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affiliated with the
departments of Learning
Sciences and Computer
Science
and the Northwestern
Institute on Complex Systems at Northwestern
University |
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Reimagining Game Design (RiGD):
Connecting STEM representations to informal game play
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| Project Personnel |
Uri Wilensky |
Bruce Sherin |
Nathan Holbert |
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| Project Goals |
| Is it possible to design a video game that will fit into youth gaming culture, yet implicitly teach valued science content? This is certainly an ambition and challenging question, however the potential benefit of success necessitates action and requires a reimagining of educational games design. In this project we explore, create, and assess design principles that can be integrated into the design of popular commercial video games enabling players to connect intuitive experiences of embedded science content developed from interactions with the game, to real world and formally-taught instances of the science content. While this work has implications for exploring a variety of different STEM topics via video games, two domains are used as test-cases: Newtonian Mechanics and Materials Science--domains that have been shown to be difficult to learn in formal settings. Explored designs will be targeted for children ages 8-13 and be intended for use in informal play environments. |
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| Publications |
Holbert, N. R. & Wilensky, U. (2011). Racing games for exploring kinematics: A computational thinking approach. Paper presented at AERA 2011, New Orleans, LA.
Holbert, N. R. & Wilensky, U. (2011). Putting the turtle on the racetrack: Investigating a constructionist racing game for exploring kinematics. Paper presented at NARST 2011, Orlando, FL.
Holbert, N. R. & Wilensky, U. (2010). Feeling fast: The role of intuitive thinking in video games. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO, April 30-May 4.
Holbert, N. R. & Wilensky, U. (2010). FormulaT Racing: Combining gaming culture and intuitive sense of mechanism for video game design. In K. Gomez & J. Radinsky (Ed.), Proceedings of the 9th International Conference of the Learning Sciences. Chicago, IL.
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Contact
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CCL office hours: Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm
Address: Northwestern University
Annenberg Hall 223
2120 Campus Drive / Evanston, IL 60208 / USA
map & directions
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Telephone: 847-467-7329
Fax: 847-491-8999
oas@ccl.northwestern.edu |
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