Analyzing Differences in Student Engagement Between a Single Narrative Game Intervention and Multiple Narrative Games Intervention in an Undergraduate Computer Organization and Architecture Course

Existing research strongly supports that educational video games have beneficial impacts on student engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes. However, more still needs to be done to understand the best ways to apply well designed educational games in classroom contexts. This study examines the differences in student engagement between two educational game approaches applied as extra credit opportunities in an online asynchronous computer organization and architecture course at a mid-western R1 university. The study evaluated the relative efficacy of a singular game with one overarching narrative versus multiple games with different narratives where the two treatments both cover the same learning content.