A growing number of educators are looking to game-based learning approaches to increase interest in and understanding of major science mathematics, engineering and technology (STEM) concepts. Serious games have demonstrated the capacity to engage learners in complex domains through role playing and problem solving. A key hypothesis driving many educators' interest in serious games is that they might reach broader scale than previous educational innovations because of their capacity to engage learners, give teachers highly polished learning resources, and provide parents, teachers, administrators and students tools for assessing learning. As examples of empirically-tested game-based learning materials proliferate, the field might benefit by connecting researchers, teachers, developers and policy makers so as to increase the field's capacity to reach scale.

This workshop addresses the need to connect a wide range of experts involved in game development and research to develop and disseminate best practices. The workshop will also establish a network hub where educators and developers can find tools for implementing game-based curricula. Specifically, the project will bring together approximately 100 early contributors, including researchers, teachers, game designers and publishers, to inform the next phases of research, development, and production in the field of games and learning. A closed beta experience will launch in late winter 2013 to support participants preparing for the workshop followed by a public workshop at the annual Games+Learning+Society in June 2013. The goal is to build the basis for a nationwide network of teachers, developers, academics, and industry leaders. If successful, this model will be held at other campuses, including Boston / MIT, Arizona State, and Vanderbilt.

As part of a SAVI, researchers from the U.S. and from Finland will collaborate on investigating the relationships between engagement and learning in STEM transmedia games. The members of U.S. Team for this project come from TERC, WGBH and Northern Illinois University. The project involves two intensive, 5 day workshops to identify new measurement instruments to be integrated into each other's research and development work. The major research question is to what degree learners in the two cultures respond similarly or differently to the STEM learning games.

This project examines the design principles by which computer-based science learning experiences for students designed for classroom use can be integrated into virtual worlds that leverage students' learning of science in an informal and collaborative online environment. GeniVille, developed and studied by the Concord Consortium, is the integration of Geniverse, a education based game that develops middle school students' understanding of genetics with Whyville, developed and studied by Numedeon, Inc., an educational virtual word in which students can engage in a wide variety of science activities and games. Genivers has been extensively researched in its implementation in the middle school science classroom. Research on Whyville has focused on how the learning environment supports the voluntary participation of students anywhere and anytime. This project seeks to develop an understanding of how these two interventions can be merged together and to explore mechanisms to create engagement and persistence through incentive structures that are interwoven with the game activities. The project examines the evidence that students in middle schools in Boston learn the genetics content that is the learning objective of GeniVille.

The project uses an iterative approach to the modification of Geniverse activites and the Whyville context so that the structured learning environment is accessible to students working collaboratively within the less structured context. The modification and expansion of the genetics activities of the project by which various inheritance patterns of imaginary dragons are studied continues over the course of the first year with pilot data collected from students who voluntarily engage in the game. In the second year of the project, teachers from middle schools in Boston who volunteer to be part of the project will be introduced to the integrated learning environment and will either use the virtual learning environment to teach genetics or will agree to engage their students in their regular instruction. Student outcomes in terms of engagement, persistence and understanding of genetics are measured within the virtual learning environment. Interviews with students are built into the GeniVille environment to gauge student interest. Observations of teachers engaging in GeniVille with their students are conducted as well as interviews with participating teachers.

This research and development project provides a resource that blends together students learning in a computer simulation with their working in a collaborative social networking virtual system. The integration of the software system is designed to engage students in learning about genetics in a simulation that has inherent interest to students with a learning environment that is also engaging to them. The project leverages the sorts of learning environments that make the best use of online opportunities for students, bringing rich disciplinary knowledge to educational games. Knowing more about how students collaboratively engage in learning about science in a social networking environment provides information about design principles that have a wide application in the development of new resources for the science classroom.

