Learning Outcomes Associated with Classroom Implementation of a Biotechnology-Themed Video Game

Abstract

The educational video game Mission Biotech provides a virtual experience for students in learning biotechnology materials and tools. This study explores the use of Mission Biotech and the associated curriculum by three high school teachers and their students. All three classes demonstrated gains on a curriculum-aligned test of science content. Students from two of the classes showed gains on a standards-aligned test of content; students from the third class did not demonstrate statistically significant gains. This result is attributable to a ceiling effect.The results support the idea that video games can be useful in classroom contexts. No statistically significant changes were found when looking at how the game affected student attitudes toward science and science careers.

Learning Biology Through Innovative Curricula: A Comparison of Game- and Nongame-Based Approaches

“…But we know less about how effective games are for supporting learning relative to other educational approaches, particularly when the approaches are situated in broader systems of teacher PD, teacher implementation decisions and actions, and the complexity of science classrooms. Our preliminary work with MBt provided evidence that this particular game could serve as the anchor for a game‐based curriculum (Barko & Sadler, a) and that teachers could successfully implement the game in high school science classrooms (Eastwood & Sadler, ). We also generated evidence suggesting that students could learn significant biology associated with MBt game play (Sadler et al., ).…”

“…The simple answer to this question is a resounding yes; games have consistently been shown to support learning and, in some cases, development of expertise (Gee, ; Shaffer, ). The fact that students can learn through game play has been established, but questions have been raised about what students can learn through games and the extent to which learning facilitated by games corresponds to the kinds of learning outcomes valued and prioritized in schools (e.g., Barko & Sadler, ; Bosche, ; Gentile, Lynch, Linder, & Walsh, ). While some of the things students might learn through playing games are well beyond the canons of formal education, research has documented the potential for games to support student progress on many learning outcomes valued within school systems.…”

“…We were also interested in how much learning occurs relative to other, comparable curricular interventions. Some of our team's preliminary work provided evidence that students could learn science through classroom implementations of MBt, a computer game designed around a biotechnology‐themed virtual environment (Barko & Sadler, ; Sadler et al., ), but these studies were limited by relatively small sample sizes and lack of a control group. For the current work, we set up a quasi‐experimental comparison between a game‐based intervention and a nongame‐based intervention (the control context) in a way that acknowledged and valued the complex interrelationships among games, their broader curricular context, teachers, and PD.…”

Sviluppo di una OER per l’insegnamento delle biotecnologie: risultati di una sperimentazione eseguita nell’ultimo anno dei Licei

“…L'utilizzo di video game come Mission Biotech (Barko & Sadler, 2013) risulta avere una certa efficacia come strumento di insegnamento e di apprendimento di un tema biotecnologico, ma non è per noi particolarmente interessante. Infatti, dai risultati di questo studio, il videogioco non ha effetti positivi sugli atteggiamenti degli studenti nei confronti della Scienza.…”

Shroomroot: An Action-Based Digital Game to Enhance Postsecondary Teaching and Learning about Mycorrhizae

“…After playing Shroomroot in this relatively unguided context, students on average answered correctly about half (52%) of the SRaddressed items. Other successful game-based interventions have stressed the importance of instructor and digital support mechanisms (Barko and Sadler, 2013), and many studies have demonstrated the positive influence of guidance on gamebased learning (Lim et al, 2006;Basu et al, 2011;Erhel and Jame, 2013). Positive results from these other studies suggest that Shroomroot may have the potential to facilitate greater mycorrhizal learning in the context of greater classroom support.…”