Scientific Articulation during Collaborative Digital Game-Based Learning Enhances Learning of Immunology

Digital game-based learning has been used to help learners grasp complex concepts in science subjects such as immunology. The aim of this study was to examine whether playing a digital game collaboratively would encourage articulation of scientific terminology and concepts, and whether this would result in learning gains. Forty-seven students at a tertiary institution (17–19 y of age) played a game (n = 22) or watched a video of the game (n = 25) in small groups. This was followed by an activity to document the key learning points. Pretest and posttest results showed that although both groups had learning gains, the game-based learning group outperformed the video group for gains in procedural knowledge, suggesting that playing the game helped students to better internalize the steps involved in the immune response. For the game-based learning group, there was a positive correlation between the number of scientific terms articulated and the gains in the test scores. However, for the video group, there was no correlation. The implications for designing digital game-based learning activities for learning are discussed. The study was carried out in an online environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic mandating home-based learning at the time. The discussion also focuses on how the findings can be applied in an online and face-to-face context.