NSF Awards: 1417967, 1415284, 1119144, 1134919, 0917520
EdGE at TERC (http://edge.terc.edu) is a team of designers, educators, and researchers working together to study how game-based learning can be measured and leveraged. We build and study games, grounded in scientific phenomena, and then study what players’ behaviors in the game can tell us about learning.
Our research shows that when kids play our games, and then their teacher uses an example from the game when teaching science, the student learning in improved. We have also built data mining detectors to look at the data exhaust from games to find patterns that show, very reliably, behaviors that are consistent with scientific understanding.
EdGE is continuously using new tools to understand the previously invisible learning that is revealed through digital gameplay. We are exploring data from eye-tracking and EEG tools to understand the connection between attention, executive function, and learning. And we are taking digital games out into the natural world, incorporating augmented reality and geocaching to get kids outside. EdGE is pushing the boundaries of games and learning, creating experiences at the optimal balance of work and play, and capturing it all to build improved models of learning.
Al Lewandowski
This is fascinating.
Is it possible to access/sample some of the games you’ve developed? Have you published any results of the data analysis you have conducted to date on the instructional benefit of the games?
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
Thanks Al. Yes – you can access all our games and our publications at http://edge.terc.edu. If you still have questions after poking around there please let me know.
Priscilla Laws
Wow! I can imagine some games that include opportunities for students to make and test real world predictions in a gaming context.
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
which games are you thinking about Priscilla? Any we should be considering for research??? :)
Brian Drayton
Hi,
Nice presentation. Would be interested to hear more about what level of learning is facilitated — fact, concept, process, model? Are there teacher barriers that you’re encountering? That is, what are the issues (IF ANY) that teachers have to reckon with in order to work with the students in the language of the games?
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
Hi Brian – sorry I have started this response several times but because it is detailed I get interrupted before I finish and I lose my progress :( ….so our research looks at conceptual learning of fundamental physics such as Newtons laws of motion and law of reflection (optics). Our pre/post are as conceptual as possible, trying not to rely on terminology or representations taught in school, but rather more intuitive animations and puzzles. The barriers we found were technical and administrative (time crunch) but not uniform and in some cases (particularly in an AP class) the teacher didn’t understand the game mechanics and thus the kids underperformed. Our further studies seem to indicate that teachers need supports to understand how the data from games can help them assess learning in their classes so we are working on that next.
Randy Kochevar
Senior Research Scientist
What a nice-looking video! How do you approach producing educational games, when it puts you “head to head” with multi-million dollar titles competing for the kids’ attention?
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
thanks Randy. Our focus is not in getting the broadest audience (though we do try to make games that people WANT to play) but we put our efforts in crafting the research models that allow us to learn about learning through play. Having said that – TERC is about to re-release The Logical Journey of the Zoombinis this spring which should be a marriage of research and popularity. Can’t wait – do you know about Zoombinis?
Rachel Older
Is there more information available about Martian Boneyards? An educational MMO is an interesting idea, and could easily capitalize on many of the “gamification” aspects that typically engross people in that genre.
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
Hi Rachel – Martian Boneyards was a game we ran in an MMO called Blue Mars. It was a beautiful HD MMO that was in beta in 2010 – we took advantage of the enthusiastic beta audience who were looking for something to do – we had over 600 participants in the game over 4 months. But Blue Mars never got out of beta as far I know, and the game was not replicated elsewhere. We would LOVE to redo the game with augmented reality tools outside in the real world….a big outdoor science mystery game – wouldn’t that be fun? Funders anyone??? :)
Ben Sayler
Professor of Physical Science and Mathematics
I"m wondering if you might have given thought to the educational value of students designing and coding their own games as related to or different from the educational value of playing games. Thanks for thought-provoking project!
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
Hi Ben – we have lots of colleagues doing that work. The Scratch community (from Mitch Resnick at MIT), Gamestar Mechanic, and many informal programs are doing stuff where making the game is the learning process. I think that is very cool and really support those who are doing it…but we haven’t delved into that as much ourselves.
Kathy Perkins
Great video! Teon mentioned using the backend click data to look for patterns of play, and I am wondering how much success you have had with that line of work, and correlating the click data with learning?
I’d also like to hear the reply to Brian – what learning is facilitated — fact, concept, process, model, and how you’re measuring that?
