From Esports to the Classroom: Testing Cognitive and Educational Transfer Using EEG and Mixed Methods
SAGE Open, cilt.16, sa.3, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 16 Sayı: 3
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1177/21582440261491801
- Dergi Adı: SAGE Open
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Directory of Open Access Journals, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Education Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: 21st-century learner skills, educational transfer, EEG, esports, learning performance
- Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Esports is increasingly positioned as a technology-rich learning environment that may support cognitive engagement, collaboration, and learning-related development. However, whether cognitively intensive gameplay translates into measurable educational outcomes remains unclear. This study examined educational transfer in a multiplayer online battle arena-based esports intervention by integrating EEG-based indicators, 21st-century learner skills, learning performance, and qualitative accounts. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used with 77 third-year undergraduate students aged 20–24 years with no prior esports experience, including 42 in the experimental group and 35 in the control group; the sample included 22 male and 55 female students. The eight-week intervention required at least 18 hours of League of Legends gameplay under a flexible schedule, with a two-hour daily cap and spreadsheet-based play-time logs. Quantitative data were collected through EEG-based measures of attention, working memory, and cognitive load, a 21st-century learner skills scale, and an academic achievement test; qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated a significant general group difference in attention (p = .0075, η2p = .091, 95% CI [0.709, 4.463]) and a significant time × group interaction for cognitive load (p = .001, η2p = .139), suggesting increased task-related mental workload rather than cognitive improvement. However, no intervention-related improvement was observed for attention, and the initially significant working-memory pattern was not retained after controlling for baseline non-equivalence. Qualitative findings showed perceived value for strategic thinking, teamwork, communication, and leadership, but this did not consistently translate into learner-skill or learning-performance gains.