Thanks for viewing this video! Because we needed to keep the video short, and we wanted to show more of the teacher and students than the researchers talking, you may want more details about the study, or the instructional techniques, or the games. My colleagues and I are happy to share what we’re learning with you and answer whatever questions you may have.

Very nicely captured classroom instruction and student involvement. It’s challenging video production and well done here. Tell us more about “analogy mapping.” What other concepts might this technique be applied to?

Thanks for your question, Richard. The analogy mapping techniques we are studying were actually described by Richland, Zur, & Holyoak (2007) in their study of effective mathematics instruction across different cultures, using TIMSS videos. Lindsey Richland, one of the authors of that article, is an advisor on this project and has been enormously helpful in providing guidance on the use of the techniques as well as our analysis. An important element of analogy mapping is that it uses visual supports like images and gestures to help students see the relationships between the source (the familiar thing, which in this case is the game) and the target (the science concept, which in the video is the idea that the sun’s energy breaks apart molecules into atoms that then form new molecules). This study is looking at the use of these techniques to teach energy transfer as it relates to photosynthesis, heat transfer, and electricity.

Your video captures some nice moments where we see the students gesturing between the different images. That physical connection to cognition is fascinating!

These games seem very engaging and educative! Are the games and instructional materials available online? Where can they be found? Also are the materials developed only for middle school / do you have plans to extend to other grade levels?

Hi Victor;
The games were developed under a grant from the US Department of Education and are available for free at the site possibleworlds.edc.org. There are a lot of instructional materials there now, but not the PowerPoints that we’re using in the study. Those we hope to add to the Possible Worlds site after the study is completed. The materials are for middle school, but I think the games and other materials could be adapted for older kids.

I’m glad you are focusing on deriving learning from models and games. What can seem so obvious to teachers and authors, can be baffling to kids. I’m still not clear about ‘analogy mapping’ but it sounds like a way to engage kids in making good connections between science and models.

I had the same question about analogy mapping, and glad to see the explanation above. I am curious about the teacher preparation that goes into the study. How are teachers prepared to moderate while students are engaging with the games? Are there specific prompts developed to guide students, and their thinking while on the program? I’ve seen students sometimes taking this type of game on as a speed challenge.

Thanks for your comment Bob. In this study we have students play the game for a class period, and then in another class period the teachers project the game animations alongside more standard images of the science topics and talks about how they are related. This really gives the students and teachers time to talk through the ideas and build an understanding of how processes they played around with in the game are analogous to science processes. The fact that the conversation is grounded on something fun, and something that many of them had a chance to become skillful at, gives them an entry point for making relational connections to science concepts that are often challenging.

This video does a great job showing student work and engagement!