Read “High Chair Philosophers” at Scientific American.

What do sippy cups have to do with STEM learning?

Definitely more than you might think, says Elisabeth McClure, recent Cooney Center fellow and lead author of STEM Starts Early, a 2017 report produced by New America and the Cooney Center.

Every day, early learners lay groundwork for more advanced science, technology, engineering, and math skills by engaging in impromptu experiments through trial-and-error interactions with the objects around them. Enter the sippy cup: a notoriously gravity-prone accessory that’s front and center in the daily life (and experimentation processes) of many toddlers.

To find out more about how young learners explore the world around them—and learn how to support their natural curiosity—read McClure’s new article in Scientific American: “High Chair Philosophers.”

The potential of digital games for education is enhanced by the fact that digital games are everywhere. In 2008, the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 97 percent of those ages 12–17 played computer, web, portable, or console games, and 50 percent of them reported daily or near-daily gameplay. Another Pew study reported that digital games generated $25 billion in sales in 2010.

Studies have demonstrated the potential of digital games to support learning through conceptual understanding, process skills and practices, and by informing players’ attitudes, beliefs, identity, and engagement. Research also demonstrates that not all digital games are equally effective in promoting such development.

What Past Studies Reveal

Recent meta-analyses demonstrate that games can support learning, but that a wide range of design choices and game genres can impact their effectiveness. Reports by the National Research Council’s on games and simulations, as well as other studies on games for learning, have produced similar conclusions:

The design of games determines their efficacy for learning as much as the medium.

This shouldn’t be surprising. Nobody would argue that “all books are good for learning” or that “all lectures are good for learning.” Design and fit determine efficacy. The same is true when using games as a medium for learning.

When conducting the Clark, Tanner-Smith, and Killingsworth (2016) meta-analysis, our team at Vanderbilt University reviewed 69 quantitative studies to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction through digital games versus non-game conditions. Our analysis showed that game-based instruction significantly enhanced student learning relative to non-game conditions.

Furthermore, while the role of design is often de-emphasized in debates over whether digital games are “better” or “worse” for students than traditional instruction, our meta-analysis demonstrated that the design quality of a game is associated with as large or larger of an effect as the delivery medium.

Balancing Engagement and Efficacy

Design matters—and so does fit. We benefit from using the right tool for the job, whether the context is carpentry or education. The design of a game intended for learning needs to align with the goals of the curriculum and the interests of the students.

Surge, a character from the physics games designed by the Vanderbilt team.

Kids enjoy a wide variety of games, particularly when the games are in the school setting. In distributing a series of physics games developed by my research lab, we found that students were excited to play our games, even though the games were not as polished or high-tech as expensive commercial titles. Similarly, recreational “retro games” emulating the look and feel of pixilated games from the ’80s and ’90s are also popular commercially. Clearly, digital games don’t need to be cutting edge visually to be engaging in schools. But can they be effective?

In our 2016 meta-analysis, we found the same or higher efficacy for games that featured simpler visual design elements when compared to games that were more complex visually. This finding parallels a 2013 quantitative meta-analysis of digital games and learning by Wouters and colleagues. Both studies found schematic games were more effective than cartoon-like or realistic, serious games. Fancier graphics can actually distract students depending on the learning goals. Our meta-analysis reviewed broad design sophistication to demonstrate both simple and complex game mechanics can prove effective.

A Controlled Study Using Games Integrated into Curricula

One critical finding of the meta-analysis was the importance of substantial integration and exposure to the educational games in order for learning to be effective. Studies featuring multiple gameplay sessions demonstrated stronger learning outcomes than those with only a single gameplay session. As such, in-class curricula that integrates digital games over multiple days should prove more effective than single-day activities.

Building on our research from the meta-analysis, we collaborated with Legends of Learning to study the efficacy of integrating typical educational games across an extended curriculum. The study compared results from more than 1,000 students of 13 teachers in 10 diverse urban, suburban, and rural schools. Teachers integrated a set into their existing curricula on Jacksonian democracy.

The games developed for the pilot study are typical in the sense that they’re similar to other educational games one might see in a school environment. Developed for Android tablets, none of the games were high-tech or big-budget commercial games. The games were designed, however, to support the learning goals of the curriculum, which focused on the social studies topic of Jacksonian democracy. Many of them incorporated simple game mechanics typical of other recreational games found on tablets, and none involved bare gamification through points or badges added to worksheets.

