Students' Aesthetic Experiences of Playing Exergames: A Practical Epistemology Analysis of Learning

The aim of this study was to explore Swedish junior high school students meaning-making of participating in exergaming in school based on their aesthetic judgments during game-play. A transactional approach, drawing on the work of John Dewey, was used in the study and the data consisted of videoand audio recordings of ongoing video gaming. A practical epistemology analysis (PEA) was used in order to explore the students’ meaning-making in depth. When analyzing the data, the importance of performing well in relation to the challenges the game offers; developing techniques suitable for the game; and interacting socially with one’s peers emerged as main themes in the students’ meaning-making and learning. It was clear that the students’ taste for gaming played a crucial role in how they proceeded in the activity and that meaningful gaming included an intrinsic combination of pleasure and displeasure. Students’ Aesthetic Experiences of Playing Exergames: A Practical Epistemology Analysis of Learning