Scott Brewster - Leveraging Serious Games to Promote STEM Competency for Pre-Service & In-Service Teacheres

Leveraging  Serious Games to Promote STEM Competency for Pre-Service & In-Service Teachers

Scott Brewsterscott@triadinteractivemedia.com

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Interactive Training & Learning

About Triad Interactive

Helping make games ubiquitous in schools

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Our catalogue

Professional Development

360 approach; Get teachers hooked first

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What We Know: K-8 Teachers

❖ Existing math & science skills

❖ Attitude about math & science

❖ Comfortability with games

❖ Vision of games (supplemental)

We cannot change students’ math or science scores or solve the STEM pipeline problem until we address these challenges.

Triad’s Products Pre-Service Teachers;In-Service Teachers

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Our Products

❖ Game-based solutions

❖ R&D approach

❖ evidence-centered design

❖ feasibility studies

❖ iterative design cycle

❖ efficacy studies

So what does game-based training in STEM look like for teachers?

The first suite of PD games for teachers

PlatinuMath Teacher Education Programs;K-8 Professional Development

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Companion product for science

Project NEO Teacher Education Programs;K-8 Professional Development

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Pre-Service Teachers

How Our Products are Used

• Improves knowledge & skills

• More comfortable teaching games

• Dozens of use cases

In-Service Teachers

How Our Products are Used

• 12-hour; knowledge & skills• 6-hour; games focus

What We’ve Learned

❖ Improved math & science knowledge & skills

❖ Enhanced preference for science & math

❖ Improved comfort teaching with games

Highlights of our System

❖ Framework design

❖ Play

❖ Learn

❖ Apply

❖ Teach

❖ Talk

Games form the heart of our products

Graphics & Narrative

❖ Console quality graphics & media

❖ Engaging narrative

❖ Cross-gender appeal

Game Characteristics

❖ Conceptual & procedural

❖ Differentiated instruction (6 levels of difficulty)

❖ Addictive games

❖ R&D approach

❖ Evidence-centered design

❖ Iterative development

Comprehensive Learning System

❖ TPACK Framework

❖ Play, Learn, Apply, Teach, Talk

❖ Aligned to Standards

❖ 21st Century Skills

❖ Formative Assessment; Dashboard

TPACK

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Framework to understand and describe the knowledge needed by teachers for effective pedagogical practice in a technology enhanced learning environment

Jordan Ellenberg

Simple, Profound Complicated, Shallow

PlatinuMath’s companion system

Project NEO Halfway complete; NSF-funded

Next Steps

Student Versions Late Elementary;Middle School

What the Results Show

❖ PlatinuMath - tested in a dozen teacher education programs (math methods); audience is growing

❖ PlatinuMath improves knowledge AND attitude

❖ Continually improving the product

Moving On…

Commercialization

Conclusion & Questions