{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,10]],"date-time":"2026-06-10T15:20:52Z","timestamp":1781104852540,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"IGI Global Scientific Publishing","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2014,7,1]]},"abstract":"<p>Despite the growing popularity of teaching children to program games, little is known about the benefits for learning. In this article, the authors propose that game mechanics can be used as a window into how the children are thinking and describe a strategy for using them to analyze students' games. The study involved sixty 10-14 year old students in the US who spent 10 hours learning to use the Alice programming environment, and 10 hours designing and creating their games, alone or with a partner. Forty games were coded for five game mechanics that require the programmers to think in ways that are dynamic, time dependent, or complex. The results describe the mechanics that students were most and least likely to use, and how these varied depending on whether students worked with a partner or alone. The findings contribute to efforts to assess what novice programmers learn by creating games.<\/p>","DOI":"10.4018\/ijgbl.2014070102","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,10,29]],"date-time":"2014-10-29T12:46:59Z","timestamp":1414586819000},"page":"13-22","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Using Game Mechanics to Measure What Students Learn from Programming Games"],"prefix":"10.4018","volume":"4","author":[{"given":"Jill","family":"Denner","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"ETR, Scotts Valley, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Linda","family":"Werner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shannon","family":"Campe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ETR, Scotts Valley, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eloy","family":"Ortiz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ETR, Scotts Valley, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2432","reference":[{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-0","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1929887.1929905"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-1","first-page":"437","article-title":"Collaborative knowledge building: Towards a knowledge creation perspective","author":"C. K. K.Chan","year":"2013","journal-title":"The international handbook of collaborative learning"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chi, M. T., De Leeuw, N., Chiu, M. H., & LaVancher, C. (1994). Eliciting self-explanations improves understanding. Cognitive science, 18(3), 439-477. Computer Science Teachers Association (2011). National Standards for K\u201312 Computer Science Retrieved May 5, 2013, from http:\/\/csta.acm.org\/Curriculum\/sub\/K12Standards.html","DOI":"10.1207\/s15516709cog1803_3"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compedu.2011.08.006"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4614-3546-4_14"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1207\/S15327809JLS0903_2"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-6","unstructured":"Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M., & Zubek, R. (2004). MDA: A formal approach to game design and game research. Proceedings of the Challenges in Game AI Workshop,Nineteenth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence."},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1207\/s15327809jls1501_4"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02300500"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-9","unstructured":"Juul, J. (2003). The game, the player, the world: Looking for a heart of gameness. In Marinka Copier & Joost Raessens (Eds.), Level Up:Digital Games Research Conference Proceedings (pp. 30-45). Utrecht: Utrecht University."},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-10","first-page":"35","article-title":"Constructionism","author":"Y. B.Kafai","year":"2006","journal-title":"The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1240624.1240844"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1929887.1929902"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lu, J. J., & Fletcher, G. H. L. (2009). Thinking about computational thinking. Paper presented at the meeting of the ACM Special Interest Group in Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Chattanooga, TN.","DOI":"10.1145\/1508865.1508959"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Maloney, J., Peppler, K., Kafai, Y., Resnick, M., & Rusk, N. (2008). Programming by choice: Urban youth learning programming with Scratch. Paper presented at the meeting of the ACM Special Interest Group in Computer Science Education (SIGCSE), Portland, OR.","DOI":"10.1145\/1352135.1352260"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1145287.1145293"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1207\/s1532690xci0102_1"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-17","unstructured":"Peppler, K., & Kafai, Y. B. (2007). What videogame making can teach us about literacy and learning: Alternative pathways into participatory culture. In Akira Baba (Ed.), SituatedPlay:Proceedings of the Third International Conference of the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) (pp. 369-376). Tokyo, Japan: The University of Tokyo."},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/14639220512331311553"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1508865.1508967"},{"issue":"2","key":"ijgbl.2014070102-20","first-page":"137","article-title":"Conceptual framework for modeling, assessing, and supporting competencies within game environments.","volume":"8","author":"V. J.Shute","year":"2010","journal-title":"Technology, Instruction, Cognition, and Learning"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-21","unstructured":"Sicart, M. (2008). Defining game mechanics. The International Journal of Computer Game Research, 8."},{"issue":"1","key":"ijgbl.2014070102-22","first-page":"19","article-title":"On mathematical problem posing.","volume":"14","author":"E. A.Silver","year":"1994","journal-title":"For the Learning of Mathematics"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-23","first-page":"201","article-title":"Making programming easier for children","author":"D. C.Smith","year":"1999","journal-title":"The design of children's technology"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1953163.1953197"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02504514"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2157136.2157263"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/15391523.2009.10782540"},{"key":"ijgbl.2014070102-28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1118178.1118215"}],"container-title":["International Journal of Game-Based Learning"],"original-title":[],"language":"ng","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.igi-global.com\/viewtitle.aspx?TitleId=117696","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,1]],"date-time":"2022-06-01T14:22:50Z","timestamp":1654093370000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/services.igi-global.com\/resolvedoi\/resolve.aspx?doi=10.4018\/ijgbl.2014070102"}},"subtitle":[""],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2014,7,1]]},"references-count":29,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2014,7]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4018\/ijgbl.2014070102","relation":{},"ISSN":["2155-6849","2155-6857"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2155-6849","type":"print"},{"value":"2155-6857","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2014,7,1]]}}}