Collaborative Research: Promoting Children's Learning About Biological Variability by Leveraging Simple Card Games

生物多样性是理解生物学家研究自然方式的基础。物种内部的可变性比人们认识到的要多得多，正是这种可变性推动了物种在生存和繁殖方面的发展和变化。重要的是，年幼的孩子们要理解这一基本思想。该项目将测试一种创新的方法，以促进与了解生物变异性相关的比较。这种方法包括修改两款流行的游戏--War和Uno，将描述不同发育阶段的生物(如昆虫卵、幼虫、蛹和成虫)的卡片合并在一起。在玩这些游戏时，玩家会进行与了解生物多样性相关的比较，比如比较单个物种的不同生命阶段，或者比较不同物种的相似阶段。这项研究调查了游戏过程中照顾者与儿童的互动和比较，并考察了游戏如何影响儿童对生物变异性的学习。这项研究涉及以实验室为基础的研究，让2年级和5年级的儿童玩LifecyCycle(改良的War)和Cyclo(修改的Uno)，并在博物馆进行平行研究，以考察在受控和真实环境中的照顾者与儿童的互动和学习。该团队将设计并试行一个博物馆展览原型，其中包括游戏和从研究中学到的教训。这些结果将加深人们对有关生物学多样性的基础知识如何帮助年轻学生为后续生物学教育做好准备的理解。在小学年级，孩子们应该学习生物多样性，包括物种内的可变性。理解生物多样性涉及到关系推理：辨别生物种类内部和之间的相关关系。当儿童比较生物类别内或生物类别之间的例子时，这些关系是突出的。然而，比较对认知要求很高，而教育材料往往缺乏对比较的充分支持。这个项目测试了一种创新的方法，通过在Uno和War的修改版本中加入卡片来促进关系推理，这些卡片描述了处于不同发育阶段的有机体(例如，昆虫卵、幼虫、蛹和成虫)。这项研究正在对玩这两种纸牌游戏的2年级和5年级儿童(n=150)进行基于实验室的研究，并正在测试系统地改变游戏中样本的数量和相似性的效果。这项研究还在测试为照顾者提供支持，以支持儿童的关系思维的有效性。博物馆的平行研究正在研究真实环境下游戏中的照顾者和儿童之间的互动。最后，该团队将设计并试运行一个博物馆展览原型，其中包含了游戏和从研究中学到的教训。该项目得到了NSF的EDU核心研究(ECR)计划的支持。ECR计划强调基础STEM教育研究，以产生该领域的基础知识。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。

Biodiversity is fundamental to understanding the way biologists study nature. There is much more variability within species than people recognize, and it is this variability that fuels development and change of species in contexts of survival and reproduction. It is important that young children understand this foundational idea. This project will test an innovative approach to promoting comparisons relevant to understanding biological variability. This approach involves modifying two popular games, War and Uno, by incorporating cards that depict organisms at different stages of development (e.g., insect egg, larva, pupa, and adult). In playing these games, players engage in comparisons relevant to understanding biodiversity, such as comparing different life stages for a single species, or comparing similar stages for different species. The research investigates caregiver-child interactions and comparisons during game play and examines how game play affects children's learning about biological variability. The research involves lab-based studies with 2nd- and 5th-grade children playing LifeCycles (modified War) and CyClo (modified Uno) and is conducting parallel studies in museums, in order to examine caregiver-child interaction and learning in both controlled and authentic settings. The team will design and pilot a museum exhibit prototype that incorporates the games and the lessons learned through the research. The results will build understanding about how foundational knowledge about diversity in biology can help young students be ready for subsequent biology education. In the elementary grades, children are expected to learn about biodiversity, including within-species variability. Understanding biodiversity involves relational reasoning: discerning relevant relationships within and among biological kinds. These relationships are salient when children compare examples within or between biological categories. However, comparison is cognitively demanding, and educational materials often lack adequate support for comparison. This project tests an innovative approach to promoting relational reasoning by incorporating cards in modified versions of Uno and War that depict organisms at different stages of development (e.g., insect egg, larva, pupa, and adult). This research is conducting lab-based studies with 2nd- and 5th-grade children playing these two card games (n=150) and is testing the effects of systematically varying the number and similarity of the exemplars in the games. The research also is testing the effectiveness of providing caregivers with support for scaffolding children's relational thinking. Parallel studies in museums are examining caregiver-child interaction in game play in authentic settings. Finally, the team will design and pilot test a museum exhibit prototype that incorporates the games and the lessons learned through the research.This project is supported by NSF's EDU Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.