Motivation to mine

Maria Cipollone

An examination of the “lifespan” of play

Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Presentation to the International Communication AssociationGame Studies Interest Group

Minecraft.

Short lived edutainment

What happens when popular video games go to school?

The goal of this project is to understand the drive (i.e., the motivation) to continually engage in video game play over time, particularly when continued play is in an academic setting, and the role that teachers or facilitators could play in that experience.

Defining drive (Deci, 1975)

Growing intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985).

Epic win

Does “being there” help?

Research questions

RQ1: How does Self Determination Theory (SDT), specifically Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET), apply in the context of a virtual learning environment?

RQ2: When video game play is embedded in a classroom setting, how can a teacher or facilitator (a source of extrinsic motivation) have an impact intrinsic motivation to engage in the game, and if so, how?

RQ3: What is the nature of the relationship between presence, motivation, and learning, and how might it be complicated by the age of an individual?

Population/Procedures

18 (3 female) participants (11-12 year olds) in a large urban (public) school district located Northeastern/Mid-Atlantic United States.

Met for 1.5 hours every Iek for 12Ieks; afterschool.

Participant Observation and Semi-structured Interview: (taking cues from ethnographic methods) (see Boellstorf , et al., 2012)

Constraints: Them’s the rules

No “griefing”; or willfully destroying others’ creations.

Creative mode only.

School- appropriate language in chat.

No modification capabilities or server rights.

Protection offered freedom

Look at me!

Presence

Summary of FindingsFuture of research

Shifting psychological need satisfaction.

Sense of presence and childhood development.