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Teachers' concerns about adopting constructivist online game‐based learning in formal curriculum teaching: The VISOLE experience

British Journal of Educational Technology

Published online on

Abstract

Our work is set against the backdrop of the pervasive discussion of harnessing online games to provide students with new constructivist learning opportunities. Upon the theoretical foundation, we have developed Virtual Interactive Student‐Oriented Learning Environment (VISOLE), a teaching framework for implementing constructivist online game‐based learning in formal curriculum teaching in school education. In this paper, apart from underlining the pedagogical features of VISOLE, we discuss our study on investigating 118 teachers' concerns about this educational innovation with the Stages of Concern (SoC) model, in terms of five categorical concerns—Evaluation, Information, Management, Consequence and Refocusing. All participants had completed our VISOLE induction training before they participated in the SoC survey. Results revealed that their Management concern was the most intense. With this “diagnostic” knowledge, we can formulate more precise interventions addressing teachers' actual needs so as to assist them in the adoption of VISOLE at school. The findings also shed light on designing, developing or appropriating online games to support learning and teaching in school education.