The More Complex the Feedback, the Better? A Study on the Design of Feedback Types in Educational Games

Educational games can facilitate teaching and learning. However, research on feedback types in educational games requires further investigation. Feedback in educational games could enhance students' learning, but it is not the more complex the feedback, the better. This study investigated the effects of different types of feedback in games on students' learning. The results indicated that when learning goals point to knowledge retention, receiving knowledge of correct response (KCR) or receiving elaborated feedback (EF) was better than receiving knowledge of results (KR). When learning goals point to knowledge transfer, receiving EF was better than receiving KCR or receiving KR, and receiving KCR was better than receiving KR. The results of this study integrate knowledge retention, knowledge transfer and learner cognitive load to inform the selection of educational game feedback types.