How can digital games and activities reveal the cause-and-effect relationships in hidden systems to students in 3-5th grade?
Platform: Dynamic websites, Augmented Reality, webVR
Methods: Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research
Project Type: Science Communication, Academic Research
Responsibilities: Content Development, Instructional Design, Research Design, User Research, Project Management, Data Analysis & Visualization, Reporting
Background: WaterWays is a 5-part curriculum supplement for 3-5th grade students. Through activities on a personalized website and web VR, WaterWays introduces students to environmental science concepts, highlights the link between environmental health and human health, and showcases steps that students can take as environmental stewards in their own neighborhoods. WaterWays was created by Killer Snails with support from NIH Small Business Innovation Research Award #R44GM139577.
Action: I led instructional design and user research in the company’s 0-to-1 development process. I collaborated with subject matter experts and a cross-functional team to develop activities including minigames, videos, and interactive simulations. I designed and owned an iterative user research process, building from one-on-one user interviews and task analysis, to testing with classrooms of teachers and students using observation, digital logs, interviews, and surveys to drive development.
Result: WaterWays was launched in 2023, and won Silver in the K-12 Education category at the 2023 International Serious Play Awards, and “Trailblazer: Early Learning (Pre-K to 6)” in the Educators Pick Best of STEM 2024 Awards. One module was spun off into a popular digital feature for publication Science Friday.
Links:
Down the Drain: How Water Travels Through City Sewers (Link)
See It and Be It: Designing Immersive Experiences to Build STEM Skills and Identity in Elementary and Middle School (Publication)
Building WaterWays: Investigating AR for Environmental Education (Publication)
Killer Snails: WaterWays (Link)