Prompting LLMs for Game Learning Analytics: A Case Study with Computer Science Students

  • Fabrizio Honda UEA / UFAM
  • Fernanda Pires UEA
  • Elaine Harada UFAM
  • Marcela Pessoa UEA

Resumo


The mandatory inclusion of computer science in schools requires graduates capable of acting as learning designers. The development of educational games can aid this process by allowing the implementation of Game Learning Analytics (GLA) techniques. However, modeling data to list GLA variables is complex, motivating the use of Large Language Models (LLMs). This case study examines how a technique inspired by the chain-of-thought approach, combined with the inclusion of more game data in the prompt, affects the quality of GLA structures. Results indicate that the method is relevant; however, students struggle to guide the LLM. Furthermore, the excess of data in the prompt may have led the model to ignore important information.

Referências

Ansari, A. N., Ahmad, S., and Bhutta, S. M. (2024). Mapping the global evidence around the use of chatgpt in higher education: A systematic scoping review. Education and Information Technologies, 29(9):11281–11321.

Banihashem, S. K., Dehghanzadeh, H., Clark, D., Noroozi, O., and Biemans, H. J. (2024). Learning analytics for online game-based learning: A systematic literature review. Behaviour & Information Technology, 43(12):2689–2716.

Bastos, M., Honda, F., Lima, M., Pessoa, M., and Pires, F. (2025). How do llms analyze and interpret data from educational games? a study with gla experts. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Informática na Educação (SBIE), pages 1317–1330. SBC.

Brasil (2016). Resolução nº 5, de 16 de novembro de 2016.

Brasil (2023). Lei nº 14.533, de 11 de janeiro de 2023. Diário Oficial da União. Disponível em: [link]. Acessed: 2025-12-01.

Filho, D., Honda, F., Pires, F., Pessoa, M., et al. (2025). Exploring the use of open-source llms for game learning analytics: an empirical study. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Informática na Educação (SBIE), pages 1302–1316. SBC.

Freire, M., Serrano-Laguna, Á., Manero, B., Martínez-Ortiz, I., Moreno-Ger, P., and Fernández-Manjón, B. (2016). Game learning analytics: Learning analytics for serious games. In Learning, design, and technology, pages 1–29. Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Henkel, O., Horne-Robinson, H., Dyshel, M., Thompson, G., Abboud, R., Ch, N. A. N., Moreau-Pernet, B., and Vanacore, K. (2025). Learning to love llms for answer interpretation: Chain-of-thought prompting and the ammore dataset. Journal of Learning Analytics, 12(1):50–64.

Honda, F., Pessoa, M., Harada, E., and Pires, F. (2025a). Evaluation of a specialist agent in game learning analytics by learning designers: a case study. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Informática na Educação (SBIE), pages 1361–1375. SBC.

Honda, F., Pessoa, M., Pires, F., and Oliveira, E. H. (2025b). Chatgpt, gemini or deepseek? an empirical study in game learning analytics. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Jogos e Entretenimento Digital (SBGames), pages 1828–1840. SBC.

Honda, F., Pires, F., Pessoa, M., and de Oliveira, E. H. T. (2020). Liçoes aprendidas em computaçao através da criaçao de um jogo educacional: entre automatos e design de aprendizagem. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Informática na Educação (SBIE), pages 1753–1762. SBC.

Honda, F., Pires, F., Pessoa, M., and Oliveira, E. H. (2025c). Challenges in educational game data modeling from the perspective of computing students: an empirical study. In Workshop sobre Educação em Computação (WEI), pages 1251–1262. SBC.

Kasneci, E., Seßler, K., Küchemann, S., Bannert, M., Dementieva, D., Fischer, F., Gasser, U., Groh, G., Günnemann, S., Hüllermeier, E., et al. (2023). Chatgpt for good? on opportunities and challenges of large language models for education. Learning and individual differences, 103:102274.

Liu, N. F., Lin, K., Hewitt, J., Paranjape, A., Bevilacqua, M., Petroni, F., and Liang, P. (2024). Lost in the middle: How language models use long contexts. Transactions of the Association for Computational Linguistics, 12:157–173.

Liu, X., Wei, Z., Baker, R. S., Metcalf, S. J., Zhang, J., Barany, A., Slater, S., Swanson, L., and Gagnon, D. J. (2025). Integrating large language models and machine learning to detect struggle in educational games. In International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, pages 398–405. Springer.

Miguel, J., Macena, J., Honda, F., Pires, F., and Pessoa, M. (2025). Robohouse: incorporating level and learning design into the playful approach to data structures. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Jogos e Entretenimento Digital (SBGames), pages 1758–1769. SBC.

Oliveira, M. G., Santos, R. F., and Pereira, L. L. (2019). Jogos digitais educacionais: um mapeamento sistemático da literatura brasileira. Revista Brasileira de Informática na Educação, 27(1):123–145.

Pires, F. G. d. S. (2021). Thinkted lab, um caso de aprendizagem criativa em computação no nível superior.

Silva, D., Pires, F., Melo, R., and Pessoa, M. (2022). Glboard: um sistema para auxiliar na captura e análise de dados em jogos educacionais. In Anais Estendidos do XXI Simpósio Brasileiro de Jogos e Entretenimento Digital, pages 959–968. SBC.

Wei, J., Wang, X., Schuurmans, D., Bosma, M., Xia, F., Chi, E., Le, Q. V., Zhou, D., et al. (2022). Chain-of-thought prompting elicits reasoning in large language models. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems, 35:24824–24837.

Wohlin, C. (2021). Case study research in software engineering—it is a case, and it is a study, but is it a case study? Information and Software Technology, 133:106514.

Wu, B. and Wang, A. I. (2012). A guideline for game development-based learning: a literature review. International Journal of Computer Games Technology, 2012.
Publicado
04/05/2026
HONDA, Fabrizio; PIRES, Fernanda; HARADA, Elaine; PESSOA, Marcela. Prompting LLMs for Game Learning Analytics: A Case Study with Computer Science Students. In: SIMPÓSIO BRASILEIRO DE EDUCAÇÃO EM COMPUTAÇÃO (EDUCOMP), 6. , 2026, Campo Grande/MS. Anais [...]. Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação, 2026 . p. 200-213. ISSN 3086-0733. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/educomp.2026.18681.