Using 3D serious gaming interventions to promote climate science literacy in the 12-13-year age group

Despite more than 30 years of communication and public awareness of climate change, there continues to be a widespread lack of understanding of climate science and a lack of engagement in climate-friendly activities. Worldview bias is considered one of the most pernicious and difficult communication and education barriers with regard to public engagement in relation to climate change. For example, socio-cultural worldview is known to be the strongest predictor of adult attitudes related to climate change in the US and Australia, even stronger than educational attainment or scientific literacy. Due to this influence, efforts aimed at encouraging climate-friendly attitudes and behaviour have prioritised engagement with identity constructs such as values, ideology, and self-identity and are considered more effective at motivating climate-friendly attitudes than efforts to improve knowledge deficit. There are, however, several important considerations that have been overlooked with regard to the value and influence of the knowledge deficit model, including: knowledge deficit as a treatment or intervention; the age when such interventions should start as a factor for worldview development; and the specific content or curriculum that forms the foundation of the specific knowledge deficit intervention in relation to climate education. This thesis revisits knowledge deficit as an intervention and explores the role of knowledge deficit in the public education arena in the early adolescent age group via the interventions of a 3D interactive serious educational climate science game. In order to revisit knowledge deficit in relation to worldview development, literature pertaining to the intellectual and physiological development of early adolescents was reviewed, finding that early adolescents are a highly suitable age group for knowledge deficit interventions. To ensure this age group are receptive to learning about Earth's climate, early adolescent climate opinion data was collected and analysed (n=463), finding that early adolescents are more concerned (Austria: 85%, Australia: 89%) about climate change than their respective or proxy adult population (Austria: 71%, Australia: 63%) and their opinions (that climate change is something to worry about, is caused by humans, and is happening now) are all correlated. To examine knowledge deficit, a prototype climate science literacy (CSL) framework was constructed which measured incidental (pre-existing) knowledge and showed shared knowledge levels and patterns across borders (culture, language, education system). For the purpose of this thesis, specifically in relation to knowledge deficit interventions, CSL is defined here as a systematic and integrated understanding of how the natural climate system works, including drivers of natural variation, and the roles of feedback systems and anthropogenic emissions in driving climate change. After playing a proof-of-concept 3D interactive climate science game (n=401), results show that shared knowledge patterns persist and suggest that CSL may be able to be improved in this age group, particularly at the unistructural and multistructural levels (SOLO Taxonomy Levels 1 and 2). These results suggest that knowledge deficit interventions, for example using a 3D interactive climate science game, can potentially improve knowledge in early adolescents. Such interventions, delivered at a crucially formative age, could help counter the worldview effects that entrench climate-unfriendly attitudes in many sections of the population and help trigger a transformation towards a sustainable future

Pengembangan Media Pembelajaran Berbasis Game Android untuk Anak Usia 5-6 Tahun

Berdasarkan analisis kebutuhan mengenai media pembelajaran yang akan dikembangkan bahwa sebagain besar guru memperhatikan reliabilitas media yang dikembangkan. Aspek pembuatan media pembelajaran hanya sebagian kecil guru membuat media pembelajaran, dan aspek penggunaan media pembelajaran sebagain besar guru tidak menggunakan media dalam pembelajaran. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah merancang aplikasi game calistung digital anak usia 5-6 tahun dengan menggunakan unity 3D berbasis android.  Metodologi penelitian menggunakan metode Research and Development dengan langkah-langkah dari penelitian Borg, WR dan Gall,M.D yang mengadopsi model Dick and Carey dengan pengembangan multimedia berbasis software life cycle model. Hasil uji lapangan menunjukan nilai rata-rata lembar observasi kemampuan literasi awal pretest sebesar 3, 16 dan  nilai rata-rata lembar observasi kemampuan literasi awal postest sebesar 3, 68 serta nilai rata-rata kenaikan skor pretest dan skor postest kemampuan literasi awal sebesar 0, 53. Hasil uji lapangan menunjukan bahwa media pembelajaran game ABaCa dapat meningkatkan kemampuan literasi awal anak usia 5-6 tahun pada aspek kesadaran fonologis, pengetahuan tulisan dan konsep tulisan, huruf dan kata.

Validity of Physics Teaching Materials Based on STEM to Improve Climate Literacy of High School Students

This study aimed to develop physics teaching material based on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), which criteria valid. The study employed is development research using the ADDIE development model. The ADDIE which consists of five stages, namely Analyze, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation which is limited to three stages, namely; (1) analysis, (2) design, and (3) development for aspects of validity. The validity of the teaching material was determined with the aid of experts and learning practitioners. The validation results of physics teaching material based on STEM were categorized as very valid with a validity level of 92% and student response with a score of 85%. Based on the results obtained, the climate change physics teaching materials based on STEM are suitable for improving high school students' climate literacy

Supporting Dialogue and Analysis on Trade-Offs in Climate Adaptation Research With the Maladaptation Game