Teachers integrated the games into their classrooms for at least three weeks of instruction and designed the rest of the curriculum as they saw fit. Each teacher taught at least one class with the games and at least one class without the games.

The results showed significantly higher gains for the game condition in terms of multiple-choice, open-response factual outcomes, evidentiary depth, and student engagement outcomes. (We excluded the one teacher who reported a failed implementation.) The game condition resulted in higher scores for all outcomes, and student engagement and evidentiary depth remained significant.

To learn more, visit the Legends of Learning blog.

Teachers reported in surveys and interviews that students were more highly engaged in their game classrooms. In addition, the games were particularly beneficial for special education students and students who were typically less engaged. Ninety-two percent of the teachers strongly agreed or agreed with the survey question that they would like to use games like the ones in the study in the future. Teachers on average said that they would want to use games for 32 percent of their instructional time in the future, with answers ranging from 17 to 50 percent. Teachers were highly favorable toward continuing to use similar games in their curricula if available.

Our findings demonstrate that typical educational games, when carefully coordinated with learning goals, do support significant learning and increased engagement.

The impact of games depends on the quality of their design and the alignment of their design with the curricula’s learning objectives. What really matters is the design of the games, their alignment with the learning goals of the curriculum, and ongoing, extended opportunities for students to interact with the games. Games do not need to be elaborate for learning to be effective.

Doug Clark, professor of the learning sciences and science education at Vanderbilt University, investigates the learning processes through which people, particularly middle school and high school students, come to understand core science concepts in the context of digital learning environments and games. This work focuses primarily on conceptual change, inquiry, modeling, explanation, collaboration, and argumentation.

Recently, with support from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, the Kids’ Inclusive and Diverse Media Action Project (KIDMAP) relaunched the former Diversity in Apps podcast under a new name: “Diversity Sauce.” Twice a month on Diversity Sauce, we discuss the latest on diversity and inclusion, and interview key players in the children’s media space.

Why “Diversity Sauce”? The name was inspired by one of our founding members (and a previous guest on the podcast), Dr. Kevin Clark, director of George Mason University’s Center for Digital Media Innovation and Diversity.

At a panel KIDMAP hosted in the fall of 2015, Kevin explained how he is often asked to consult on children’s media products at the end of their creation process to “sprinkle on some diversity sauce”—an ineffective approach compared to baking diversity into every stage of development. The phrase stuck with my co-host Amy Kraft and I, both as we helped shape the framework for the Diverse and Inclusive Growth (DIG) Toolkit and when we saw how some companies clunkily try to add “diversity sauce” at the end of a process.

When Kevin was a guest on our podcast, he talked about the improvements he had seen from companies over the past 10 years, and discussed the work that still needed to be done. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation:

“[Creating diverse and inclusive media] is not a one-off thing. This is not about ‘bring Kevin in. He’ll do a diversity workshop and it will all be better.’ It doesn’t work that way. And typically when companies approach me and want me to do that, I’ll say no. And I’ll tell them why.

I say, ‘Look, I don’t think this is going to work for your organization, especially with what you’re trying to do.’ The groups that I do work with understand that this is a long-term commitment. The challenge that I do see, though, is that I try and get companies to recognize that diversity is as important as the content areas that they oftentimes plan for.”

View full transcript.

Over the past year, Amy and I have also been able to talk to researchers like Vikki Katz focused on the need for diverse and inclusive children’s media, as well as companies like PBS and I Am Elemental who have made diversity a core tenet of their work. One of our episodes with guest Raul Gutierrez, CEO of TinyBop, was recently featured on the App Fairy podcast.

When it came time to rebrand Diversity in Apps to KIDMAP and rename our podcast, “Diversity Sauce” felt like the perfect fit. The podcast gives Amy and me a forum to banter about topics we care deeply about, and more importantly, it’s an outlet for people to share the great work they are doing in this area. With over 34 episodes under our belt, it’s been an inspiring and fun process, as well an ongoing reminder of the work KIDMAP and so many others are doing to ensure that Diversity Sauce is baked—not just sprinkled—into every children’s media product in development.

If you (or someone you know) are interested in being a guest on our podcast, drop us a note at joinkidmap@gmail.com. Subscribe to the Diversity Sauce podcast on iTunes or Soundcloud. To learn more about our work, visit joinkidmap.org

Kabir Seth is a writer and creator of digital apps for children, including the Ramayana app  and Storied Myth. Kabir is also a founding member of KIDMAP, a grassroots organization created to raise awareness and engage in research about the need for inclusive, equitable, and diverse children’s media. Follow @joinKIDMAP and @kdawg2332 on Twitter.

