We present a tool, one that is both a stand-alone web-based video game and a Python package, designed for students to explore a particle's wave function on one-dimensional potential surfaces. The tool relies on a basis set formalism and can, therefore, explore any one-dimensional potential surface imaginable. This tool also lets students interact…

Purpose: This study aims to explore the effects of an alternative learning environment, such as the video game making (VGM) within science content, on computational thinking (CT) skills development and student performance. Design/methodology/approach: A didactic intervention was performed for five weeks. Two student groups were taught the same…

My first year teaching physical science I (LB) had a young man whom we shall call John in class. He had been sitting silently, doing nothing most of the first quarter of school. I had seen little in the way of written work from him. John's daily grades were continually zero after zero and his assessment grades were equally abysmal. Calls to mom…

The present study examined the influence of the method of physical activity games and digital games on 9th-grade students' achievements in a physics lesson. In the study, the semi-experimental design was used. The study group was made up of secondary school 9th-grade students from three different groups at a public school. The 1st experimental…

The aim of this study is to design an argumentation-based educational digital game to teach the subject of force. Through a design-based research method, each game section includes the argumentation questions that foster students to think about the 'force' subject. We pilot studied the game with 12 grade 4 students in a state primary school. After…

For some years now, the scientific community has been studying how videogames foster acquisition of mental representations of the world around us. Research to date suggests that the efficiency of videogames as learning tools largely depends on the instructional design in which they are included. This article provides empirical evidence related to…

Some educators use what we call a "hook" as a key element in their lessons. We use "hooks" to get our students interested in what it is we are teaching. Many teachers have adopted the Next Generation Science Standards and establish the phenomena as the engine that drives scientific investigation and learning in the classroom.…

Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in using virtual reality (VR) technology to benefit instruction, especially in physics and related subjects. As VR devices improve and become more widely available, there remains a number of unanswered questions regarding the impact of VR on student learning and how best to use this technology in the…

Given the diversity and complexity of education game mechanisms and topics, this article contributes to a theoretical understanding of how game mechanisms "map" to educational topics through inquiry-based learning. Namely, the article examines the presence of evolution through natural selection (ENS) in digital games. ENS is a…

We describe an analysis of the conservation of momentum in the video game Osmos, which demonstrates that the potential of video game analysis extends far beyond kinematics. This analysis can serve as the basis of an inquiry momentum lab that combines interesting derivations, video-based data collection, and insights into the subtle decisions that…

The proliferation of technology brings innovated strategies to enhance learning with digital math gaming in order to optimize motivation, comprehension, and retention. The problem is the lack of opportunities for students to engage in math video games. The scope of this paper is to present findings from a qualitative case study that investigated…

Environments in which learning involves coordinating multiple external representations (MERs) can productively support learners in making sense of complex models and relationships. Educational digital games provide an increasing popular medium for engaging students in manipulating and exploring such models and relationships. This article applies…

Various aspects of computational thinking (CT) could be supported by educational contexts such as simulations and video-games construction. In this field study, potential differences in student motivation and learning were empirically examined through students' code. For this purpose, we performed a teaching intervention that took place over five…

We have iteratively designed and researched five digital games focusing on Newtonian dynamics for middle school classrooms during the past seven years. The designs have evolved dramatically in terms of the roles and relationships of the formal representations, phenomenological representations, and control schemes. Phenomenological representations…

A traditional mode of Earth Science instruction in public day high schools for students with severe emotional behavioral disorders (EBD) is teacher-delivered lectures supported with paper-based laboratory exercises. These laboratory experiences are often presented through worksheet problems that students are asked to solve and return to the…