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Alignment of a digital watershed and land use game to national education standards
Natural Sciences Education
  • Katelyn Anderson, Ogden Community School District
  • Nancy Grudens-Schuck, Iowa State University
  • Robert Valek, Iowa State University
  • Lisa A. Schulte, Iowa State University
  • Scott W. Smalley, Iowa State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
1-1-2020
DOI
10.1002/nse2.20005
Abstract

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.

Comments

This article is published as Anderson, K., Grudens‐Schuck, N., Valek, R., Schulte, L.A. and Smalley, S.W., Alignment of a digital watershed and land use game to national science and agriculture education standards. Natural Sciences Education 49 (2020): e20005. doi: 10.1002/nse2.20005.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0
Copyright Owner
The Authors
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Katelyn Anderson, Nancy Grudens-Schuck, Robert Valek, Lisa A. Schulte, et al.. "Alignment of a digital watershed and land use game to national education standards" Natural Sciences Education Vol. 49 Iss. 1 (2020) p. e20005
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/scott-smalley/22/