Shooting for the stars: Micro-persistence of students in game-based learning environments

Persistence is considered a crucial factor for success in online learning environments. However, in interactive game-based learning environments, persistence in progressing in the game may come at the expense of investing in each of the game's levels. That is, the motivation to complete the game may have a deleterious effect on learning at specific levels and hence on learning from the game in general. Therefore, it is imperative that research focuses on micro-persistence, i.e., persistence during each component of the learning process. Taking a learning analytics approach, this large-scale log-based study (N=25,812 elementary- and middle-school students) examines micro-persistence within the context of learning computational thinking, a key skill for the 21st-century. Data was collected and analyzed from an online, game-based learning environment (CodeMonkey™). Results suggest that the acquisition of computational thinking is a multi-dimensional process, and that persistence is a crucial factor for success in multi-level game-based learning environments. The authors also found that game-based learning environments may prove effective in narrowing the gap between high-and low-achieving students.