The Laboratory for the Study of Extra Solar Planets: Fostering Data Literacy provides a virtual environment in which high school students in physics classes engage in the cutting edge science of studying exoplanets. The project builds on previous work and serves as an example and test bed for integrating science practice, crosscutting concepts and science content as called for in the Framework for the Next Generation Science Standards. The project produces seven mini-labs that scaffold students in the detection of orbits of exoplanets around their stars. These include learning to use models, learning to use the telescope, working with data, applying concepts to interpret data and creating a 3-D interactive model based on their data. In three more laboratories on infrared and spectroscopy, students learn to apply core concepts and modeling to identify some of the properties of the exoplanets. Using online telescopes and learning software, students gain a deeper understanding of science inquiry, including reasoning from models, gathering assessing, and interpreting authentic data, and drawing conclusions from multiple line of evidence. Teacher support includes in-class support on start-up, online professional development, and interaction with the scientific community. The previous work has been shown to have strong potential for engaging girls and also students in underserved communities in urban areas.

The overarching research question is how students learn to make sense of data. What are the tools that can help them move efficiently from their initial ideas to more sophisticated understandings? The research focuses on three areas that are fundamental to data literacy: reasoning from models, assessing the quality of the data and interpreting data and understanding uncertainty. Qualitative data are gathered in the first year and scored using a rubric developed by experts. In year two, more quantitative measures are employed. Assessment instruments, using items from validated assessments, are created and psychometrically validated.

The outcomes of this project are a unique online Laboratory that is universally accessible to all classrooms and that engages students in meaningful scientific data collection, analysis, visualization, modeling and interpretation at one of the most exciting research frontiers in current science. The activities and assessments transform astronomy into an inquiry-based subject that significantly increases students' understanding of science practice and content as well as their science attitudes, interest, and identity. The research advances our understanding of ways to increase students' knowledge of data literacy, which is widely useful in science education across all disciplines.

The Supporting Computational Algorithmic Thinking (SCAT) project at Spelman College includes activities that develop computational thinking and encourage middle school, African-American girls to consider careers in computer science. Over a three-year period, the girls attend summer camp sessions of two weeks where they learn to design interactive games. They participate in workshops, field trips, and game-design competitions. Experts in Computational Algorithmic Thinking as well as undergraduate, computer science majors at Spelman College guide the middle-school students in their design of games and exploration of related STEM careers.

Research on the development of Computational Algorithmic Thinking is an integral part of the project. The researcher is investigating how middle-school girls develop computational thinking and problem solving skills. Game design has been shown to be an area that is attractive to adolescents and it requires extensive problem solving and computational algorithmic thinking. Within the context of designing games individually and within groups, the researcher is assessing how the girls develop computational algorithmic thinking, and what difficulties they experience. Researchers are also assessing how the project experiences influence the students' self-perceptions of themselves as problem solvers. At the same time, the girls engaged in educational experiences where they are expected to gain knowledge in mathematics, programming, and reasoning, as well as game design. Research data consists of artifacts that the students have created, observations, participant journals, and interviews.

Computational Algorithmic Thinking is an essential skill for most STEM careers. African-American women are underrepresented in many STEM fields and especially in computer science. The goals of the project are to prepare girls with these essential skills and to increase their confidence in participating in STEM education. The project is also exposing participating girls to a wide variety of STEM careers. In addition, the materials, lesson plans, and activities generated in the project are available to be used, without charge, by other groups interested in designing similar programs.

CyberSTEM is developing and testing an integrated digital gaming network that spans homes, schools, and informal learning settings, offering a suite of digital games based on cutting-edge discoveries in the life sciences. The project asks if participation in CyberSTEM leads to increased learning in six areas: interest in science, conceptual knowledge, scientific reasoning, reflection on knowing, participating in science, and identifying as a scientist. The target audience includes youth in grades 6-9.

CyberSTEM is iteratively designed, developed, tested and rolled out to the public across the three year project. Each individual game (and subsequently, the entire learning system) is developed through an iterative, research-driven process starting with laboratory studies of players designed to uncover how game play shapes their thinking, classroom-based case studies of how participation in CyberSTEM changes classroom practice, controlled studies of how participation in CyberSTEM has an impact on classroom achievement, and then how articipation in CyberSTEM beyond the classroom (in museums, homes, or other settings) influences youth participation in science. In each phase, research designs, methods, and analyses procedures appropriate to the questions will be employed, including experimental studies involving think aloud protocols, case studies using responsive case methodology, pre- and post- tests using repeated measure ANOVAs, and exploratory data mining techniques using discourse and regression analysis. As an integrated research project, CyberSTEM will build the capacity for rapid development and deployment of science-based games through developing art and code assets, as well as a network of schools, teachers, and students who can be recruited for research. All code, art assets, and research instruments will be published online and be open sourced.

