UNDERSTANDING HOW ENTRY-LEVEL COLLEGE STUDENTS RETAIN MATERIAL AND ENGAGE WITH GEOSCIENCE CONCEPTS BY UTILIZING EDUCATIONAL BOARD GAMES IN A VIRTUAL SETTING

Incorporating play in classrooms can improve student learning; however, the advantages of gameplay may not be equal across all learners. The educational setting, method of delivery, and demographic background may correlate with students’ likelihood of engaging and learning. In this study, students played two different educational games during 2-hour lab sections of a web-based introductory geology course. Played online via Google Jamboard, the game “Taphonomy Dead and Fossilized” is designed to teach about fossilization pathways, and the game “Reef Survivor'' is designed to help players learn about reef ecology, evolution, and extinction. The efficiency of using these games as an educational intervention was assessed with pre/post questions on course assignments, whereas, student engagement and cooperation with the games were assessed using a modified observation protocol (CLOP). The four lab groups experienced different conditions: A) playing in teams of 2-3 students versus playing as a single player; and B) using a priming condition that encouraged students to feel confident about gameplay regardless of their background and experience (stereotype threat counter) versus no priming condition.

Our preliminary results suggest that playing games has the potential to foster a collaborative and engaging learning environment for diverse classrooms. We observed an increase in most post-intervention assessment scores (compared to pre-assessment scores) and this difference was the highest when a stereotype threat counter treatment was used. Furthermore, Likert surveys show high student enjoyment and agreement that gameplay helped them solidify concepts. Students commented they would enjoy playing the game more in person, taking away the technical difficulties of using Jamboard. If these games are played in a regular classroom setting, we hypothesize that engagement and understanding will increase. Future work based on the data collected includes assessing to what extent using high-context games as an educational medium can ameliorate the gap in educational gains between groups with different cultural backgrounds. If so, educators can continue to adapt their curriculum to improve the learning experience of their students.