Can Digital Games Teach Scientific Inquiry?

Abstract

Digital games are increasingly being used to teach the processes of scientific inquiry. These games often make at least one of four key assumptions about scientific inquiry: that inquiry is a problem-solving process which is value-neutral, bounded by strict subject-matter constraints, and conducted by practitioners separable from society. However, feminist, STS, and pragmatist scholars have demonstrated the flawed nature of these assumptions. They highlight instead that: inquiry is a process of problematization that is value-laden, unbounded by subject-matter, and conducted by practitioners who socially, politically, and culturally situated. In this paper, I argue that three of the key affordances of digital games-their procedural, evaluative, and fictional qualities-can constrain their ability to teach inquiry understood as such. I examine these affordances and their relationship to the nature of scientific inquiry through a design case examining our game Solaria designed to teach students how to inquire into the development of solar cells. Specifically, I ask: To what extent can the procedural, evaluative, and fictional affordances of digital games (designed to teach students about solar cells) support the learning of scientific inquiry as a problematizing, situated, and value-laden process, unbounded by subject-matter constraints? I discuss how these affordances of games supported but ultimately limited the design of the game by trivializing real situations, predetermining criteria for progress, and distancing students from real-world risks and responsibilities, respectively. In conclusion, I briefly discuss how understanding these limitations can support the design of educational environments to complement digital games for teaching scientific inquiry.