Focus
Using games to attain specified learning outcomesPrincipal Metaphors
- Knowledge is … scope of possible action and interpretation
- Knowing is … retention and application
- Learner is … player (individual)
- Learning is … playing, attaining
- Teaching is … game master
Originated
2010sSynopsis
Game-Based Learning is focused on using games to attain pre-selected learning outcomes.Commentary
Proponents of Game-Based Learning embrace all types of games, but the timing of the movement suggests a particular interest in video games. (Compare Gamification, Constructionist Gaming, and Games and Learning.)Authors and/or Prominent Influences
UnclearStatus as a Theory of Learning
Game-Based Learning is not a theory of learning.Status as a Theory of Teaching
Game-Based Learning seems to be most commonly articulated as a means to achieve pre-specified learning outcomes, and so it appropriately categorized as a theory of teaching.Status as a Scientific Theory
Game-Based Learning currently satisfies none of our criteria to be classified as scientific.Map Location

Please cite this article as:
Davis, B., & Francis, K. (2020). “Game-Based Learning” in Discourses on Learning in Education. https://learningdiscourses.com.
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