ReGAME
Research-Enabling Game-Based Education (ReGAME) uses three concepts in combination, which teaches students about the nature and process of conducting scientific research. In ReGAME, instead of working with questions that already have answers, students explore and contribute to real-world scientific problems (research-enabling) through games (game-based) to learn about the nature of the specific problem in the context of their school curriculum (education). This process provides inquiry-based learning and fosters 21st century skills such as creativity and complex thinking, which are getting increasingly important. At the same time, students’ involvement in multiple steps of the research cycle (citizen science) democratizes science and advances research.
ReGAME uses games to relate research challenges to core curriculum - to cultivate a love of learning and curiosity for how the world works. Utilizing gamification and ‘extreme’ citizen science we aim to revolutionize 21st-century education by nurturing students creativity and intuition.
ReGAME consists of learning trajectories that can be integrated into a structured school curriculum, but also be followed by citizens on the basis of personal interest. Co-created Citizen science allows the general public to contribute to many steps of the research cycle, and even co-create gameplay, instead of simply producing data for researchers to analyze. The full democratic potential of citizen science will only be unleashed by incorporating these principles.
ReGAME aims to motivate both academically challenged students - by providing perspective and a less formalistic introduction to the topics - and more talented students - by offering the option to progress onwards, independent of their current educational level. ReGAME explores potentially undiscovered talent by nurturing the intuitively gifted instead of just the analytically gifted. ReGAME aims to fundamentally change the mentality of students, and thereby producing self-confident students who think like a scientist.
