1 Motivational and Educational Outcomes Associated with Solo, Competitive, and Collaborative Game Play Jan L. Plass, Paul A. O’Keefe, Bruce D. Homer, Elizabeth O. Hayward, Murphy Stein & Ken Perlin Paper submitted for presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), New Orleans, LA (April, 2011). Results are presented from an experimental investigation of the effect of mode of play on motivational and educational outcomes. A computer-based arithmetic game was adapted to allow for solo, competitive, or collaborative game play. Participants (n = 54) from seven urban middle schools were randomly assigned to each experimental condition. Results suggest that solo play was found to be less situationally interesting than competitive or collaborative play. Participants in the competitive condition were found to endorse a stronger mastery goal orientation and a stronger performance-approach goal orientation, and perform better overall, than those in the solo condition. In contrast, those in the solo play condition scored higher on post-test measures of math fluency. Introduction The past decade has seen great interest in the educational potential of computer-based games and simulations. Computer-based games are highly engaging and motivating for players, and educators have suggested taking advantage of this engagement and motivation to support learning (Gee, 2007; Prensky, 2001; Squire, 2003). Furthermore, a number of influential books and articles have argued that well-designed games embody educational theory and are inline with some of the “best practices” of education (e.g., Collins & Halverson, 2009; Gee, 2003; Mayo, 2007; Plass, Homer & Hayward, 2009). Current efforts in research games are examining the effects of different design patterns on students’ learning experiences and outcomes (Plass et al., 2009). The current study examined the effects of manipulating the social context of playing an educational game. Middle-school students were randomly assigned to play a math game, Factor Reactor, either on their own (solo), against another student (competitive), or with another student (collaborative). Learning outcomes, situational interest, and game-specific achievement goal orientation were dependent variables. Method Participants and Design. Participants were 54 students from seven urban schools in a major Northeastern city. There were 35 female participants (65%). Each participant was randomly assigned to one of three modes of play: solo, competitive, and collaborative. In the solo condition, participants played the game independently, whereas in the competitive and collaborative conditions they played the game in pairs.