Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Journal of Science Education and Technology
Published in: Journal of Science Education and Technology 4/2016

15-04-2016

The (De-)evolution of Evolution Games: A Content Analysis of the Representation of Evolution Through Natural Selection in Digital Games

Authors: Alex P. Leith, Rabindra A. Ratan, Donghee Yvette Wohn

Published in: Journal of Science Education and Technology | Issue 4/2016

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

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 fundamentally important and widely misunderstood theory. This analysis of ENS portrayal in digital games provides insight into the use of games in teaching ENS. Systematic database search results were coded for the three principles of ENS: phenotypic variation, differential fitness, and fitness heritability. Though thousands of games use the term evolution, few presented elements of evolution, and even fewer contained all principles of ENS. Games developed to specifically teach evolution were difficult to find through Web searches. These overall deficiencies in ENS games reflect the inherent incompatibility between game control elements and the automatic process of ENS.
previous article Three-Dimensional Display Technologies for Anatomical Education: A Literature Review
next article Measuring Graph Comprehension, Critique, and Construction in Science

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe




 

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
Literature
Bell P, Lewenstein B, Shouse AW, Feder MA (eds) (2009) Learning science in informal environments: people, places, and pursuits. National Academies Press, Washington
Bruce BC, Bruce SP, Conrad RL, Huang H-J (1997) University science students as curriculum planners, teachers, and role models in elementary school classrooms. J Res Sci Teach 34:55–69CrossRef
Cavazza M, Lugrin J-L, Pizzi D, Charles F (2007) Madame bovary on the holodeck: immersive interactive storytelling. In: Proceedings of the 15th international conference on Multimedia, pp 651–660. ACM
Darwin C (1859) The origin of species by means of natural selection. John Murray, London
Dobzhansky T (1973) Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution. Am Biol Teach 35:125–129CrossRef
Eshach H, Fried MN (2005) Should science be taught in early childhood? J Sci Educ Technol 14:315–336CrossRef
Ferguson CJ (2007) The good, the bad and the ugly: a meta-analytic review of positive and negative effects of violent video games. Psychiatr Quart 78:309–316CrossRef
Godfrey-Smith P (2007) Conditions for evolution by natural selection. J Philos 104:489–516CrossRef
Heeter C, Starr B (2012). DNA roulette: understanding genetics and genetic testing through gaming. In: Presented at the games for health, Boston
Heeter C, Winn BM, Darcy DG (2005) Theories meet realities: designing a learning game for girls. Presented at the Designing for User eXperience, San Francisco
Kennedy-Clark S, Thompson K (2011) What do students learn when collaboratively using a computer game in the study of historical disease epidemics, and why? Games Cult 6:513–537CrossRef
Klimmt C, Roth C, Vermeulen I, Vorderer P, Roth FS (2012) Forecasting the experience of future entertainment technology: “interactive storytelling” and media enjoyment. Games Cult 7:187–208CrossRef
Lewontin RC (1970) The units of selection. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 1:1–18
Lieberman DA (2012) Designing digital games, social media, and mobile technologies to motivate and support health behavior change. In: Rice RE, Atkin CK (eds) Public communication campaigns, 4th edn. Sage Publications Inc, Thousand Oaks, pp 273–287
Poli D, Berenotto C, Blankenship S, Piatkowski B, Bader GA, Poore M (2012) Bringing evolution to a technological generation: a case study with the video game SPORE. Am Biol Teach 74:100–103CrossRef
Reimann P, Thompson K (2009) Ecosystem modelling for environmental education: from stocks and flows to behavior and interactions. In: Blumschein P, Stroebel J, Hung W, Jonassen D (eds) Model-based approaches to learning: using systems models and simulations to improve understanding and problem solving in complex domains. Sense, Rotterdam
Rezba RJ, Auldridge T, Rhea L (1999) Teaching and learning the basic science skills. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Middle School Instructional Services
Ritterfeld U, Cody M, Vorderer P (eds) (2009) Immersive serious games for large scale multiplayer dialogue and cocreation. Routledge, New York
Roth WM (1996) Art and artifact of children’s designing: a situated cognition perspective. J Learn Sci 5:129–166CrossRef
Schwab JJ (1960) Inquiry, the science teacher, and the educator. Sch Rev 68:176–195CrossRef
Squire K (2008) Open-ended video games: a model for developing learning for the interactive age. In: Salen K (ed) The ecology of games: connecting youth, games, and learning. MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 167–198
Williams D (2010) The mapping principle, and a research framework for virtual worlds. Commun Theory 20:451–470CrossRef
Metadata
Title
The (De-)evolution of Evolution Games: A Content Analysis of the Representation of Evolution Through Natural Selection in Digital Games
Authors
Alex P. Leith
Rabindra A. Ratan
Donghee Yvette Wohn
Publication date
15-04-2016
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Journal of Science Education and Technology / Issue 4/2016
Print ISSN: 1059-0145
Electronic ISSN: 1573-1839
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-016-9620-x

Other articles of this Issue 4/2016

Journal of Science Education and Technology 4/2016 Go to the issue

OriginalPaper

Using the Bifocal Modeling Framework to Resolve “Discrepant Events” Between Physical Experiments and Virtual Models in Biology

OriginalPaper

Use of the Moodle Platform to Promote an Ongoing Learning When Lecturing General Physics in the Physics, Mathematics and Electronic Engineering Programmes at the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU

OriginalPaper

Closing the Gaps and Filling the STEM Pipeline: A Multidisciplinary Approach

OriginalPaper

Introducing Large-Scale Innovation in Schools

OriginalPaper

Teachers’ Organization of Participation Structures for Teaching Science with Computer Technology

OriginalPaper

Promoting Conceptual Change for Complex Systems Understanding: Outcomes of an Agent-Based Participatory Simulation

Premium Partners

    Image Credits