The Effect of a Serious Digital Game on Students' Ability to Transfer Knowledge in Secondary Agricultural Education: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

This study’s purpose was to compare the effectiveness of the traditional, lecture and discussion method to a digital game-based learning (DGBL) approach on students’ near and far knowledge transfer abilities in agriculture and mathematics regarding a unit on swine diseases in animal science courses. Two research questions guided the study, which employed a quasi-experimental, between-groups design. No statistically significant differences (p > .05) were found between the counterfactual group and the treatment group regarding students’ near and far knowledge transfer. Based on this result, it can be recommended that professional development opportunities be created with an emphasis on using serious games to teach course content for in-service teachers without diminishing students’ knowledge transfer. Specifically, the creators of this professional development should consider emphasizing Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge development in teachers. In addition, future investigations should focus on the kind of transfer that occurred, whether positive, negative, or zero.

Keywords

• serious digital game
• knowledge transfer
• digital game-based learning