Research, Evaluation, + Evidence

Games have the potential to be both engaging and educational.  While traditional games aim to entertain the user, GBL aims to educate the user through game play. GBL is an effective teaching strategy that is highly attractive and motivating for participants. When designed appropriately, the user of GBL is motivated, focused, and engaged to the point of repeated playing or returning to the game over time. Research shows GBL cultivates critical thinking, motivates youth to apply knowledge and skills, and increases confidence levels. Ultimately, GBL is an effective strategy enabling students to develop, apply, and practice critical thinking skills more efficiently than traditional teaching methods.

The SCT states that changing a behavior is a function of: increasing a person’s knowledge and skills related to a behavior (behavioral capability), adjusting what a person thinks will happen if s/he makes the behavior change and if that expected outcome is positive (expectations and expectancies), increasing the person’s confidence to perform the behavior (self-efficacy), and increasing a person’s perceived control over making the behavior change (self-control). These theoretical constructs (mechanisms of change) have been consistently identified in empirical studies as salient factors in preventing teen pregnancy.