THE IDENTITY OF YOUNG DIGITAL GAME-BASED LEARNER: A REVIEW OF RECENT RESEARCH

Game-based learning is gaining grounds in primary and secondary schools. While becoming part of the teaching and learning agenda in contemporary classrooms, game-based learning has proven to be attractive, because it allows learners to participate intensively in digital gaming activities. A digital game-based learner’s identity is not an inbuilt entity within a learner’s inner-self, rather it is socially constructed actively in a formal and informal learning setting. In this study, we researched on how students constructed identity when they got involved into formal game-based learning at school, as it was described in the scientific literatures of last five years. We found that, researchers discussed how digital game-based learning helps to define the identity of the learner. In our review we identified certain variables that affected identity construction: formal teaching and learning culture, family and social environment, smart technology knowledge, gender, age, digital game type, the culture of play.

The review of the recent researches showed that, digital game-based learner identity construction covered six learner’s competency domains:
i) cognitive and perceptual;
ii) emotional and volitional;
iii) personal;
iv) sensory-motor;
v) social and
vi) media competences.

Inspired by Cooley “Looking glass self “concept adaptations to social media and digital games practices, we focused on personal, social-communication and media competencies. These findings contributed to understanding how the identity of young digital game-based learner was constructed and further raised questions for the academic discussion.