Enhancing Children's Interest and Knowledge in Bioengineering through an Interactive Videogame

Abstract

Aim/Purpose: Bioengineering is a burgeoning interdisciplinary learning domain that could inspire the imaginations of elementary aged children but is not traditionally taught to this age group for reasons unrelated to student ability. This pilot study presents the BacToMars videogame and accompanying curricular intervention, designed to introduce children (aged 7-11) to foundational concepts of bioengineering and to the interdisciplinary nature of scientific endeavors. Background: This pilot study explores the bioengineering-related learning outcomes and attitudes of children after engaging with the BacToMars game and curriculum intervention. Methodology: This study drew on prior findings in game-based learning and applied them to a videogame designed to connect microbiology with Constructionist microworlds. An experimental comparison showed the learning and engagement affordances of integrating this videogame into a mixed-media bioengineering curriculum. Elementary-aged children (N = 17) participated in a 9-hour learning intervention, with one group of n = 8 children receiving the BacToMars videogame and the other group (n = 9) receiving traditional learning activities on the same content. Pre- and post-surveys and interview data were collected from both groups. Contribution: This paper contributes to education research on children’s ability to meaningfully engage with abstract concepts at the intersection of science and engineering through bioengineering education, and to design research on developing educational technology for introducing bioengineering content to elementary school children. Findings: Children in both groups showed improved knowledge and attitudes related to bioengineering. Children who used BacToMars showed slightly stronger performance on game-specific concepts, while children in the control condition showed slightly higher generalized knowledge of bioengineering concepts. Recommendations for Practitioners: Practitioners should consider bioengineering as a domain for meaningful, interdisciplinary learning in elementary education.. Recommendation for Researchers: Design researchers should develop playful ways to introduce bioengineering concepts accurately and to engage children’s imaginations and problem-solving skills. Education researchers should further investigate developmentally appropriate ways to introduce bioengineering in elementary education. Impact on Society: BacToMars introduces a meaningful scenario to contextualize complex con-cepts at the intersection of science and engineering, and to engage children in real-world, interdisciplinary problem solving. Future Research: Future research should explore BacToMars and bioengineering curricula for elementary-aged children in larger samples, with longer intervention times.

Video Games and Attitude Change: A Meta-analysis

“…Beyond this general condition, the intervention by the narrative video game should have been the only intended element affecting a player's attitudes towards the topic. Based on this reasoning, we excluded studies with video game interventions that were preceded or accompanied, for example, by a seminar, workshop or collective debate about the topic (Strawhacker et al, 2018;Hornung et al, 2000) and also studies with external elements within the study design, e.g., driving a car in a video game while telephoning in a real life (e.g., Downs, 2014) that would purposefully affect players. Along the same line of reasoning, we also excluded so-called "exergames", e.g., games combining playing with physical activity as a form of exercise.…”

Análisis del estado del arte sobre el uso de los videojuegos en Educación Infantil y Primaria

“…En tercer lugar, es posible diferenciar los objetivos de las intervenciones en cuatro bloques. Mientras unos se dirigen al desarrollo de habilidades cognitivas como la atención (Castro et al, 2018), las habilidades sociales (Al Saud, 2017) o las inteligencias múltiples (Garmen et al, 2019), otros pretenden mejorar el aprendizaje de áreas específicas como las Ciencias Naturales (Hurtado et al, 2015;Strawhacker et al, 2018), las Matemáticas (Tazouti et al, 2019), la Lengua Inglesa (Anyaegbu et al, 2012;Hansbøl, & Meyer, 2011), la Historia (Lunn et al, 2016) o la Educación Musical, trabajando la ópera (Ramos, & Botella, 2015) o la recuperación de las raíces folklóricas (Ramos, & Botella, 2016). El tercer grupo se centra en temas transversales, como la educación para la salud o la nutrición (Baños et al, 2013;González-Valero et al, 2018), o el cuidado de los animales y el fomento de su bienestar (Hawkins et al, 2019).…”

Videojuegos: herramientas didácticas digitales en un centro educativo de Babahoyo

“…El aprendizaje basado en juegos es una tendencia educativa emocionante porque los juegos ahora se están diseñando y utilizando maximizar el compromiso, la motivación y la curiosidad del alumno, áreas que carecen de las estructuras escolares en los Estados Unidos y en el extranjero (Strawhacker, Sullivan, Verish, Bers, & Shaer, 2018).…”