CyberSTEM will result in an integrated gaming platform consisting of 5 model games that can be the basis of integrated game-based curricula. Each game will have an associated curriculum that teachers, museums, and other science educators can use to educate the public about cutting-edge science. By year three, the project will be tested in 20 schools. The project will use informal gaming channels such as Kongregate, iTunes, and XBox Live to reach the general public who will ultimately create the community that sustains CyberSTEM. This model of education and outreach that cuts across homes, schools, and informal science institutions has the potential to lead to a dramatic rethinking of education. Partnering organizations include Wisconsin University, the Minority Students Achievement Network and the Morgridge Institutes for Research.

The Gateways to Algebraic Motivation, Engagement and Success (GAMES) project is designing digital games for middle school students that will help them prepare for success in Algebra. The games are intended to help students gain a deep understanding of measurement and fraction concepts that are critical as they begin to learn algebra. The design of the games is based on research on learning fractions and research on engagement. The researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University are studying students' development of fraction concepts, their engagement in the tasks, and the use of hand-held devices as a useful platform for games. They are providing valuable information on how students develop fraction concepts and contributing to the development of a learning trajectory that will guide the teaching of measurement and fraction concepts.

The design of the games is based on engagement states that are known to facilitate learning, with specific attention to cognitive, behavioral, and affective domains. The mathematical framework driving the games is based on how students learn fraction concepts. Most grade 6 students think of fractions from a part-whole conception, but this is not an adequate base for developing algebraic concepts. The games help students develop splitting concepts by moving through activities that focus on sequencing, partitioning, and iterating. The games are designed for iOS platforms that provide ease of engagement and data collection flexibility.

The project offers a variety of products ranging from theories to games. The research is building a conceptual framework that identifies features of engagement that lead to learning, and contributing to the development of a learning trajectory related to fraction concepts. The work will produce a scalable model for developing and using digital games to increase engagement and learning of middle school students. In addition, three games and associated tasks are being developed for use with current curricula to enhance students' understanding of fractions and prepare them for learning algebra.

Researchers at Harvard University are studying whether middle school instruction about ecosystem science can be made more engaging and effective by combining immersion experiences in virtual ecosystems with immersion experiences in real ecosystems infused with virtual resources. Project personnel are developing a set of learning resources for deployment by mobile broadband devices that provide students with virtual access to information and simulations while working in the field. The EcoMobile project is testing the hypothesis that student engagement, self-efficacy, and understanding of life science standards will be enhanced if students using a four-week inquiry-based curriculum that provides immersion experiences in simulated ecosystems employ smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices to collect and share data, access on-site information, and visit geo-referenced locations while investigating real ecosystems. Target audiences are middle school students and teachers, curriculum developers, and education researchers.

The project is using quasi-experimental methods to collect data on the usability of the blended environment approach, student gains, and relationships between the two modes of learning. Pilot-test middle school teachers are implementing the EcoMobile curriculum and a comparison curriculum that does not employ mobile devices in the field. Using a variety of assessment instruments and methods, researchers are measuring changes in students' knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy.

Blending virtual and mobile device-enhanced real world learning experiences can potentially enhance student-directed inquiry, enhance learning, and students' ability to understand and solve complex environmental problems. EcoMobile encompasses the types of learning strengths and preferences many students today bring to school, based on their use of social media, mobile devices, and games. Employing virtual and augmented reality learning environments in science classes may broaden the pool of science in science careers by enhancing their engagement in science learning, self-efficacy, and knowledge of science and technology.

Designers and researchers from the Educational Gaming Environments group (EdGE) at TERC are studying the design features (e.g., tools, media platforms, facilitation) of an experimental gaming environment called Arcadia: The Next Generation. This gaming environment supports high-quality scientific knowledge building in a diverse, public audience. EdGE and its partner, GameGurus are integrating web-based social networking, augmented reality, and data sharing apps on smartphones into Arcadia and are working with a group of formal and informal educators to study the connections between scientific inquiry in Arcadia and STEM learning. EdGE is also examining various economic models that can support the long-term sustainability of STEM gaming environments that bridge home, community, and formal and informal learning. The project provides a dynamic and evolving place where gamers, educators, parents, and citizen scientists can come together to share, rate, and build knowledge through a variety of fun science inquiry games.

