“To realize the positive impact that our games are having on students, not only through our own assessments, but through compelling third-party research, is inspiring,” said André Thomas, Triseum CEO and Texas A&M professor. “Instructors confirmed that our games attracted students’ attention, increased students’ confidence and social skills, and allowed students to exercise their imaginations. Through this study, the power of game-based learning comes to light across the globe, validating games as not only innovative, but effective.”

Twenty teachers – four each from Norway, Poland, Portugal, Italy, and Greece – participated in the study with their 36 classes of 857 students. Using a triangular evaluation approach to collect results, data from questionnaires and focus groups concluded Triseum’s video games attracted students’ attention; gave them confidence; and improved behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and agentic engagement. Additionally, when asked if they supported a statement that the games were positively impacting their students’ knowledge acquisition, 18 teachers agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, while the remaining two teachers chose to remain neutral.

“The students were very motivated, and were a lot better prepared for the following subjects and concepts in the class, building on the content and concepts covered in the game,” said a teacher quoted in the study, who called their experience using Variant: Limits very successful.

“The students appeared motivated, interested, and curious,” said another teacher, who used ARTé: Mecenas. “They have also acquired a good visual memory of the works and are now able to recognize the historical context.”

The executive summary and complete study are available through European Schoolnet’s Future Classroom Lab. Additional teacher feedback and findings are in the ARTé: Mecenas results webinar and the Variant: Limits results webinar.