TERC, FableVision Studios, and the Learning Games Network have redeveloped and re-released the popular game from the 1990s, The Logical Journey of the Zoombinis. The 2015 version, called Zoombinis, was redeveloped for mobile, desktop, and WebGL platforms. The relaunch was aided by a longstanding
and devoted fan base, which enabled a successful Kickstarter campaign to help support the re-launch. In addition, the re-release of the game triggered research interest about how Zoombinis supports the development of Computational Thinking (CT) in upper elementary and middle school learners. Many of the skills players use to solve the logic puzzles in Zoombinis require CT practices such as Problem
Decomposition, Pattern Recognition, Abstraction, and Algorithm Design. To study the development of CT in
Zoombinis, The Educational Gaming Environments group (EdGE) at TERC conducted a nationwide implementation study with over 30 classes of learners in grades 3-8. This research uses Educational Data Mining to design and validate automated assessments of CT that use the data logs generated through
Zoombinis gameplay. This allowed a study of CT skills that players demonstrate implicitly during their puzzle solving. Thus far the research study has found that 1) teachers highly value activities that help them connect CT in the game to their math, science, and other class content, 2) teachers are finding that students with individualized educational plans (IEPs) are becoming class leaders in Zoombinis activities, and 3) patterns
have been identified in the players’ gamelog data that can reliably be said are consistent with CT. Future work in Zoombinis includes packaging the game for school use with teacher and classroom materials, as well as further development of Zoombinis in alternate media (e.g. AR/VR/XR and/or linear programming).
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