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To inform instruction, screening and diagnostic assessments must collect accurate data about the current state of the learner. Unfortunately, students may find assessments unengaging, intimidating, or irrelevant, undermining the quality of their effort and the quality of the data. The application of gaming to assessments may provide a way to boost and sustain effortful test-taker engagement, an integration that has thus far yielded mixed results, at best. Our interdisciplinary team reviewed and evaluated existing gamification research to consolidate a set of guiding principles for effectively merging diagnostic assessment tasks and protocols with a motivating game-like context in ways that specifically foster high levels of test-taker effort. We share our work in this paper to help inform ongoing research and development leading to more efficient and effective assessments of children.

This study focuses on an educational game titled "Cellverse," a two-player cross-platform VR project intended to teach high school biology students about cell structure and function. In "Cellverse," players work in pairs to explore a human lung cell and diagnose and treat a dangerous genetic disorder. "Cellverse" is being designed by the Collaborative Learning Environments in Virtual Reality (CLEVR) team, an interdisciplinary team consisting of game designers, educational researchers, and graduate and undergraduate students. Using a design-based research approach, we have enlisted the help of both subject matter experts and user testers to iteratively design and improve "Cellverse." The objective of this paper is to share how user and expert feedback can inform and enhance the development of learning games. We describe how we gather and synthesize information to review and revise our game from in-game observations, semi-structured interviews, and video data. We discuss the input of subject matter experts, present feedback from our user testers, and describe how input from both parties influenced the design of "Cellverse." Our results suggest that including feedback from both experts and users has provided information that can clarify gameplay, instruction, subject portrayal, narrative, and in-game goals.

Games can be rich environments for learning and can elicit evidence of students' conceptual understanding and inquiry processes. Illuminating students' content-specific gameplay decisions, or methods of completing game tasks related to a certain domain, requires a context that is open-ended enough for students to make choices that demonstrate their thinking. Doing this also requires rich log data and methods of Game Learning Analytics (GLA) that are granular enough to look at the specific choices most relevant to that context and domain. This paper presents research done on student exploration of high school level Mendelian genetics in a multiplayer online game called "The Radix Endeavor." The study uses three approaches to identify content-specific gameplay decisions and distinguish players utilizing different methods, looking at actions and tool use, play patterns and player types, and tool input patterns. In the context of the selected game quest, the three approaches were found to yield insights into different ways that students complete tasks in genetics, suggesting the potential for a set of more generalized guiding questions in the GLA field that could be adopted by learning games designers and data scientists to convey information about content-specific gameplay decisions in learning games.

Purpose: This study isolates the effect of immersion on players' learning in a virtual reality (VR)-based game about cellular biology by comparing two versions of the game with the same level of interactivity and different levels of immersion. The authors identify immersion and additional interactivity as two key affordances of VR as a learning tool. A number of research studies compare VR with two-dimensional or minimally interactive media; this study focuses on the effect of immersion as a result of the head mounted display (HMD). Design/methodology/approach: In the game, players diagnose a cell by exploring a virtual cell and search for clues that indicate one of five possible types of cystic fibrosis. Fifty-one adults completed all aspects of the study. Players took pre and post assessments and drew pictures of cells and translation before and after the game. Players were randomly assigned to play the game with the HMD (stereoscopic view) or without the headset (non-stereoscopic view). Players were interviewed about their drawings and experiences at the end of the session. Findings: Players in both groups improved in their knowledge of the cell environment and the process of translation. Players who experienced the immersive stereoscopic view had a more positive learning effect in the content assessment, and stronger improvement in their mental models of the process of translation between pre- and post-drawings compared to players who played the two-dimensional game. Originality/value: This study suggests that immersion alone has a positive effect on conceptual understanding, especially in helping learners understand spatial environments and processes. These findings set the stage for a new wave of research on learning in immersive environments; research that moves beyond determining whether immersive media correlate with more learning, toward a focus on the types of learning outcomes that are best supported by immersive media.

Learning games have great potential to become an integral part of new classrooms of the future. One of the key reported benefits is the capacity to keep students deeply engaged during their learning process. Therefore, it is necessary to develop models that can measure quantitatively how learners are engaging with learning games to inform game designers and educators, and to find ways to maximize learner engagement. In this article, we present our proposal to multidimensionally measure engagement in a learning game over four dimensions: general activity, social, exploration, and quests. We apply metrics from these dimensions to data from The Radix Endeavor, an inquiry-based online game for STEM learning that has been tested in K-12 classrooms as part of a pilot study across numerous schools. Based on these dimensions, we apply clustering and report four different engagement profiles that we define as "integrally engaged," "lone achiever," "social explorer," and "nonengaged." We also use three variables (account type, class grade, and gender) to perform a cross-sectional analysis finding interesting, statistically significant differences in engagement. For example, in-school students and accounts registered to males engaged socially much more than out-of-school learners or accounts registered to females, and that older students have better performance metrics than younger ones.

