The Role of Behavioural Processes in Team Dynamics and Outcome in a Game-Based Learning Classroom, 2016-2019

This study investigated how behavioural interactions shape team dynamics, social bonding, and learning outcomes within conservation-focused higher education settings. Motivated by the increasing use of serious games to enhance collaborative learning, the research aimed to quantify the interpersonal processes that arise in game-based and traditional instructional formats and to examine how these processes relate to personality traits and teamwork outcomes. Data were gathered from 170 participants enrolled in multiple cohorts of conservation biology courses delivered between 2016 and 2020. The dataset encompasses three primary domains: (i) behavioural observations, (ii) interpersonal perceptions, and (iii) learning performance.

Behavioural data were obtained through structured observational surveys supplemented by continuous video recordings during classroom sessions. Across all lessons, 28,836 dyadic interaction events were coded, capturing the direction, frequency, and distribution of communication within teams. Perceptual data were collected using questionnaires administered before and after sessions. These instruments measured participants’ perceptions of peer connectedness, interpersonal bonding (via IOS scales and group-bonding indicators), and perceived dominance within teams. To incorporate individual differences, all participants completed standardised assessments of the Big Five personality traits, allowing interaction patterns to be analysed relative to personality contrasts within pairs and groups. Learning outcomes were captured through pre- and post-session multiple-choice quizzes that assessed factual knowledge, conceptual understanding, and application-based reasoning linked to each topic.

The data collection spanned three instructional modes—didactic instruction, supplemental games, and experiential games—enabling comparison of behavioural mechanisms across pedagogical formats. Together, these multi-layered datasets provide an integrated record of how students interact, perceive one another, and learn within collaborative environments. Preliminary analyses show that game-based lessons elicited more frequent interactions, fostered stronger one-to-one and group bonding, and reduced the emergence of dominant individuals. Social bonding, rather than interaction frequency alone, was most consistently associated with convergence in learning scores within teams.

Overall, the dataset offers a rich foundation for examining how personality, behaviour, and social cohesion contribute to collaborative learning processes, and how games can be leveraged as effective tools for fostering inclusive and interactive classroom dynamics.