Game Title:

Inquiry
Premise:
The overall purpose of the game is so that students have a firm grasp of content knowledge in
Biology. I want students ranging from K-8th grade to explore the world of science through prior
knowledge, the scientific method, overall experimentation, and really get a hands on feel through
the game/simulation through inquiry. Inquiry learning has several features which include:
Students explore a phenomenon and develop their own explanations, students are engaged in
active learning; not passive, students develop concrete knowledge prior to abstract ideas, and
teachers are Guides or facilitators. Inquiry is based on the theory of constructivism which
states that students have pre-existing knowledge. My game in which I named Inquiry will be
modeled not only by Gange's Nine Events of Instruction but also by the 5E Instructional Model
(Bybee et al., 2006)
1) Engage- This starts the process by getting students to start thinking about the topic
that is going to be covered in class. This can take many forms including questions,
demonstration, or reading all within the game/simulation.
2) Explore-Students investigate a phenomenon through experimentation or observation
in the game.
3) Explain- Students develop their own explanations about the phenomenon based on
the evidence collected. In many cases, this will then lead to whole class discussion
where abstract ideas and definitions can be introduced. Once students have a concrete
background to work with, these more difficult ideas can be more readily learned.
4) Extend or Expand-The students expand on their understanding by applying the
knowledge to a new situation, either in the game or on another topic covered in class
or real life situations.

5) Evaluate-Students understanding is assessed by the teacher both in the game and in

class application.
The overall concept of my game is that students will be able to explore, learn, experiment, and
engage themselves all in K-8th grade science curriculum according to Kentuckys Common Core
Standards and through inquiry. My proposal for Inquiry is an educational internet site geared
towards children from grades K-8. Inquiry engages its users in learning about a broad range of
subtopics dealing with all science/Biology. The users of the game can engage in virtual world
simulation based games and role play sponsored by a wide range of science entities such as
Characteristics of Life, Nature of Science, The Cell and Introduction to Microscopy, Membrane
Structure and Function, Photosynthesis, Cellular Respiration, Mitosis and the Cell Cycle,
Meiosis, Life Cycles (Reproduction and Development), Inheritance (Mendelian and NonMendelian Genetics), Structure of DNA and DNA replication, Gene Expression, Evolution,
Naming, classification, and biodiversity, Introduction to Ecology and Populations, Community
Interactions, Ecosystems; Energy Transformations and Nutrient Cycling.
Narrative:
Overview:
The fate of all humanity is in your hands! Dr. Mendel has escaped and is once again attempting
to create super genius mad scientists to take over the world through the use of inheritance and
genetic code. Dr. Mendel has broken into both the school of Intelligent Genetic Traits and Most
Evil Genetic Traits in attempt to create an offspring that will injustice all. It is up to you to go
through Mendels created Lab of Biology to rescue the kidnapped and capture Dr. Mendel once
and for all. You must go through each part of the Lab and complete Dr. Mendels series of tests,
quizzes, experiments, and games to break free each captured victim. Good luck, the world is
counting on you!

The player will step into the role of one of the elite Intelligent Genetic Trait students. You have
managed to get away from Dr. Mendel, who attempted to kidnap you and use you as a part of his
science experiment. You are the only hope left for humanity. It is up to you to not only rescue
your friends, but also rescue the other victims. You will go through one Lab with twenty-four
stops in order to rescue all twenty-four captured victims.
Best Supporting Character:
Your supporting character in this game will be your best friend Mito, who will stay back at the
Intelligent Genetics Trait School and help you from there. Mito will essentially help you navigate
through the game. Anytime you are stuck or need help with any part of the game, you can call
him and he will give you clues or highlight what step you need to do next.
Other Supporting Characters:
On each level that you play, there will be the support of the kidnapped character. Each kidnapped
character will help you with the topic and the task that you are to complete. All twenty-four
characters will explain each level briefly, tell you the task, and give you further information if
you need it. When you actually go to play the game, your friend Mito will help you do that.
There will be two modes that you can select when initially starting to play the game Inquiry. The
modes are Educational Mode or Independent Mode.
Game Play:
Choosing an Avatar:
Before the player can begin their adventure in saving the world, they must first choose an avatar.
The player can choose a gender (male, female, other) and has numerous options on ethnicity,
weight, clothing, hair color, accessories, etc. I want the player to feel like they can create an
avatar that really depicts who they are if they choose to or just create an avatar that they will
enjoy saving the world with.
Choosing the Mode for game play:

In Educational Mode, your game progress will be controlled by your teacher. Your teacher will
play the role of Mito. Your teacher will be able to check your accomplishments that you have
made on each mini-game. If your teacher feels that you have grasped the concept or answered
enough questions correctly, than she will grant you permission to rescue the character that is
kidnapped on that level and then you can move on. However, if your teacher feels like you are
not ready to continue, then she can create an additional quiz, experiment, etc to complete before
advancing to the next level. Your teacher can use your game as a way to monitor your progress
and obtain a grade for each learning target/topic.
Independent Mode is just the standard mode of the game. There are no additional tasks to
complete other than what is created in the game already. Here you are to simply complete
whatever task you are supposed to for each level. For instance, if you are on the level of
Characteristics of Living things, than you will just need to sort the characteristics under the
correct heading. If you do that correctly, than you can advance to the next game and you have
freed the first kidnapped character.
Levels/rooms:
There are a total of twenty-four levels/rooms. There is one large biology lab and there are
twenty-four rooms you must enter and complete. Each room that you complete you will rescue
one of the captured characters. Within each room there will be one topic but could be up to three
mini-games within each. Some of the games may be like sorting words into a category, creating
an experiment, filling out a scientific method worksheet, completing a puzzle, watching a video
and answering questions, reflections, graphic organizers, etc.
Playing the Game:
Once you have created your avatar and selected a game mode, it is now time to start working
towards rescuing all of the captured victims from Dr. Mendel. As you enter Dr. Mendels Lab of

