Elementary health education can strongly impact children’s well-being outside of the classroom. However, limited instructional time and resources impede schools’ efforts to provide quality health education. Thus, the purpose of this project was to design and evaluate a game-based instructional resource that teaches fourth grade students about nutrition. To accomplish this goal, a video game called Monster Mealtime was created by adapting the stages of the content centric framework for game design (Larsen, 2018). Research regarding children’s developmental needs and how to design games for children was referenced during the design process.
Once the game was developed, it was evaluated using a usability study. Through usability testing, the game’s ability to support children in learning how to play the game while providing a satisfying learning experience was assessed. The study consisted of three rounds of usability testing. Twelve adults (n = 12) with elementary teaching experience participated in the study. The game was revised between each round of testing to improve its design. After three rounds of testing, the game was perceived as moderately satisfying for the target population. In addition, the study’s data suggested the game’s learnability could be further improved. Misconceptions about the game’s mechanics persisted throughout the evaluation period. In the end, strategies for effectively communicating game instructions must be explored further to improve the quality of educational video games.
Bethany Yoshimura