Background. Serious games are gaining increasing prominence in environmental communication research, but their potential to form an integrated part of participatory research approaches is still strikingly understudied. This is particularly the case for applications of interactive digital formats in research on environmental challenges of high complexity, such as climate adaptation, which is a specifically suitable case as it involves complex interaction between climate systems and society, but where the response also involves trade-offs with potentially negative - maladaptive - outcomes. Intervention. This article presents the Maladaptation Game, which was designed to facilitate dialogue about potential negative outcomes of agricultural climate adaptation. Methods. We conducted test sessions with agricultural stakeholders in Finland and Sweden, and analysed quantitative and qualitative, audio-recorded and transcribed, material for opportunities and challenges related to dialogues, engagement, interactivity and experienced relevance. Results. The qualitative analysis of recorded dialogues shows that the Maladaptation Game has potential to support dialogue by challenging players to negotiate between options with negative outcomes. The gameplay itself presents opportunities in terms of creating engagement with options that provoke disagreement and debates between players, as well as interactivity, that players reflected upon as quick and easy, while challenges were related to the experienced relevance, in particular the options provided in the game, and its general framing. Conclusions. The results indicate a need for complementary approaches to this type of game but also suggest the importance of moderation when the game design is aimed at creating dialogue around a complex environmental challenge such as agricultural climate adaptation.Peer reviewe

Playing for Change: Teens’ attitudes towards climate change action as expressed through interactive digital narrative play

We designed and pilot tested “You and CO2”, a STEAM program designed to encourage students to reflect on their personal impact on the environment, while also appreciating their place within society to bring about positive societal change. Over three interlinked workshops, students analyzed the carbon footprints of some everyday activities, which they then explored in more detail through interacting with a bespoke piece of digital fiction, No World 4 Tomorrow. Previous papers have discussed the feasibility of the program and student engagement with the concepts (Rudd, et al. 2019; Ross, et al. 2021). This paper presents analysis of the playthrough data as each participant in the program played the IDN to completion, examining trends in story selection choices for how they reflect students’ understandings and attitudes toward climate change and their own ability to make a difference in matters large and small pertaining to climate change

DoomScroll: Modding Among Us to Combat Misinformation

Misinformation is one society’s most pressing issues, spreading division and chaos across the globe. Videogames have become one of the more promising mediums for misinformation interventions, teaching players common falsehood indicators and helping them develop their discernment abilities. This thesis details the design, playtesting, and evaluation of a digital game intervention intended to improve players’ misinformation discernment abilities. Through a design narrative, it first describes the design goals and development of an initial iteration of DoomScroll, a modified version of the popular social deception game Among Us. It then reports on the playtesting of DoomScroll and how player feedback was used to refine and improve the mod’s gameplay. It concludes by detailing a randomized control trial conducted to more rigorously test DoomScroll’s efficacy as a misinformation intervention tool when compared to a control condition. Player feedback regarding its socialization and replayability suggests that DoomScroll did meet its design goals by improving player motivation and increasing the likelihood of repeated use. However, further analyses showed that the mod did not produce any statistically significant improvement in players’ discernment abilities. The qualitative findings were more positive, suggesting an uneven distribution of process-driven learning did occur. This study contributes insights to improve misinformation game design and into the potential of modding as a medium for educational game development

Trends on Educational Gamification: Challenges and Learning Opportunities

Games are a natural activity—we all know how to play. Perhaps this is the key feature that explains the increase in the use of game-based learning (GBL) strategies: Applying games to education converts education into a universal activity. Over the last ten years, the way in which education and training is delivered has considerably changed, not only due to a new technologic environment—plenty of social networks, MOOCs, etc.—but also because of the appearance of new methodologies. Such new methodologies are shifting the center of gravity: from the teacher to the student, with the aim of awakening relational aspects, as well as promoting imagination and divergent thinking. One new approach that holds considerable promise for helping to engage learners is, indeed, game-based learning (GBL). However, while a growing number of institutions are beginning to see the validity of GBL, there are still many challenges to overcome before this type of learning can become widespread.In this Special Issue, we want to gather several studies and experiences in GBL to be shared with other teachers and researchers

CO2peration - Structuring a 3D interactive digital game to improve climate literacy in the 12-13-year-old age group

Preparing students for their future and qualifying them to enter public life is the essential role of the public-school system. As such, an understanding of climate science ought to be an essential – and significant – component of that preparation. This research proposes a novel pathway to teach climate science via a 3D interactive digital game and examines the potential of 12–13-year olds as a prepatent group for climate science interventions. After playing a proof-of-concept climate science game that covers the physical causes and mechanisms of climate change, 401 students in Austria and Australia were tested with a climate literacy questionnaire. Our results indicate that climate literacy can be improved in this age group via the digital game. In addition, we found further evidence of established climate science ‘knowledge domains’ in this age group that form a natural ‘increased levels of complexity’ scaffold that can be used to design curricula such as that in the digital game. These four ‘knowledge domains’ are (in brief): Earth in the solar system; gravity and its effect on the atmosphere; albedo and solar radiation, and; greenhouse gases and their warming potential.Inez Harker-Schuch was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship. Dr Steven J Lade receives support from the Swedish Research Council FORMAS (Project Grant 2014-589)