Date and time: Thursday 16 April 2026, 13:00-14:00 CEST
Speaker: Bruce M. McLaren, Carnegie Mellon University
Title: Digital Game-Based Learning from Childhood to Adulthood: Evidence, Insights, and Future Directions
Where: Digital Futures hub, Osquars Backe 5, floor 2 at KTH main campus OR Zoom
Directions: https://www.digitalfutures.kth.se/contact/how-to-get-here/
OR
Zoom: https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/69560887455
Host: To be announced
Bio: Prof. Bruce M. McLaren is a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, head of the McLearn Lab, and past President of the International Artificial Intelligence in Education Society (2017-2019). McLaren is passionate about how technology can support education and has dedicated his work and research to projects that explore how students can learn with digital learning games (also called educational games), intelligent tutoring systems, e-learning principles, and collaborative learning.
In addition to his research background, Prof. McLaren has over 20 years experience in the commercial sector, applying research ideas to practical problems using Artificial Intelligence techniques. Prof. McLaren holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Intelligent Systems from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh, and a B.S. in Computer Science (cum laude) from Millersville University. He has been a member of many academic conference and workshop committees and, most recently, was the co-chair for the CSEDU 2022 conference and the AIED 2019 conference.
Abstract: Digital game-based learning (DGBL) has long promised to combine engagement and instruction, yet its success depends on how games are designed, for whom, and for what contexts. In this talk, I introduce the core ideas behind DGBL and highlight what decades of research have taught us about learning with games. Drawing on my own work with digital learning games for children — primarily in middle school — I illustrate how AI-driven adaptation, feedback, and assessment can be embedded in gameplay to support learning. I then turn to adult learners, synthesizing what research reveals about how adults engage with, benefit from, and sometimes push back against game-based approaches in higher education, workplace training, and lifelong learning.
I conclude by offering a forward-looking perspective on the future of adult DGBL, including the potential of large language models and more socially expressive game experiences, and argue for a human-centered approach to designing learning games across the lifespan.
