Expanding Tyto Online: Earth & Space Science Quests & Sandbox for Middle School

In prior research and development, the developers created Tyto Online, an online multiplayer sandbox game where middle school students engage in quests to apply life science learning. This project will extend the game by developing a prototype for the Earth and Space science domain, with a prototype including quests for the Climate and Weather topic aligned to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In the game, students will experiment with large-scale simulations as they work to save broken planets. At the end of Phase I, in a pilot study in a middle school science classroom, the researchers will examine whether the prototype functions as planned, and whether teachers believe that the full product concept could be implemented, and if the prototype shows promise for improving student outcomes aligned to NGSS.