Timing of information presentation matters: Effects on secondary school students' cognition, motivation and emotion in game-based learning

Learning with games requires two types of information, namely domain-specific information and game-specific information. Presenting these two types of information together with gameplay may pose a heavy demand on cognitive resources. This study investigates how timing of information presentation affects cognition (ie, mental effort and performance), motivation (ie, achievement goals) and emotion (ie, achievement emotions). Participants were secondary school students (N = 145). Participants participated in a 2 × 2 factorial experiment with two factors—timing of domain-specific information presentation and timing of game-specific information presentation, either before or during gameplay. We measured mental effort, chemistry knowledge, time on task, achievement goals and achievement emotions. Multiple regression and robust regression revealed that presenting domain-specific information before gameplay promoted higher approach goals, higher avoidance goals and more enjoyment than presenting it during gameplay. There was no difference between presenting game-specific information before gameplay and during gameplay except for performance-avoidance goals. We conclude that timing of information presentation affects motivational and emotional processes and outcomes and that students feel more motivated and enjoyed when domain-specific information is presented before learning than during learning. Educators may change the timing of domain-specific information presentation accordingly.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Well-designed game-based learning can increase learning.
• Game-based learning needs effective instructional design features.

What this paper adds

• One instructional design feature, timing of information presentation, affects motivation and emotion in game-based learning.
• Students feel more motivated and enjoyed when domain-specific information is presented before learning than during learning.
• This study is one of the first to focus on cognitive, motivational and emotional processes and outcomes, and their interconnections.

Implications for practice and policy

• Educators would do well to present domain-specific information before learning than during learning.
• Researchers on instructional design features should attend to all cognitive, motivational and emotional processes and outcomes instead of just one or two.