The construction of prediction models reflecting players' learning performance in serious games currently faces various challenges for learning analytics. In this study, we design, implement, and field test a learning analytics system for a serious game, advancing the field by explicitly showing which in-game features correspond to differences in…

Mission HydroSci (MHS) is a 3D game-based learning environment and curriculum that supports middle school student learning of water systems science and scientific argumentation. MHS is a rigorous, coherent and engaging 6 to 8-day curriculum with all learning activities and social interactions taking place in the virtual world and with teachers…

The term "charismatic" refers to visually or empathetically appealing animals. They act as flagship species to garner interest and participation. This study explored the impact of charismatic animals featured in three virtual reality (VR) tours of an estuary system on youths' learning, connectedness to water (CTW), and tour perceptions.…

Virtual reality (VR) and electronic field trips (EFT) can introduce youth to natural environments, climate change mitigation strategies, and related STEM careers. We developed a VR and EFT outreach program featuring scientists working on living shorelines for coastal restoration as a response to sea-level rise and examined the program's impacts on…

Digital game-based and gamified technologies hold much promise to promote the development of learners' conceptual knowledge. This efficacy study used desktop virtual reality (dVR) to investigate how the place-based digital gameful learning experience (DGLE) "Watershed Explorers", implemented as a curriculum enhancement activity, impacted…

Guided by the Next Generation Science Standards and elements of problem-based learning, four human-environment systems simulations are described in brief--carbon, energy, water, and watershed--and a fifth simulation on nitrogen is described in more depth. These science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education simulations illustrate…

Mission HydroSci is a game-based 3D virtual environment for enacting transformational role-playing for middle school science students. Student-players will be engaged in a narrative about needing to investigate water resources and use scientific argumentation to complete missions critical to the survival and accomplishments of the members of their…

GlobalEd 2 (GE2) is a set of technology-mediated, problem-based learning (PBL) simulations for middle-grade students, that capitalises on the multidisciplinary nature of the social sciences as an expanded curricular space for students to learn and apply scientific literacies and concepts, while simultaneously also enriching their understanding of…

Climate change literacy plays a key role in promoting sound political decisions and promoting sustainable consumption patterns. Based on evidence suggesting that student understanding and interest in climate change is best accomplished through studying local effects, we developed a simulation/game exploring the impact of climate change on the…

To develop sustainable solutions to remediate the complex ecological problems of earth's soil, water, and air degradation requires the talents and skills of knowledgeable, motivated people (UNESCO, 1977; UNESCO, 2010). Researchers historically emphasized that time spent in outdoor, nature activities (Wells & Lekies, 2006), particularly with an…

Teaching ecological concepts in schools is important in promoting natural science and environmental education for young learners. Developing educational programs is difficult, however, because of complicated ecological processes operating on multiple levels, the unlimited nature of potential system interactions (given the openness of systems), and…

Background: Most policy doctrines promote the use of scientific inquiry in the K-12 classroom, but good inquiry is hard to implement, particularly for schools with fiscal and safety constraints and for teachers struggling with understanding how to do so. Purpose: In this paper, we present the design of a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE)…