Enhancing and Diversifying Geosciences Instruction Through Popular Gaming Platforms and Multi-User Virtual Environments

Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd, Presenting Director, Atmospheric Sciences Program and Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography

and Atmospheric Sciences

Dr. Jerry Shannon and Dr. Tom Mote, Department of Geography Dr. Suzi Pilaar-Birch, Department of Geography, Department of Anthropology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdYTTHhdBN8

Motivation for this project idea? My son and a Tornado Module

From The Atlantic Magazine, Feb. 2015 Sara Richards, an instructional technology specialist

--"We thought it would be fantastic if we could harness the excitement of Minecraft into an

educational setting, especially to help bolster children who might not always be successful in a

traditional school setting,”

In the 13 months since then, Richards has seen 2nd graders build elaborate digital communities, helped students recreate a scene

from A Cricket In Times Square, and watched 3rd graders quickly grasp mathematical concepts of area, perimeter,

volume. http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/02/teaching-in-the-age-of-minecraft/385231/

I am not an education researcher…..

My research focus is

urban climate, extreme hydrometeorology, and

weather-climate vulnerability

Why I am Here?

Overarching Research Questions

n  Can MUVES serve as viable platforms for teaching Geosciences principles?

n  Are MUVES viable pathways closing gaps in under-represented groups in STEM?

n  Do current portrayals of minorities in MUVES create barriers or offer opportunities for diversity?

n  Can Geoscience interest be significantly enhanced using MUVES and community partnerships?

Why MUVES? n  Minecraft is one example of a class of virtual

worlds called Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVES). MUVES are increasingly being explored as educational platforms

n  MUVES like Minecraft can do for Geosciences what Legos have done for robotics and engineering if a program is carefully and strategically crafted.

Data Continues to Show Minorities Lag in Science

Minorities Are Significant Gaming Consumers…….

Advantages of Minecraft (Source: Education World)

n  Minecraft gives students the freedom to create, pushing their imaginations to the limit and allowing them to be creative in ways not possible in the real world.

n  Inherently about problem-solving, the game can inspire students’ higher-level and critical thinking.

n  Minecraft is also a very social game q  When students work together, it builds positive

classroom climate, teaches the benefits of collaboration and facilitates teamwork in a way that’s more organic than, say, being assigned to work together on a project. Students who might not get along in the real world can become allies in the Minecraft world.

See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/benefits-minecraft-classroom-students.shtml#sthash.eFskYSWM.dpuf

Recent Headlines: Minecraft May Soon Be Coming To Classrooms In New Education Version

education.minecraft.net/

Our Objectives

n  Can Minecraft serve as a platform for teaching Geosciences principles?

n  Does Minecraft generate interest in STEM among under-represented groups? If so, How does Minecraft cultivate an interest in STEM (e.g., portrayals, identity building, problem solving)? If not, why?

n  How do community-based programs (gaming trucks) compare to site-based learning opportunities in terms of student experience and learning?

Tier 1-Evaluating Minecraft as a Geoscience Teaching Strategy: Lessons and Modules n  Theme 1: Weather and Climate:

q  Clouds q  Tornadoes and Storms q  Water Cycle and Climate q  Ice and snow

n  Theme 2: Environmental Sustainability q  Environmental stewards q  “Green” buildings, UHI, Ecosystems

n  Theme 3: Land and Geology q  Erosion q  Mining q  Tectonics

n  Theme 4: Urban Planning q  City planning q  Urban growth q  Transportation

Educational context Modules will be framed as: n  Epistemic games allow students to behave and process

real-world information like a professional. For example, in the MUVE, science.net, students are acting out as journalists reporting on science themes.

n  Augmented realities combine fictional elements with real-world data or information q  Exercises fund by a University of Georgia Office of

STEM mini-grant q  Modules will include creating replicas of familiar

landscapes, such as the UGA campus, using volunteered geographic information and simulating archaeological excavations to trace geologic and social histories.

Initial Steps n  Purchased 2 Windows-based Tablets and licenses to implement

developmental activities in GEOG 1101 and other classes n  We developed server-based Minecraft worlds with custom

modifications relevant to geoscientific research. n  A graduate research assistant was acquired to help with

preliminary set-up. These worlds include a replica of the campus environment created from remote sensed data and hypothetical urban and coastal environments. Students in Co-I Dr. Shannon’s GEOG 1101 prototyped the first lesson.

How it Was Done?

n  Relying on remotely sensed data available from Clarke County, we created a Minecraft world whose overall landscape matched that of the UGA campus but was lacking in any physical structures.

n  Students generating (or destroying) 205,000 Minecraft blocks in the process.

n  This project allowed for class discussion of citizen science and volunteered geographic information (VGI) data in geographic research.

