Timing of learning supports in educational games can impact students’ outcomes

Learning does not automatically occur by playing educational games; instead, learning opportunities should be carefully designed in such games. For instance, research has indicated the importance of embedding learning supports within educational games to promote learning and other outcomes (e.g., enjoyment). However, more research is needed to determine when it is best to provide the supports—before or after attempting a game level? We investigated this question in a game called Physics Playground where we randomly assigned 149 students (Mage = 14, SD = 0.96) to receive learning supports—short videos—either immediately Before (n = 50) or After (n = 46) students worked on solving game levels. We also included a no-support Control (n = 53) condition. We found that students assigned to the two treatment conditions visited fewer game levels, but spent more time per level, and reported lower frustration levels than those assigned to the Control condition. And although students in the After condition had lower in-game performance measures than those in the Control condition, they achieved higher near- and far-transfer scores on the posttest after controlling for gameplay success and pretest scores. Thus, there appears to be some tradeoffs with respect to the inclusion and timing of learning supports. There were no major differences between the treatment conditions regarding learning and subjective measures. The findings of this study can help advance the design of educational games that are intended to enhance students’ learning.