Revitalizing the Physics Curriculum: Introducing Game-Based Learning as an Effective Educational Technique in the Physics Curriculum

Abstract

In today's society, many of the challenges that we face, such as renewable energy and disease treatment and prevention can only be resolved through the assistance of science and technology. This epiphany has resulted in a desire for educational institutions to place a strong emphasis on improving today's students knowledge and skills in the areas of science, technology, and mathematics. In all, this is no easy task to accomplish as our traditional methods of instruction in science are not adequate enough to achieve the desired goals for students. Thus, the responsibility of preparing newer generations of learners falls to science teachers, who must devise new ways of imparting the knowledge and skills that are necessary to succeed in this rapidly evolving world. Game-based learning is one such method that offers educators a unique and engaging way to approach scientific content. The overall intent of this project was to design lessons that adapted digital games and simulations to demonstrate how game-based learning strategies could be used to make learning science engaging and fun. In particular, the games and simulations used were used to address major topics in the New York State physics curriculum.