SBIR Phase I: Immersive Video Game Platform for Helping Students Learn in Statistics.

Elephant Stem, Llc., Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

This SBIR Phase I project will develop an engaging video game learning program useful for underserved high school students to grow their knowledge, skills, and disposition in data science and statistics, and to prepare them for college and careers in STEM related fields. This project addresses the serious shortcomings in the quality, and hence engagement and effectiveness of most of educational games in use today. Above all this project seeks to prevent American students from falling further behind in STEM education and losing access to the expanding technology and data science economy of the next several decades, where strategic sectors of our public life are affected, including scientific research, technology, engineering, medicine, finance, and artificial intelligence. The progress of science and the prosperity of this nation require U.S. citizens, in line with the statutory mission of the NSF, to find solutions to this shortage of human resources in data science. This project seeks to capitalize on the engineering and design superiority of this country's video game industry to recapture and retain global leadership in statistics and data science research and education. The full build of the learning game and the underlying platform is expected to generate jobs and the high amount of tax revenue annually. This project develops the core video game client and server infrastructure using a hub and spoke paradigm, which maximizes efficiency across the entire creation of the game. Future games will be built upon this established core skeleton of systems, whereby only a fraction of content will need to be generated to produce a new game. The immersive 3D digital game of this project would be comparable to modern industry standards. With the principle of statistical inference, instead of asking the student to apply formulas and data that a teacher provides, the game activities will engage the student in the creation of statistical formulas, raw data and analysis on their own game data. The goals of this study are to establish technical feasibility and usability of the game and gather preliminary evidence of effectiveness of the game intervention on student performance and interest in statistic employing a mixed methods research design with iterative end-user testing trials. The impact of the game intervention will be compared with that of the traditional learning in statistics. During the intervention, summative and formative assessments and fidelity of implementation study will be conducted. Student, teacher, and expert feedback and observation findings will be used to develop the video game. 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.