Premium
Alignment of a digital watershed and land use game to national education standards
Author(s) -
Anderson Katelyn,
GrudensSchuck Nancy,
Valek Robert,
Schulte Lisa A.,
Smalley Scott W.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
natural sciences education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2168-8281
DOI - 10.1002/nse2.20005
Subject(s) - natural resource , next generation science standards , learning standards , watershed , agriculture , agricultural education , science education , mathematics education , computer science , environmental resource management , curriculum , geography , environmental science , sociology , ecology , mathematics , pedagogy , machine learning , archaeology , biology
Digital games, especially simulations, have supported student learning outcomes in the areas of science and agriculture in classrooms and nonformal settings. Simulations contribute robustly to student achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and agriculture content areas, especially when they are aligned with national education standards. The People in Ecosystems Watershed Integration (PEWI) simulation is a digital game that was evaluated for fit to two national standards: the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Standards (AFNR). The evaluation of alignment of PEWI to NGSS provided “extensive” evidence on a four‐point scale for meeting Criterion A: Explaining phenomenon/designing solutions; Criterion B: 3‐D learning, science and engineering practices, rated for three areas: (a) “extensive” for science and engineering practices, (b) “adequate” for disciplinary core ideas, and (c) “extensive” for cross‐cutting concepts. Additionally, PEWI aligned with nine high school–level NGSS student performance expectations categories. For AFNR Standards, the PEWI evaluation provided evidence for alignment to 10 standards and 17 indicators from the AFNR areas of Environmental Service Systems, Natural Resource Systems, and Plant Systems.