Natasha Anne Rappa

Resilience refers to a person's mental ability to adaptively deal with challenges in life. Video games (both commercial games and serious games) have been used as effective resilience interventions. There is some evidence that commercial puzzle video games could increase resilience as they involve overcoming frustration to succeed. This research explores if single-player commercial puzzle video games can be used as an effective intervention to improve resilience. Participants were adolescents who attended an after-school club for 8-10 weeks. This paper presents the case studies of two club participants and their gameplay experiences. Data was collected through surveys, interviews, gameplay recordings and journals. In both case studies the participants both give and receive guidance and support from others. Having a 'more knowledgeable other' present while playing a challenging game helped participants deal with frustration and persevere. This paper provides a first step towards exploring the relationship between puzzle video game play, resilience and social support from others.

The integration of simulation platforms in the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programs enables pre-service teachers (PSTs) to experience a range of teaching scenarios that they might not otherwise encounter in real-world practicum contexts. Understanding PSTs’ perspectives of their experiences of these new learning spaces is critical in determining the role played by simulation platforms in the preparation for placements, their specific affordances for learning and how these platforms can be effectively integrated to support PSTs’ practices. This paper reports on a pilot study of PSTs’ participation in a simulated parent conference session with a parent avatar in SIMLab™, a mixed reality simulation environment. SIMLab™ allows the facilitation of synchronous responses by a human interactor playing a virtual reality avatar to enhance the authenticity of the experience for PSTs. Based on data drawn from a cross-sectional survey design, the paper provides an analysis of PSTs’ perspectives on six possible affordances of SIMLab™ and describes emergent themes gleaned from PSTs’ comments on their learning experiences within and in relation to SIMLab™. The findings inform the design and implementation of the simulation experience in ITE programs.