DNA Replication: Game-based Assessment Plan

No matter how many times you lose a life in a game, people will try again and again to progress to the next level or gain as many points, coins or stars as possible. In education, using games for learning has become a popular trend and a powerful motivator. In this post, I plan for developing a game-based assessment that will allow students to actively learn and think critically in a new context.

Overview:

Learning about the physiology of living things and the processes that occur within a cell can be quite confusing because such concepts are not visible to the human eye. In such biology lessons, I always try to find activities that can model these scientific topics where students are able to make connections and develop their scientific literacy. My game-based assessment plan will focus on molecular biology as the semiotic domain and students will be assessed on the process of DNA replication. By playing the game, students will be able to show what they learned by progressing through the multiple steps of DNA replication. The game will be built on software called Twine, whose affordances support and multistep process like DNA replication.

Game Description:

Students will take the role of a geneticist and will control all the enzymes and molecules needed to replicate the strand of DNA. The game mechanics will present multiple components, some are required to successfully replicate strand of DNA while others are needed for other processes within the cell (external grammar). Students must be able to navigate and choose the correct enzymes that govern each step and how each of the functions in DNA replication (internal grammar). If their choice is incorrect, they will see that they cannot progress to the next step, and must return and fix their mistake. For example, the enzyme helicase must be used first to unwind the strand of DNA so that they can access the bases. They will not be able to see the base sequence if they do not unwind the DNA and therefore will have to retry in order to progress to the next step. If the base pairing is incorrect, the game will show that their strand of DNA has a mutation and they can choose the enzyme that allows them to go back and fix their mistake. This allows students to assess their own understanding of the principles of base pairing and how this internal process determines external disorders. Once they successfully replicate the strand of DNA, they will complete and win the game.

In order to complete the game, students will also be assessed on their understanding of the symbols and images that are specific to this particular semiotic domain. When learning about genetics, students must be able to identify and understand symbols and their meanings. Below are some examples that will be used in the game and what they mean:

1. 3’ and 5’ - direction of a DNA strand

2. A, C, T, G, and U – bases found in nucleic acids (note: U is not needed in DNA replication but is a base used for DNA transcription)

3. Words that end with ‘ase’ – represents enzymes (note: some of these enzymes are not involved in DNA replication)

4. Fragmented lines – Okazaki fragments

Teaching Context:

Students will have learned about the steps of DNA replication before playing the game. The game will fit in as the first part of my formative assessment to address any misconceptions or learning gaps that students might have. After they complete the game, students will be presented with a human disorder where a mutation has occurred in the same DNA strand the replicated in the game. Students will be able to understand their role as a geneticist and what possible solutions they can come up with to fix or modify this mistake. This will allow them to reflect on the game they just played and show what they have learned.

Overall, this assessment will address the elements presented in the Assessment Design Checklist (ADC) that I have developed in my earlier posts. The game will clearly present the objective of the game (question 1) and how it is aligned with what they learned. Completion of the game is good evidence that learning has taken place, but Twine does not provide me with data on the steps they struggled with the most. In order to gain insights on student understanding, I have added the second part as a reflection and evidence of learning has taken place (question 2). The game will have feedback incorporated throughout the game depending on their response to each passage (question 4). If they have done a step incorrectly, the next passage will contain the feedback they need to fix their mistake. If they have chosen correctly, they will see that they have successfully progressed to the next step/passage. I plan on minimizing the amount of text as much as possible in each passage and reducing any language barriers that students might have. This will remove obstacles for second language learners and allows them to focus on their scientific literacy. The reflection in part 2, will allow students to respond in multiple ways such as written answers or drawing and labeling (question 5).

Stay tuned for the first game prototype!