Exciting initial results and this was done with a simulation. Imagine what could be done with serious games that are built to deliver content!
Last semester I conducted an informal experiment with two 9th grade world history classes. One was taught using best practice traditional methods and the other was taught using a Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) environment. (check the original post for more info on the experiment). This week I brought them back, after six months, to check on cognitive retention and retained interest. Students who engaged in the DGBL environment, the experimental groups, continued to experience growth overall. Students in the control group began to experience cognitive loss as a group. Most notable though was the lack of loss among the lower-scoring group from the experimental group compared to their peers in the control group, 5% loss versus 17% loss. I am going to try to get them back together at the end of their 10th, 11th, and 12th grade years too so stay tuned. Feel free to message me if you have any questions about the methodology.