Computer modeling promotes mechanistic reasoning when learners build and analyze models of complex systems to explore causal mechanisms and use models to generate patterns. StarLogo Nova (SLN), an agent-based modeling (ABM) environment, enables novice programmers to model a system's individual components and investigate its emergent, collective behavior. Through case analysis of teachers using SLN, we demonstrate how ABM advances thinking about mechanisms generating phenomenon. Teachers who used simulation combined with the decoding of SLN models utilized mechanistic reasoning to make sense of how and why complex phenomenon emerged.

The recent next generation science standards in the United States have emphasized learning about complex systems as a core feature of science learning. Over the past 15 years, a number of educational tools and theories have been investigated to help students learn about complex systems; but surprisingly, little research has been devoted to identifying the supports that teachers need to teach about complex systems in the classroom. In this paper, we aim to address this gap in the literature. We describe a 2-year professional development study in which we gathered data on teachers' abilities and perceptions regarding the delivery of computer-supported complex systems curricula. We present results across the 2 years of the project and demonstrate the need for particular instructional supports to improve implementation efforts, including providing differentiated opportunities to build expertise and addressing teacher beliefs about whether computational-model construction belongs in the science classroom. Results from students' classroom experiences and learning over the 2 years are offered to further illustrate the impact of these instructional supports.

The integration of learning games into schools holds significant promise, yet faces numerous obstacles. Ubiquitous games (casual games for smart phones) attempt to motivate students to engage repeatedly with content beyond school, while enabling teachers to facilitate deeper reflection on game-related curricula during class. During a two-year study, researchers developed four biology-themed UbiqGames and curricula. An analysis of gameplay patterns and posttest data suggests that both male and female students played the games. Correlation of content knowledge gains with specific game design attributes (e.g., simulation feedback and depth of content) suggested areas for further research on "casual" learning games.

Educational games offer an opportunity to engage and inspire students to take interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) subjects. Unobtrusive learning assessment techniques coupled with machine learning algorithms can be utilized to record students' in-game actions and formulate a model of the students' knowledge without interrupting the students' play. This paper introduces "Experiment Centered Assessment Design" (XCD), a framework for structuring a learning assessment feedback loop. XCD builds on the "Evidence Centered Assessment Design" (ECD) approach, which uses tasks to elicit evidence about students and their learning. XCD defines every task as an experiment in the scientific method, where an experiment maps a test of factors to observable outcomes. This XCD framework was applied to prototype quests in a massively multiplayer online (MMO) educational game. Future work would build upon the XCD framework and use machine learning techniques to provide feedback to students, teachers, and researchers.

Background: The educational knowledge domain may be understood as a system composed of multiple, co-evolving networks that reflect the form and content of a cultural field. This paper describes the educational knowledge domain as having a community structure (form) based in relations of production (authoring) and consumption (referencing), and a cognitive structure (content) based in relations of ideas and concepts. Purpose: We propose developing an online interactive system whereby the vast array of available knowledge artifacts can be mined for information reflective of these networks, and which can be visualized, measured, and explored over time. We argue that the creation of such a system will benefit the field of education manifold: it will greatly enhance individual learning of online materials; create more efficient searches; open access to knowledge creation and consumption to a wider public; enable greater practitioner involvement; facilitate direct study of the educational knowledge domain; and identify various means towards accelerated innovation. Design: Building on the ideas of online communities, network visualizations, e-commerce, and advanced search engines, Scholar Practitioner Information Networks for Education (SPINE) not only facilitates access to education information resources, but also allows the community to view multiple sources of information in a relational context. At the heart of SPINE are multiple sources of information (journal articles, case studies, reviews, etc.), reviews of information, and ratings of reviewers. Connecting these sources are advanced analyses of production and consumption, allowing unique insights into established fields. Conclusion: We illustrate that such a system is being developed in piecemeal fashion within other disciplines and propose a means by which they can be synthesized into a multi-network, interactive system for the field of education.

Augmented Reality (AR) simulations superimpose a virtual overlay of data and interactions onto a real-world context. The simulation engine at the heart of this technology is built to afford elements of game play that support explorations and learning in students' natural context--their own community and surroundings. In one of the more recent games, TimeLab 2100, players role-play citizens of the early 22nd century when global climate change is out of control. Through AR, they see their community as it might be nearly one hundred years in the future. TimeLab and other similar AR games balance location specificity and portability--they are games that are tied to a location and games that are movable from place to place. Focusing students on developing their own AR games provides the best of both virtual and physical worlds: a more portable solution that deeply connects young people to their own surroundings. A series of initiatives has focused on technical and pedagogical solutions to supporting students authoring their own games. (Contains 3 figures and 4 notes.)

