisions, measures are needed in this area. Serious games could be one way of increasing the self-efficacy expectations of adolescents and girls in particular. The property of serious games to enable flow experiences is said to have a positive effect on motivation and possibly also a positive influence on self-efficacy expectations.
In the classroom, simulations can be used, for example, to make unclear content in electrical engineering and electronics can be made more accessible to learners through simulations. Additional motivation is provided the integration of such a simulation in a serious game. The motivating effect of of serious games is assumed to be in the flower life. The experience of flow should not only motivation, the experience of flow should also have an influence on the learning effectiveness of serious games and increase the learners’ expectation of self-efficacy.
The article gives an overview of the (learning) research on serious games in technology-related teaching. For this purpose, serious games are first located in the approach of entertainment education and their potential for learning is elaborated. Their use in teaching as well as their dissemination in the technical context will be analysed and existing research will be summarized with regard to learning effectiveness and self-concept promotion. Finally, an ongoing research project with a self-developed serious game is presented, the resulting questions are discussed and an outlook is given.