Game-Based Interactive Life Sciences

Recent National Assessment of Educational Progress reports indicate that high percentages of students – especially English Language Learners, those with reading deficiencies, and those with learning disabilities – struggle to make adequate progress toward science standards. This problem is particularly manifested in middle school students where these reports indicate that there is a decline in student achievement on science outcomes.Researchers hypothesize that difficulty comprehending complex expository texts prevents some students from grasping key foundational principles or breaking down common misconceptions. The purpose of this project is to create a suite of high-impact life science games to facilitate deeper conceptual understandings of the science inquiry process among middle school students and, especially among struggling learners. The final product will include six life science computer games on topics including cells, heredity, evolution, bacteria, plants, and the human body.