Abstract
This paper aims to highlight the problem-solving nature of video games by examining problem-solving techniques in the context of the educational game Zoombinis. Using screen-capturing software, the gameplay of an 8-year-old participant was recorded and analysed in relation to his strategies towards solving the implicit Mudwall problem in the game, from a global-local perspective. Findings indicate the development of techniques —‘stepping-stone’ and ‘probable-exclusion’— that through Polya’s problem-solving steps, the game’s design and participant’s experimentation, can be used to solve the Mudwall puzzle, illustrating such game’s potentiality as a problem-solving environment.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the Eleventh Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education |
| Editors | U.T. Jankvist, M. van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, M. Veldhuis |
| Publisher | Freudenthal Group & Freudenthal Institute, Utrecht University and ERME |
| Pages | 2977-2984 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 |