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Integrating Game-Design Knowledge and Education Theory to Communicate Biology Content

Beatman, Thomas Robert
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1561035477730081

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, Integrated Bioscience.
Civic scientific literacy requires communication between scientists and the public. To bridge this gap, scientists must acquire skills and knowledge from those who study science communication. Improving scientists’ communication of science requires better implementation and availability of science communication skill sets and tools. One such tool is the use of games, in whole or in part, as tools to improve engagement, motivation, and understanding in science learning. The appeal of games in learning traditionally is based on their familiar form and perceived value of fun to audiences. While modern research on games in learning focuses predominantly in assessing and quantifying motivation & engagement and learning outcomes, development of good game-design practices as a major tool in educational endeavors has been slow to develop, which can impact their usefulness. In this dissertation, I illustrate a number of theories of motivation and ideas that support the idea of using games in learning, followed by quantifying the lack of consensus on the differences between the numerous fields and terms, which describe the idea of using game to effect better learning outcomes. This is done using a novel variant of the item sort method, the Item Definition Semantic Sort. This method is also used to explore another set of fields and terms in a different format, and other methodological implementations are considered and described The second half of this dissertation presents a number of proof-of-concept projects which use gameful experiences in learning contexts. an advance organizer for field trips as part of a curriculum developed by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History that provides game-elements and competition to enhance student experiential learning in the classroom, a teaching-laboratory module utilizing an analog simulation to convey large-scale numbers and population growth concepts for non-majors biology students, and a game communicating how community watershed runoff and the development of harmful algal blooms interrelate. These products utilize numerous ideas and theories from educational psychology and informal education combined with game-design knowledge acquired through relevant communities of practice, to provide experience for developing good games in learning, and important takeaways and recommendations for stakeholders.
R. Joel Duff, PhD (Advisor)
Hazel Barton, PhD (Committee Member)
Gavin Svenson, PhD (Committee Member)
Gary Holliday, PhD (Committee Member)
Randall Mitchell, PhD (Committee Member)
163 p.
Biology; Design; Education; Educational Psychology; Educational Technology
Games in Learning; Science Communication; Informal Science Education; Card Sort; Biology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Beatman, T. R. (2019). Integrating Game-Design Knowledge and Education Theory to Communicate Biology Content [Doctoral dissertation, University of Akron]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1561035477730081

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Beatman, Thomas. Integrating Game-Design Knowledge and Education Theory to Communicate Biology Content. 2019. University of Akron, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1561035477730081.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Beatman, Thomas. "Integrating Game-Design Knowledge and Education Theory to Communicate Biology Content." Doctoral dissertation, University of Akron, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1561035477730081

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

akron1561035477730081
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© 2019, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Integrating Game-Design Knowledge and Education Theory to Communicate Biology Content by Thomas Robert Beatman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Akron and OhioLINK.