To evaluate what players have learned, we have them diagnose content relevant problems both before and after they engage in the synthetic environment.
The intention is to determine for each player
This assessment could be orchestrated in two modes: survey mode and interview mode.
In survey mode, players are given a small stack of "scenarios" to review. Each scenario presents an open ended problem situation, such as S4: Hitchhiking, and then poses the questions:
Players are asked to respond to these surveys before ever entering the synthetic environment.
Each of these stories is indexed by content experts to determine the key concepts. Following their immersion in the synthetic world, the players are again asked to fill out a survey. This time with different, analogous stories, but with similar or identical indexing.
The pre- and post- surveys are then compared, and measurable advances in a player's understanding of the domain content is assessed.
Interview mode would proceed in much the same fashion, except
In evaluating what players have learned, we look at the full range of questions the player asks, rather than simply determining whether they can diagnose the problem
e-mail: slator@badlands.nodak.edu