Games for Participatory Science: A Paradigm for Game-Based Learning for Promoting Science Literacy

Abstract

[Debates in forums such as Educational Technology (see Clark, 2007; Squire, 2008) and the National Academies of Science (National Research Council, 2011) emphasize the promise (and indeed recent successes) of digital game-based learning programs, but also the need for research-driven approaches that carefully delineate learning goals. This article introduces one such approach, Games for Participatory Science, a suite of games that seeks to connect the broad public to the making of science. These games are built to cross boundaries, linking disparate content areas, learners, and learning contexts toward suggesting a new future direction for science education.]