Training for Board Game-Based Learning: Evaluation Model and Preliminary Results From a National Program in Italy

This study presents an evaluation model for the first national board game-based learning (bGBL) training course in Italy, organized by the National Sport Association (CSI) and the Game Science Research Center, together with preliminary profiling results from participants entering the introductory Level 1 (L1) course. The model adapts Kirkpatrick's four levels of evaluation (reaction, learning, behaviour, and results) and adds a diagnostic stage, using ex ante and ex post self-assessment questionnaires built on four dimensions: tasks, processes, attitudes, and idea of self. The authors position the work as a response to the limited use of board games in Italian formal education and the scarcity of pedagogical frameworks and trained facilitators.

The initial sample comprised 69 participants with a mean age of 41, drawn largely from educators, teachers, employees, and creative professionals, and most held a high school diploma or higher. Most respondents had not previously taken a games-related training course, and roughly a quarter used games frequently in their professional work, though this use showed no significant association with personal gaming habits or self-perceived expertise (chi-square tests, all non-significant). Participants reported strong beliefs that games foster social, relational, and cognitive skills, with social and communicative skills rated highest (mean 4.62 on a five-point scale). Their expectations centered on learning educational uses of games, deepening knowledge of board games, and applying them in current jobs. Self-assessed bGBL competencies were moderately high overall, with collaborative attitude highest and knowledge of board games lowest.

The authors acknowledge important limitations: data collection is ongoing across varied locations, ex post data were not yet available for pre-post comparison, and analysis of participants' understanding of game mechanics was omitted for space reasons. The study therefore offers a baseline snapshot rather than evidence of training effectiveness, though it is intended to guide future curriculum design and broaden the initiative's reach.