The Impact of a Racing Feature on Middle School Science Students' Performance in an Educational Game

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 18-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn Ault ◽  
Jana Craig-Hare ◽  
Bruce Frey
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Game Design ◽  
School Science ◽  
Educational Game ◽  
Science Content ◽  
Game Play ◽  
School Students ◽  
Challenging Tasks ◽  
Game Features ◽  
The Impact

Reason Racer is an online, rate-based, multiplayer game designed to engage middle school students in the knowledge and skills related to scientific argumentation. Several game features are included as design considerations unrelated to science content or argumentation. One specific feature, a competitive racing component that occurs in between challenging tasks, is the subject of this analysis. The effect of two conditions on 72 ninth grade students' performance was analyzed: game play with a competitive racing component (Race) and game play without a competitive racing component (No-Race). A counterbalanced design was used with two randomly assigned groups playing the game using two different science scenarios. When students played with a racing component interspersed between challenging tasks they completed the tasks more quickly and accurately than when they did not experience the racing component. These findings are discussed in terms of game design and the use of game features not related to academic content.

The Evolution of Drawing as an Equitable Way to Assess ELLs in a Middle School Science Classroom

2020 ◽  
pp. 142-159
Author(s):  
Amanda M. Latimer ◽  
Martha E. Monreal
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Science Classroom ◽  
School Science ◽  
Middle School Science ◽  
Science Content ◽  
Implementation Barriers ◽  
School Students ◽  
Ell Students ◽  
Content Understanding ◽  
Science Assessments

In this chapter, the authors discuss what they observed and learned as drawing was integrated into assessments already in use in a middle school science classroom. Informed by a growing body of evidence that supports the notion that allowing students to draw answers on assessments disrupts normative assessment practices, promoting more equitable assessments for ELLs. Their overall goal was to add to the understanding of how drawing can provide a more complete picture of ELL students science content understanding. This chapter begins with the historical importance of drawing in science, and then the intersection of ELLs, drawing, science, and assessment, followed by a description of how drawing was adapted into middle school science assessments. Examples of how middle school students responded to prompts to draw answers on assessments are included followed by implementation barriers that were confronted by their teachers. The authors then conclude this chapter with a discussion focusing on recommendations to fellow teachers.

“It Must Include Rules”

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-41
Author(s):  
Eliane S. Wiese ◽  
Marcia C. Linn
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Computer Models ◽  
School Science ◽  
Scientific Models ◽  
Science Content ◽  
School Students ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
High Level

When middle school students encounter computer models of science phenomenon in science class, how do they think those computer models work? Computer models operationalize real-world behaviors of selected variables, and can simulate interactions between the modeled elements through programmed instructions. This study explores how middle school students think about the high-level semantic meaning of those instructions, which we term rules . To investigate this aspect of students’ computational thinking, we developed the Computational Modeling Inventory and administered it to 253 7 th grade students. The Inventory included three computer models that students interacted with during the assessment. In our sample, 99% of students identified at least one key rule underlying a model, but only 14% identified all key rules; 65% believed that model rules can contradict; and 98% could not distinguish between emergent patterns and behaviors that directly resulted from model rules. Despite these misconceptions, compared to the “typical” questions about the science content alone, questions about model rules elicited deeper science thinking, with 2--10 times more responses including reasoning about scientific mechanisms. These results suggest that incorporating computational thinking instruction into middle school science courses might yield deeper learning and more precise assessments around scientific models.

scholarly journals Educational Game Design as Gateway for Operationalizing Computational Thinking Skills among Middle School Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Lun Wu
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Situated Learning ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Educational Game ◽  
School Students ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Meaningful Relationships

This qualitative case study reports descriptive findings of digital game-based learning involving 15 Taiwanese middle school students’ use of computational thinking skills elicited through programmed activities in a game design workshop. Situated learning theory is utilized as framework to evaluate novice game designers’ individual advancement in developing a designer language, mindset, and use of computational thinking skills. Three strands of findings were extrapolated from analyzing observational data, participant-generated written responses and artifacts: Understanding games as systems and how components work together in meaningful relationships in game design; Developing growing sophistication in communicating with other novice game designers using language germane to game design; Improving understanding and application of computational thinking skills through game design activities. Extended discussions on three focal cases revealed that using design pedagogy, participants operationalized computational thinking skills in design tasks. Promises and pitfalls of using game design to facilitate computational thinking skills are discussed.

scholarly journals Using the Concept of Game-Based Learning in Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (14) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Zi-Yu Liu ◽  
Zaffar Ahmed Shaikh ◽  
Farida Gazizova
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Educational Material ◽  
Educational Game ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Impact

A modern school deals with a generation of students who were born and grown up in a digital environment and require other teaching methods. Changes in the technological and social conditions of modern society need new professional skills, which are often called “21st century skills”. These skills should be devel-oped starting from the primary school, as they are psychological and behavioural, rather than practical. Game-based learning and gamification are effective means of such skills development. The use of video games in teaching practice is studied multifaceted, along with formats and requirements of educational game, methods for effectiveness assessment, and the effect of games on students. The controver-sial nature of game-based learning effect on students require deeper research, as the increase in motivation and learning efficiency cannot be disputed, as well as the negative impact of a long gaming on cognitive abilities, emotional state and social skills of students. The study tested both an increase in the motivation and attraction of school students for the learning process, and the impact on the prac-tical results of information assimilation. There was conducted a survey on the re-sults of the application of game training to determine the motivation and attraction of students. Likewise, we counted time, spent by the study and control group, for mastering the main educational material and the post-class study of game content and the educational material it presents. A comparative test was conducted on the results of educational material comprehension to determine the effectiveness of the methodology in mastering knowledge. The group, with game-based learning and gamification applied, showed an increase in motivation and attraction to learning, students paid additional efforts for assimilating the material studied, and also showed significantly higher learning outcomes compared to the control group.

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