StarLogo The Next Generation (TNG) enables secondary school students and teachers to model decentralized systems through agent-based programming. TNG's inclusion of a three-dimensional graphical environment provides the capacity to create games and simulation models with a first-person perspective. The authors theorize that student learning of complex systems and simulations can be motivated and improved by transforming simulation models of complex systems phenomena (specifically this study examines systems including epidemics and Newtonian motion) into games. Through this transformation students interact with the model in new ways and increase their learning of both specific content knowledge and general processes such as inquiry, problem solving and creative thinking. During this study several methods for connecting the simulations to game dynamics were tried, ranging from student-created games, to altering existing games, to students playing pre-made games. This article presents the results of research data from two years of curriculum development and piloting in northern Massachusetts science classrooms to demonstrate the successes and challenges of integrating simulations and games. This article also explores the results of these interventions in terms of ease of implementation, student motivation and student learning.

The form factors of handheld computers make them increasingly popular among K-12 educators. Although some compelling examples of educational software for handhelds exist, we believe that the potential of this platform are just being discovered. This paper reviews innovative applications for mobile computing for both education and entertainment purposes, and then proposes a framework for approaching handheld applications we call "augmented reality educational gaming." We then describe our development process in creating a development platform for augmented reality games that draws from rapid prototyping, learner-centered software, and contemporary game design methodologies. We provide a narrative case study of our development activities spread across five case studies with classrooms, and provide a design narrative explaining this development process and articulate an approach to designing educational software on emerging technology platforms. Pedagogical, design, and technical conclusions and implications are discussed.

Peer interactions among children have long interested social scientists. Identifying causal peer effects is difficult, and a number of studies have used random assignment to produce evidence that peers affect each other's outcomes. This focus by sociologists and economists on whether peers affect each other has not been matched by direct evidence on how these effects operate. The authors argue that one reason for the small number of studies in sociology and economics on the mechanisms underlying peer effects is the difficulty of collecting data on microinteractions. They argue technology reduces data collection costs relative to direct observation and allows for realistic school activities with randomly assigned peers. The authors describe a novel strategy for collecting data on peer interactions and discuss how this approach might shed light on mechanisms underlying peer influence. The centerpiece of this strategy is the use of handheld computers by middle and high school students as part of interactive math and science lessons called the Discussion Game. The handhelds collect data on interactions between students and track how students' answers evolve as they interact with different peers.

The learning of science can be made more like the practice of science through authentic simulated experiences. We have created a networked handheld Augmented Reality environment that combines the authentic role-playing of Augmented Realities and the underlying models of Participatory Simulations. This game, known as Outbreak @ The Institute, is played across a university campus where players take on the roles of doctors, medical technicians, and public health experts to contain a disease outbreak. Players can interact with virtual characters and employ virtual diagnostic tests and medicines. They are challenged to identify the source and prevent the spread of an infectious disease that can spread among real and/or virtual characters according to an underlying model. In this paper, we report on data from three high school classes who played the game. We investigate students' perception of the authenticity of the game in terms of their personal embodiment in the game, their experience playing different roles, and their understanding of the dynamic model underlying the game.

This article explores how the future of mobile learning games lies in the blurring of the line between fun and learning, between in-school and out-of-school. Accomplishing this requires new paradigms as well as new technologies. Mobile learning games can be the conduits between the world of school and the world of life, and make them both more fun and productive. (Contains 2 figures.)

Advancements in handheld computing, particularly its portability, social interactivity, context sensitivity, connectivity, and individuality, open new opportunities for immersive learning environments. This article articulates the pedagogical potential of augmented reality simulations in environmental engineering education by immersing students in the roles of scientists conducting investigations. This design experiment examined if augmented reality simulation games can be used to help students understand science as a social practice, whereby inquiry is a process of balancing and managing resources, combining multiple data sources, and forming and revising hypotheses in situ. We provide 4 case studies of secondary environmental science students participating in the program. Positioning students in virtual investigations made apparent their beliefs about science and confronted simplistic beliefs about the nature of science. Playing the game in "real" space also triggered students' preexisting knowledge, suggesting that a powerful potential of augmented reality simulation games can be in their ability to connect academic content and practices with students' physical, lived worlds. The game structure provided students a narrative to think with, although students differed in their ability to create a coherent narrative of events. We argue that Environmental Detectives is 1 model for helping students understand the socially situated nature of scientific practice.

This paper reports on the efficacy of a professional development framework premised on four complex systems design principles: Feedback, Adaptation, Network Growth and Self-organization (FANS). The framework is applied to the design and delivery of the first 2 years of a 3-year study aimed at improving teacher and student understanding of computational modeling tools. We demonstrate that structuring a professional development program around the FANS framework facilitates the development of important strategies and processes for program organizers such as the identification of salient system variables, effectively distributing expertise, adaptation and improvement of professional development resources and activities and building technological, human and social capital. For participants, there is evidence to show that the FANS framework encourages: professional goal setting, engagement in a strong professional community and personal autonomy by enabling individualized purpose--all fundamental components in promoting self-organization. We discuss three meta-level themes that may account for the success of the FANS framework: structure versus agency, exploration versus exploitation and short-term versus long-term goals. Each illustrates the tension that exists between competing variables that need to be considered in order to work effectively in real world complex educational systems.