Simple but Effective: Using Reflections to Improve Pre-service Teachers' Utility Value to Teach with Game-Design

Kevser Hava; Mete Akcaoglu

Simple but Effective: Using Reflections to Improve Pre-service Teachers' Utility Value to Teach with Game-Design

Abstract

In this quasi-experimental study, we examined the effect of a self-reflection activity on the utility value of pre-service teachers in teaching game design. A pretest-posttest design was used to determine any differences associated with the intervention. 129 pre-service teachers from different majors participated in the study. The participants developed educational games using the MS Kodu game engine within a seven-week implementation process. The participants were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups before the intervention and engaged in specific interventions based on their group assignment. The control group students wrote summaries about game design activities, while the experimental group students wrote self-reflections about game design activities. The results indicated that the interventions influenced changes in the utility value of pre-service teachers: the utility value of the experimental group increased, while the utility value of the control group decreased. In addition, linguistic analyses indicated that students in the experimental group used more cognitive processing, affect, tentative language, and future focus than students in the control group. Gender differences in favour of female participants' utility-value perceptions were also observed following the game design process. This study provides empirical evidence of the effectiveness of self-reflection on utility value perceptions in teaching with game design.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Instructional Technologies

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Kevser Hava ^*
0000-0003-3822-6796
Türkiye

Mete Akcaoglu This is me
0000-0002-1454-9104
United States

Publication Date

April 30, 2025

Submission Date

March 5, 2025

Acceptance Date

April 28, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 14 Number: 1

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA25RX33TJ

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Hava, K., & Akcaoglu, M. (2025). Simple but Effective: Using Reflections to Improve Pre-service Teachers’ Utility Value to Teach with Game-Design. Journal of Teacher Education and Educators, 14(1), 79-97. https://izlik.org/JA25RX33TJ