Thanks to a three year $1.95 million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation, a team of researchers and developers from the University of Kansas will design and develop a computer-based game intended to engage middle school students, and their teachers, in scientific argumentation.

The Evidence Game will allow students to evaluate a scientific claim and evidence that supports it. Players will practice skills related to understanding a claim, judging evidence about a claim, analyzing the reasoning applied to the claim, and evaluating the claim. Throughout the game, the players will learn the process of scientific inquiry.

The game will become part of http://4kids.org, a collection of games for elementary and middle school students developed by the Center for Research on Learning’s Advanced Learning Technologies (ALTEC) division. The games on this site attract more than 2,000 players each day.

Janis Bulgren, KU-CRL associate research scientist, is the principal investigator for the project. Co-principal investigators are Marilyn Ault, director of ALTEC; Jim Ellis, associate professor in KU’s Department of Curriculum and Teaching; and Bruce Frey, co-leader of KU’s School Program Evaluation and Research group.

Development of the Evidence Game will occur with the help of science students and teachers at Argentine Middle School in Kansas City, Kan., as well as experts across the United States in the fields of game development, professional learning, program evaluation, and scientific argumentation.