2 Pedagogical foundations

There are several other theories that could be used to underpin the development of VGS design. The use of a theoretical foundation will enhance the effective use of technology to support the achieving of learning goals in higher education. Other theories that could be considered in the design process include:  The Situated Learning Theory; Problem Based Learning Theory; The Theory of Flow, and the Gamification.

Situated Learning

Situated learning is an educational theory that highlights the importance of the situation (context, tools, culture, people involved, etc) in which the learning occurs. It sees learning as a process of social and personal transformation that takes place in specific communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991). This theory specially stands out the social dimension of learning and considers knowledge as a co-construction among the members of the environment through the combination of their prior knowledge.

Some of the principles of the situational learning (Kurt, 2021) that should be taking into account to further promote the learning effectiveness of the VGS are:

• Students need to be involved in a realistic and meaningful situation.
• Students need to be engaged in real-world problem-solving activities thinking and acting like experts.
• Reflection and discussion with others need to be promoted within the learning environment.
• The content has to be learnt through contextual and real-life activities.
• Learning situations need to be similar to the one in which the knowledge needs to be applied in real-life.
• The instructor needs to become a facilitator or guide in the complex situation, helping learners to recognize clues, promoting collaboration, and reflecting aloud with individuals.
• The instructor should assess the students by tracking the development for their knowledge through discussions and observations in the situation.

Problem Based Learning

Problem Based Learning (PBL) is “an instructional learner-centered approach that empowers learners to conduct research, integrate theory and practice, and apply knowledge and skills to develop a viable solution to a defined problem” (Savery, 2006). This definition is highly representative to understand the basis of this learning method, especifically if combined with some other elements that the author mentions afterwards such as the presence of a defined problem that is relevant for the student, the presence of a facilitator that guides learners, and a final reflection process about the findings of the students, commonly known as debriefing.

Some of the central characteristics of PBL are (Grabinger & Dunlap, 2002; Savery, 2006; Savery & Duffy, 1995):

• The learning goals of a PBL environment need to be realistic and should promote self-directed learning and knowledge acquisition.
• The problems need to raise relevant and authentic concepts, what will engage students and motivate them towards finding the solution.
• Problems not only have to incorporate as much fidelity as possible to the real situations, but also, they need to be addressed realistically, so that students start to think of those problems as their own.
• Students get immersed in the activity through a critical reasoning process towards the finding of the solution.
• The facilitator should help the students to ask themselves the correct questions and track their advances but should not express their opinion or guide the students through the correct answer.
• Cooperative learning and self-directed learning are critical components of PBL, looking for a combination of team reflections and individual work to reach a final consensus and a possible solution.

Flow theory

The Theory of Flow is part of the game-based learning approach, this theory focuses on the positive outcomes that frequently arises from the state of flow, a state of maximum concentration usually present while playing videogames. Flow is a term proposed by the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1975) to designate a deep sense of enjoyment that arises from a voluntary effort to achieve something challenging and worthwhile when our skills are well matched with the opportunities of action in front of us, what drives us to live an optimal experience (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). Or as Hamari et al. (2016) said, is a combination of engagement and immersion with one task.

Applied to the educational field, this state of flow it is really valuable, not only because it manages to make an activity intrinsically rewarding (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), but also because it has been widely proven that it is closely related with learning outcomes achievement and skills development (Buil et al., 2018).

As stated by Csikszentmihalyi (1975) there are nine characteristics that define the state of flow and that can be grouped into two categories: Preconditions and dimensions.

Preconditions:

• The challenge of the activity needs to be well matched with the skill level of the individual.
• Goals need to be as clear as possible.
• Actions need to be provided with immediate feedback that will allow participants to realize how well they are performing.

Dimensions:

• Participants experience a state of intense concentration in the activity.
• The actions made by the subjects become spontaneous.
• Participants experience a loss of self-consciousness.
• Participants have a deep control over the actions they are performing within the activity.
• Participants experience a time distortion of the experience.
• The activity is perceived as intrinsically rewarding, not pretending to obtain anything additional from it.

For the design of a VGS we have to pay special attention to the preconditions that are needed for this state of flow to occur.

Gamification

One strategy that will help our students to reach an state of flow when learning is gamification. Gamification is the process of adding game elements and mechanics in contexts that are not game related (Werbach & Hunter, 2012), for instance, the educational context where gamification contributes to motivate the students and keep them interested in the learning process. Therefore, the proper implementation of gamification techniques with educational goals help us to achieve two goals at the same time. First, it increases of the learning of the students, and secondly, it makes this process more entertaining for the students (Malone, 1981).

Some of authors like Werbach and Hunter (2012) explain that the basic elements of games that can be later be applied into other contexts or activities to gamified them are divided into three categories:

• Dynamics, which include elements like the narrative, constraints, the emotions, the progress in the game or the relationships.
• Mechanics, which include rewards, rules, challenges, competition, cooperation, feedback, transactions or the acquisition of different resources or materials.
• Components, which include among other elements avatars, teams, achievements, badges, collections, gifting, levels, points or quests.

Nonetheless, other authors have warned about the danger of introducing gaming elements without a solid didactic structure. Therefore, before gamifying an activity it is really important to reflect about the learning objectives behind it, and the reasons why we should apply gaming elements to it.

Some of the gaming features that are commonly included in VGS are making choices, receiving feedback, replaying sections and obtaining a score (Verkuyl et al., 2018), as well as creating an interesting narrative for the development of the situation. As expressed by Dick and Ankbulut (2017) “the more game like the simulations are made the more engaging they are – the more interesting, motivating and enjoyable.”