In partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, the Computer History Museum, NASA, plus leading game designers, educators, and scientists, Brigham Young University and the University of Maryland will design, research and iteratively test two large-scale Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) to engage thousands of youth aged 13-15 in scientific inquiry. Aimed at attracting girls and other groups historically underrepresented in science and technology, the games will focus on computational thinking and deep-time sciences in areas of astrobiology and astronomy. ARGs are interactive experiences in which players collaboratively hunt for scientific data, make sense of disparate data and information, contribute content, and solve questions to advance a science-based narrative woven into the fabric of the real world. Inquiry activities within each ARG will be based upon the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Unlike video games or virtual reality experiences, ARGs lead players to use a variety of media (social media, text messages, websites, videos, audio recordings). Because players participate as themselves ARGs afford learners with intensive, self-driven, scaffolded, scientific learning.
Combining data from web and social media analytics, player interviews, surveys, and user-generated content, researchers will establish the properties of ARGs that most effectively advance informal STEM learning outcomes. Additionally, by comparing open-ended and closed-ended ARGs, they will be able to assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of two distinct approaches to Alternate Reality Game design. The project team will test the hypothesis that open-ended, user-generated content will support inquiry-based learning, peer-to-peer learning, and life-wide and life-deep learning, while close-ended, narrative-rich ARGs will support specific transfer of STEM knowledge, collaboration, and problem solving. To help ensure that the games appeal to their target audiences, the project team will adopt co-design methods, enlisting the creative input of participating teens at each stage of the design process. Supplementary materials and lesson plans developed in close consultation with teachers, librarians, teens, and other key experts and stakeholders will enable the ARGs to be widely and effectively used in museums, classrooms, libraries, and after-school programs.
The overarching goal of the project is to help realize the potential of ARGs as effective and perpetually innovative tools for informal STEM learning. By co-designing with teens, consulting with leading experts in science, technology, and education, authentically embedding learning assessments within the games, and creating ARGs with longevity and reusability in mind, researchers hope to increase learners' scientific inquiry skills, ability to use computational thinking for problem solving, understanding of deep-time science, and positive engagement with other STEM topics. Additionally, the ARGs will serve as templates and inspiration for future ARGs aimed at increasing STEM outcomes and other 21st century literacies and skills.
