Measuring Flow in Educational Games and Gamified Learning Environments
Abstract: This paper describes how the measures of engagement used in four Finnish-US Network (FUN) studies were developed. Primary instruments utilized across the studies included a short survey of engagement that participants completed intermittently while playing educational video games based in the tradition of the Experience Sampling Method, as well as a longer psychometric survey about their experience upon completion of the game. The short form measures student engagement conceptualized as the simultaneous occurrence of high concentration, interest, and enjoyment based on flow theory and research relating each of these components to deep engagement in learning. The goal of the long form of the survey is to gauge the overall relationships between the components of flow and learning as well as to investigate which factorial structures of flow form the best fitting model. Both surveys enable investigation of the potentially moderating effects of individual factors.