EcoChains: Arctic Futures is one of many interactive games and activities available on the Ask A Biologist website.
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National Science Foundation, grants # 1239783 and 1928235
"Stickier" learning through gameplay: An effective approach to climate change education
The EcoChains: Arctic Futures game was found to be as effective as an article in teaching content of the impacts of climate change over the short term, and was more effective than the article in long-term retention of new information. Game players also had higher levels of engagement and perceptions that they knew ways to help protect Arctic ecosystems. Furthermore, they were more likely to recommend the game to friends or family.
Impact of gameplay vs. reading on mental models of social-ecological systems: a fuzzy cognitive mapping approach
Those reading an article with the same information as the game, perceived a more complex system, with overall learning gains approximately twice those of the game players. However, game players demonstrated similar learning gains as article readers regarding the climate system, actions causing environmental problems and protecting the Arctic, and the importance of the base- and mid-levels of the food chain. These findings contribute to the growing evidence showing that games are important resources to include as strategies for building capacity to understand and steward sustainable social-ecological systems, in both formal and informal education.
Polar fun and games
Fewer than one in four Americans (23%) are currently in a formal educational setting — a school, college, or university (U.S. Census 2018). To engage people in learning about the changing Polar Regions and inform public understanding of and response to climate change, we need creative methods — including games, apps, and simulations — to deliver polar and climate education to the broader public.
EcoChains: Arctic Futures, version 2.0