Seagull Swoop: A design-based-research project on game-based science education and communication.

Short description of what will be presented during the seminar:

Digital game-based learning (DGBL) is increasingly used in biology classrooms and science communication (Muenz, et al., 2023). A recent review reports a rapidly growing but fragmented field with diverse game types and a dominance of short, isolated interventions. A meta-analysis in STEM shows small to moderate positive effects of digital games on achievement and motivation, but emphasises that effects depend on careful instructional design and appropriate comparison conditions rather than on games per se (Wang et al., 2022).

The present project develops a system that combines a digital game with a flexible learning environment for coastal ecology. The study reported here is the motivational strand of a larger Design-Based-Research project (Reinmann, 2022) on students’ ecology learning, species identification and ecological systems understanding. It focuses on a 90-minute secondary biology lesson on “human impacts on gull ecology” built around the digital game Seagull Swoop. In addition, the game is used at various science communication events.

This seminar is part of an effort to establish a network of disciplinary experts and educational specialists who will collaborate within an EU-wide network on science communication regarding coasts and sustainability through the use of games.

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