E: Scaffolding Understanding by Redesigning Games for Education (SURGE)

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Scaffolding Understanding by Redesigning Games for Education (SURGE) is a three year exploratory project focusing on the redesign of popular commercial video games to support students? understanding of Newtonian mechanics. In support of this goal, SURGE develops and implements design principles for game-based learning environments integrating research on conceptual change, cognitive processing-based design, and socio-cognitive scripting. The initial development enhances ?marble? virtual obstacle course games with visual signaling techniques to help make explicit underlying physics properties and processes present in the games. SURGE augments this popular type of game to help learners extend and connect the rich tacit understandings that video games typically support with broader explicit formalized knowledge structures to facilitate transfer across contexts. These enhanced games thus bridge the gap between student learning in non-formal game environments and the formalized knowledge structures learned in school by leveraging and integrating the strengths of each. As a consequence, school learning is more attainable and more broadly applicable. The project strategies and assessment focus on closing achievement, motivation, and self-efficacy gaps among female students, English language learners, and students with low prior success in science. Various methods are used to assess learning such as the Force Concept Inventory, the Patterns for Adaptive Learning Survey, and the Test of Science Related Attitudes. An iterative design and test process is used with full experimental design and random assignments in late phases.