ERIC Number: EJ855300
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Aug
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1059-0145
EISSN: N/A
Transformational Play as a Curricular Scaffold: Using Videogames to Support Science Education
Barab, Sasha A.; Scott, Brianna; Siyahhan, Sinem; Goldstone, Robert; Ingram-Goble, Adam; Zuiker, Steven J.; Warren, Scott
Journal of Science Education and Technology, v18 n4 p305-320 Aug 2009
Drawing on game-design principles and an underlying situated theoretical perspective, we developed and researched a 3D game-based curriculum designed to teach water quality concepts. We compared undergraduate student dyads assigned randomly to four different instructional design conditions where the content had increasingly level of contextualization: (a) expository textbook condition, (b) simplistic framing condition, (c) immersive world condition, and (d) a single-user immersive world condition. Results indicated that the immersive-world dyad and immersive-world single user conditions performed significantly better than the electronic textbook group on standardized items. The immersive-world dyad condition also performed significantly better than either the expository textbook or the descriptive framing condition on a performance-based transfer task, and performed significantly better than the expository textbook condition on standardized test items. Implications for science education, and consistent with the goals of this special issue, are that immersive game-based learning environments provide a powerful new form of curriculum for teaching and learning science.
Descriptors: Environmental Education, Undergraduate Students, Water Quality, Test Items, Textbooks, Standardized Tests, Science Education, Comparative Analysis, Curriculum Development, Curriculum Implementation, Teaching Methods, Instructional Effectiveness, Science Instruction, College Science, Video Games, Video Technology, Computer Simulation, Instructional Design, Simulated Environment, Electronic Publishing, Electronic Learning
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305H050116