Teaching genetics with dragons
Introduction
Teaching genetics with dragons is a free online microworld / simulation environment to learn genetics. It is made by the Concord consortium. It is a followup project of BioLogica. There are three variants for different educational level.
Geniverse includes all features. According to the home page (May 2019), “Geniverse is free, web-based software for high school biology that engages students in exploring heredity and genetics by breeding and studying virtual dragons. Interactive models, powered by real genes, enable students to do simulated experiments, generate realistic and meaningful genetic data and win star ratings for efficient experimentation.”
See also:
According to Wilson et al. (2000) [1], “Geniverse is designed to be a 3- to 6-week genetics unit used in a high school biology classroom setting as a replacement curriculum incorporating and integrating the topics of meiosis and protein synthesis with genetics. The immersive, game-like environment infuses virtual experimentation in genetics with a narrative of an ongoing quest to heal a dragon with a genetic disease. The genetics of dragons and their model species, the drake, reflect accurate, real-world genetics. Each trait is based on one or more genes from model organisms such as mouse, lizard, and fruit fly and integrated into a small but realistic genome. As students progress, they unlock story elements that contain clues to the dragon’s disease and its connection to an actual disease in humans: oxytranscarbamylase (OTC) deficiency. These story elements emphasize the genomic-level similarity between species that underlies the use of model organisms in genetics.”
Use and architecture
According to McElroy-Brown & Reichsman (2019) [2], “Geniventure is designed to be used in classrooms, with guidance and reflection facilitated by a teacher.”.
The system also includes an intelligent tutoring system that “tracks students’ actions as they play, with each action tied to one or more specific genetics concepts. The ITS provides students with real-time visual feed-back and text-based hints targeting the specific concepts the student may be having trouble with. At the same time, the ITS relays the relevant information to a teacher dashboard.”[2]. A teacher dashboard provides teachers with real-time student progress and performance data and allows a teacher to adjust his/her strategy and to coach individual students.
When a learner first connects he will land in an optional kind of role playing game setting where he/she has to rescue a dragon hurt by an arrow. In order to help the dragon, the learner has to find a guild and the guild will only help if he learns how to laboratory work etc.
The Geniverse (i.e. the lab announced by the story) includes an office which includes a case log that includes various learning activities grouped by level.
Bibliography
See Articles and papers at concord.org
References
- ↑ Wilson, C. D., Reichsman, F., Mutch-Jones, K., Gardner, A., Marchi, L., Kowalski, S., … Dorsey, C. (2018). Teacher Implementation and the Impact of Game-Based Science Curriculum Materials. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 27(4), 285–305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-017-9724-y
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 McElroy-Brown, K., & Reichsman, F. (2019). Genetics with dragons. Science Scope, 42(8), 62-69.