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
thanks Kathy – as I explained to Brian – we are after conceptual learning (and it is implicitly learned in the game – it needs to be leveraged by an educator to make it explicit, expressible knowledge – I hope that is clear :) And yes, we have many publications about using the backend data for learning. We have shown, in two different games so far, that we can build data mining models that predict learning in games. We have already blended those data with pre/post measures, as well as Experience Sampling Methods of measuring in-game Flow measures, and we are now working with partners to integrate those data with physiological data – such as eye-tracking and EEG models_ to build even more comprehensive models of learning. We are working towards building adaptive games that can customize learning for individuals based on their patterns of play from the data.
James Laffey
Jodi, nice video. I am really looking forward to learning more about what you are learning from your projects. I need to tryout Zoombinis!! What environments are you using to develop your games. regards!
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
Hi James…I am pretty sure we have been sitting around more than one table at an NSF conference room – am I right? Our Leveling Up games that we did for the high school studies are in Flash. They are all available for free – desktop and mobile versions from http://edge.terc.edu
We are also developing experiences in HTML5 as well as augmented reality and geocaching apps. Zoombinis is being developed in Unity. So we are all over the place :)
CHARLES MATTHEWS
Thanks for http://edge.terc.edu. I’m just beginning to explore the site. Do you send alerts to new posts?
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
I am not sure about your question Charles – if you want this is a test to see if you are getting an alert about this :)
CHARLES MATTHEWS
I meant alerts about new posts to your website.
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
hmmm…. I don’t think we have that feature but I will look into it.
CHARLES MATTHEWS
Otherwise, I can just check your website from time to time. We appreciate what you’re doing.
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
thanks Charles – your “Ask A Teacher” stuff looks cool too!
CHARLES MATTHEWS
Thanks for viewing “ASK a Teacher.”
Jacqueline Miller
Really interesting project, Jodi. Regarding Priscilla Law’s comment above, I also see potential for games to enhance learning in several areas. We are in the midst of a project developing online tools for studying emerging diseases such as Ebola and a game that would help student understand how different infectious diseases spread and concepts such as Rnought would be very powerful.
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
Hi Jacquie!
there are a few games like this out there…such as https://www.brainpop.com/games/immunesystemdefe... and
http://immuneattack.org/ as well as others I think.
Richard Hudson
Very well produced presentation! But I yearned for the voices of the kids who are playing the games! What do they say?
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
thanks Richard – As you know putting kids in video is tricky so we didn’t do that this time. But we use what they say in think-alouds to groundtruth our data mining models – their voices are very important and very well represented in the research.
Jackie DeLisi
Research Scientist
Nice video. I’m wondering about the social component of these games— how do you make educational free choice games a social experience? Also, the video mentioned something early on about students’ talk. Are you examining the ways in which students talk around the science changes?
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
Hi Jackie – these tablet games are not social because we were going for something different with them, but our Martian Boneyards was a collaborative scientific mystery game and we developed a model for framing social games as a player-led experience. I can send you a paper if you want or you can find it at http://edge.terc.edu
Laurie Brennan
Such an important area to study. As you collect more data on the learning experience while students are engaged in game play, it will be interesting to see where it could lead.
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
thanks Laurie!!
Gregory Moore
Since you are creating lots of different games, I was wondering how you approach the challenge of making games that are both fun and educationally relevant? What has worked well for you? Are there any pitfalls that you have fallen into along the way? Any specific experiences that other learning game designers should learn from?
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
Hi Gregory – we like to say we develop game ideas that fit in the intersection of a venn diagram with the questions:
- Can they learn important STEM through this game?
- Will they choose to play this game in their free time?
- Can we afford to do a good job with it?
If the answer is yes – it is a great candidate for us to try.
Myriam Steinback
What an interesting project and great video. Capitalizing on what students are already engaged in is such a great way to hook them. All the student images I see are of boys – was that because girls don’t engage in these games? I’d like to think that’s not the case, but am curious to hear.
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
Miriam – we had many girls in our research study – it just so happened that the day we had arranged to video this, only boys showed up. Females are the fastest growing game audience, largely because it was so male dominated for a while. Many popular games still have terrible female characters and models so there is much work to be done there, but our games seemed to appeal to both boys and girls.
Jodi Asbell-Clarke
Director - EdGE at TERC
Thanks everyone for all the wonderful and helpful comments and questions. Enjoy the rest of the show!
Deborah Kariuki
EdGE had found an excellent way to reach the students and get them learning. Where can a teacher find these resources. What subjects are you currently developing games for? Great work!
Further posting is closed as the showcase has ended.