The research associated with Arcadia looks specifically at how game design (tools, environment, storyline, reward system) can support and sustain scientific inquiry. Researchers will relate these design features to the extent and nature of scientific inquiry in Arcadia, the impact the gaming experience has on players' sense of science identity and behaviors, and how this varies for different types of players. Researchers are using methods from netnography (Kozinets, 2002, Hine 2000) where digital records of avatar activity are incorporated along with participant observations, surveys, and interviews. A group of players recruited through colleagues' programs in informal and formal science education settings are the subjects for a smaller sub-study that looks at how to help transfer the science skills and knowledge gained in social games to classroom and other forms of science education. EdGE has two small advisory groups: a group of formal and informal educators to help with formative evaluation and a group of experts in the areas of research to help guide the interpretation of the research findings.

Arcadia: The Next Generation is an important step in working towards a vision of future learning environments that span schools, homes, community settings, and social entertainment sites where transmedia learning networks integrate real-life components such as indoor and outdoor classrooms with free-choice Internet experiences and citizen science programs. The primary deliverable of Arcadia: The Next Generation is a model game environment that attracts and retains a player audience and engages them in high quality scientific inquiry. The associated research informs the field on how to leverage the tremendous amount of time the public spends in social digital games, and how to direct that time towards productive science learning. EdGE is partnering with youth and adult programs at informal and citizen science centers to recruit and select the research sample that is representative of the US population, including minority youth and adults, so that researchers can learn how to sustain inquiry for a broad and diverse population of social game players.

This project designs, develops and tests a digital gaming environment for high school students that fosters and measures science learning within alternate reality games about saving Earth's ecosystems. Players work together to solve scientific challenges using a broad range of tools including a centralized web-based gaming site and social networking tools, along with handheld smart-phones, and an avatar-based massively multiplayer online environment (MMO). EdGE at TERC joins with GameGurus, high school teachers and assessment specialists to develop Leveling Up. The game requires players to contribute to a scientific knowledge building community; and players rate each other's contributions for their value to the communities' learning and decision-making in solving the challenge. Designers also work with high-school teachers to develop bridge activities that leverage science learning in games for use in formal education. Overall, the project goal is to understand the potential of the gaming environment as a direct intervention and as a catalyst to transform and measure high school STEM learning.

The research on Leveling Up compares the science learning measured within social digital games to class-based assessments of similar content and skills and explains the results using data from design documents, participant observations, surveys, interviews and student work. Formative research and iterative design with a cohort of with 15 testbed classes (grades 10-12) result in a set of assessments that have been validated in terms of scientific constructs and a set of common equivalent curriculum and assessments for implementation studies. In the third year of the project, researchers study 12 treatment classes and 3 control classes to compare students' advancement in the game to their gains on classroom assessments. In addition, half of the testbed classes use the classroom bridge activities and half do not, yielding samples of 180 students for each treatment and 90 students for the control sample. Researchers use multilevel models to examine the impact of the Leveling Up game play and bridge activities on high-school students' science knowledge. Independent evaluators (ILI) validate the interpretation of findings from the formative and implementation research.

Leveling Up is a fundamental first step for the STEM education field to understand how the pervasive social media emerging in today's society, including the phenomena of social digital gaming, can be leveraged to create exciting and productive STEM learning environments for the future. These technologies and knowledge building processes are critical for building a workforce of tomorrow that is scientifically, technologically, and data literate and also embody the inquiry and collaboration skills to contribute to productive and informed decisions about Earth's ecosystems and other important scientific and societal issues of our times. The project, Leveling Up, results in an ongoing STEM gaming environment for the public as well as a model for high school STEM assessment that may be used in other social digital games. Finally, Leveling Up also contributes a model for activities that bridge scientific inquiry occurring in social digital games with skills and content taught in high school STEM classes.