Atlanta’s Urban Heat Island

Example Module: Urban Heat Island Mitigation

n  5 different small

neighborhoods that are fairly urban in nature--high density, lots of concrete, etc.

n  5 teams (so 4 per team

in a group of 20). Each team would have a set budget that they could use to purchase materials to mitigate the heat island effect in their neighborhoods.

Tier 2 Minecraft Geosciences Camp n  A Minecraft Geosciences Camp will be implemented over two summer

periods at the University of Georgia via the Summer Academy program The main themes in the camp will align with the recently released Next Generation of Science Standards (NGSS, NGSS Lead States, 2013). q  Within the Earth’s Systems standard, students could use Minecraft to strengthen conceptual

understanding of the geologic processes shaping landscapes or climatological factors influencing weather.

q  Within Earth and Human Activity, scenarios within the game can simulate a changing climate and the ways that communities could adapt to and ameliorate its effects. Students may develop and use a model to understand weather and climate.

q  Within the “Earth and Human Activity” standard students will construct explanations about human impact on the Earth’s system. The themes in Tier 1 that will also be utilized in Tier 2 were developed based on content from the NGSS.

Tier 3 Bringing Geoscience to Communities n  The teachers will take the modules (along with

the appropriate hardware) to locations that have students who do not typically participate in summer programs (city housing, Girls and Boys clubs, grocery stores, or local parks). Introducing “MUVES Game Truck.”

n  Selected teachers will review what has been learned in the prior experiences, and consider how to create engaging lessons that are linked to the NGSS. In building the modules, teachers will pilot them with students. While sharing the lessons with students in the community, the teachers will examine student learning and determine potential revisions to the modules.

Tier 4: Educator Workshop

n  Two-day workshop focused on enabling educators to integrate Minecraft lesson plans into the classroom. Currently, the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College in Northfield, MN, offers a useful model.

n  A small group of middle school teachers will be brought together with university faculty involved in the project. The workshop goals will include: q  drafting at least one teaching activity per group of 4 individuals that can

be adapted and applied at middle, high school, and introductory college levels that uses the Minecraft interface to address real geoscience questions.

q  Each participant should plan to implement the activity within six months of the workshop and provide feedback and reflect on the efficacy of the teaching activity in their respective classrooms. During the workshop, participants will also plan mechanisms for disseminating these outcomes. The activities will be posted online and available for use and adaptation by educators across the country.

Other Milestones n  This STEM Education project was leveraged in

a pending NSF proposal to the Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Program (PI Mote), currently under review. The proposed ARCSS project seeks to understand the role of atmospheric moisture and clouds on warming in the Arctic and the resultant impact on the Greenland ice sheet.

n  The STEM project was also leverage to submit a $1M dollar proposal to the NSF ITEST program to promote STEM and Geoscience education in under-served communities of Athens. The results of this submission are still pending but could lead to significant steps forward in how community-based learning and information education is delivered. The project was in collaboration with Dr. Julie Anne Luft in Information Education/College of Education.

Future Goals

n  Development of an Online Course for the Modules n  Creation of focus groups with middle and high school

science teachers from local schools. q  Building on lessons from interactions with our UGA

students (former K-12 students with a fresh perspective on Minecraft), these focus groups will be able to provide feedback on the educational modules we develop using Minecraft and suggest new ideas or modifications based on their experience and expertise working with students at that level.

Diversity Perspectives n  On February 8th, Gaming consultant Brian

Jackson delivered a lecture on perceptions of minorities to the PeachState LSAMP students.

n  He showed data suggesting that minorities are primarily portrayed as sports, entertainment, or villain/comedic figures.

n  He also provided advice on getting into the gaming and technology industry.

n  LSAMP students suggested that Minecraft and other gaming could be an effective strategy for teaching STEM concepts if they are made fun and entertaining rather than academic and standard.

n  We also discussed the inherent Inquiry-Based learning aspects of Minecraft (exploratory) and how that can be exploited to teach science

Good Sites for Minecraft Intergration Into K-12 Classroom n  Elementary lessons with Minecraft,

http://lessons4minecraft.com n  Common Core Math and Minecraft,

http://www.educationworld.com/a_news/math-teacher-six-minecraft-lesson-ideas-common-core-math-class-190624585

n  Ideas for using Minecraft in Class, http://www.edutopia.org/blog/minecraft-in-classroom-andrew-millermine

marshgeo@gmail.com Follow on Twitter @DrShepherd2013