While games for science learning show considerable promise, they tend not to focus on the youngest students. We are engaged in a project to create and evaluate a series of games for science learning for students in Kindergarten through grade 3. These games address a range of educational goals: to help students understand targeted science principles, develop scientific inquiry skill, and deal with situations that call for social-emotional skill. In two of our games, Beanstalk and Teeter Totter Go, players alternate between problem-solving activities and inquiry activities integrated in a single narrative context. The main contribution of the work is a design for science games for young children that synergistically addresses scientific inquiry, social-emotional development, and science content learning. The games serve as platforms for research into how best to support this synergy.
- 3 views