Learn more at joanganzcooneycenter.org/appguide

On a recent visit to Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to lead 15 Spanish-speaking moms on a field test of a new media and technology workshop produced by Abriendo Puertas-Opening Doors and Common Sense Latino, a Common Sense Media initiative. Developed through two years of collaboration and research, the workshop is designed to provide lower-income parents and caregivers with a roadmap to navigate the digital world safely, teaching them how to use technology for learning and create a balanced media experience for their families.

During the field test, we spent over two hours completing activities, showing videos, sharing resources, and, most importantly, receiving feedback on what the moms learned that day, along with their suggestions for improving the workshop. Their responses couldn’t have been more enthusiastic and positive. It was inspiring to see their interest and energy, hear their thoughtful questions, and feel their gratitude at the end of the workshop. The feedback we received confirmed one of the key findings highlighted in Aprendiendo en casa, a Cooney Center research study led by June Lee and Brigid Barron in 2015:

“Latino parents—especially those who are Spanish-only speakers—have a strong desire for more information about media.”

One of the resources participants received was Apps en familia, a bilingual brochure available to educators, parents, librarians, and community organizations. Apps en familia includes actionable steps and essential information for those looking to better understand how to maximize kids’ screen time and online experiences.

The guide is based on the three C’s: context, content, and your child. It highlights the importance of using apps together with kids and explores real-world opportunities for integrating high-quality apps and tech resources to promote learning. To complement the Apps en familia guide, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, Common Sense Latino, and Abriendo Puertas also created a short video featuring a Latina mom and a parent educator that’s available in both Spanish and English.

Abriendo Puertas and Common Sense Latino continue to field-test the workshop with lower-income families in different cities, and will use participant feedback to refine it further throughout the second half of 2017. Both organizations are eager to see the program deployed across the country as a way to support more families in learning how to harness the power of media and technology for learning.

María Alvarez is Director of Latino Content and Outreach at Common Sense Media. Her Latino-focused parent advice has been featured on ¡Despierta América!, Noticias Telemundo, and CNN en Español and published in La Opinión, El Mensajero, and La Raza, among many other outlets. She has produced dozens of articles and features on commonsensemedia.org/latino that provide Latino parents with simple, actionable advice to help them learn how to choose and use media and technology wisely. Prior to working at Common Sense, Maria was a television executive producer and reporter in Venezuela, Honduras, and Chile for CNN en Español, Univision, Telemundo, and the Associated Press. Maria earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Universidad Central de Venezuela and her master’s degree in communications from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. You can follow Common Sense Latino on Facebook and follow María on Twitter @mariaoxalvarez.

In this special episode of the App Fairy Podcast, we feature part of an interview done by Kabir Seth of the podcast Diversity Sauce about a year ago (back then, his podcast was called “Diversity in Apps”).  Diversity Sauce is a project of the Kids Media and Diversity Project, which is also supported by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, so I was thrilled to have this chance to promote their show on the App Fairy.  Since that interview happened awhile ago, I followed up with a few questions of my own in a mini-update interview with Raul Gutierrez of Tinybop a few weeks back. He is such a great storyteller.  There were several points during my interview where my jaw dropped! Listen to the whole thing and learn why Tinybop considers their apps to be “quiet apps” (and why that’s so awesome) and how one of their apps has become (accidentally) a great way for kids and parents to discuss today’s political climate.

Then, be sure to check out the App Fairy website for links to learn more about diversity in children’s media AND about the incredible resources that Tinybop includes for everyone (for FREE) on their website.  If you’re an Android user—great news!  Tinybop is FINALLY available on Android, for a very inexpensive subscription fee of $10 a year for access to ALL of their apps (I’m normally not a fan of subscription-based models, but this one is such an incredible value for the cost that I can totally get behind it!). Have fun exploring the Tinybop world!

Watch Carissa share a demo Robot Factory on NBC15.com:

Carissa Christner works as a Youth Services Librarian in Madison, Wisconsin which she likes much better than her first job in high school, working at a theme park. She and her two young children love to test out new apps together, read books and go for walks in the woods. She blogs about her library adventures at librarymakers.blogspot.com. Check out the App Fairy website and follow along on Twitter at @appfairy.