Biology, you will notice that you cannot see any other levels except the first one. You cannot skip
ahead until you have completed the level before the next. Your avatar will walk up to the Lab and
enter the first room/level. Each room/level will look different and obtain information about a
different topic in biology. All the rooms will also have multiple tasks you must do.
So lets start with the first level to give you an example of how it will play out. Once you have
entered the lab for Characteristics of Living things (remember this is the only level that will be
available until you complete it) a screen will appear with the first captured character. When the
screen appears you are to listen to the character so you know what you must do. For
Characteristics of living things, the first task you must complete is call Mito and Think-pairshare with him all the characteristics that make up living things. Once you have created a list,
you will then work on your second task. You will walk up to the chalk board in the lab. You will
need to sort the ten words under Living, Non-Living, and Once Living. After you have
completed that task you will then click on the check button. Mito will check your work. If
Mito determines that all of your information is correct and you have successful completed all of
the tasks within that level, then you have freed the first captured character and can continue on to
the next level/topic. However, if you did not complete the level correctly, you can go back and
try it again. The first time you have to attempt the game on your own, the second try you have to
go back and correct the task, after the second try, you can ask for Mito to highlight and show you
what mistakes you have made. Once you have corrected all of your mistakes, you will then free
the captured character.
Map:
On the sidebar of the game, you can click on the map. The map is there just to help you stay
organized and show which levels you havent completed and which levels you have. They will
be colored green if they have been completed. Also in the map section you will have twenty-four

squares with the names of the characters and which room they are in. Once you have rescued a
character, their picture will appear in the box. Once you have completed a level or multiple
levels, you can use the map to navigate back to anywhere to revisit. Some of the rooms require
prior knowledge on other topics to be completed. Allowing you to go back and look at completed
levels can help you recall information.
Contacting Mito:
At any time during the game you can contact your supporting friend to help you with anything.
Sometimes he will give you additional information, clues, and even highlight the next step if you
still cant figure something out. On the sidebar of the game will be a T.V. screen. You can call
him and he will appear. The T.V. screen acts as the help button.
Captured Characters:
In each of the twenty-four different rooms in the lab you will find a different captured character.
Each character is an expert in the room that they are in. They will tell you what you are supposed
to do in order to free them. Anytime you need directions on a task again, you simply hit their
picture at the bottom of the screen while you are in the room. They will repeat the directions for
you on the task that you are on.
Educational Value:
Inquiry is based on the theory of constructivism which states that students have pre-existing
knowledge. However, traditional instruction treats students as blank slates which can be fed
information; hence the use of lectures, demonstration Lab, and other passive teaching
approaches. Inquiry recognizes that students have prior knowledge and they construct new
knowledge through direct experiences with the subject matter that challenge their previous
understanding. (American Association of the Advancement of Science, 1993).
To understand why science should be taught through inquiry, you must first consider how people
learn. As a general rule, people learn concrete ideas more rapidly than abstract. Therefore, it is

desirable to approach this game called Inquiry with this in mind. Through the scientific method
(in some parts of the game), investigation, players have the experience conclusions that allow
them to develop concrete understanding. Once this has been done, it becomes easier for them to
assimilate abstract ideas about the material. (National Research council, 1996).
Consider teaching mitosis (which would be one of the mini-games in the Biology Lab.) The
traditional approach is to explain what happens in each step while simultaneously introducing
vocabulary. This is then followed up by a lab which demonstrates each of the stages. The ideas
are very abstract for the players and difficult to assimilate. Using an inquiry based approach; the
players in this game would be first shown images of the various stages and then asked to
describe what is happening in their own terms. This allows students to develop a concrete
understanding of the important features of mitosis and then once they have done that, then the
player must set up an experiment with the help of the game to explore it further. Once they have
done so successfully, the teacher will check their work, and then they can move onto the next
mini-game.
This game also covers Kentucky Common core standards in Science from grades K-8th grade.
Teachers can use this game as a tool to help facilitate learning in a variety of topics in the area of
biology. Students will learn the scientific method and its processes, how to conduct an
experiment, lab work, tools, vocabulary, and numerous graphic organizers that help formatively
assess student learning.
Player Motivation:
Players will have a variety of reasons to play Inquiry. There will be some heroism in that players
will take the role of the rescuer to try to save the twenty-four captured victims from Dr. Mendel.
Some students may not get to explore science like this since the new common core standards for
the state of Kentucky have changed. Many schools do not focus on science and I feel like

students are really missing out on the true hands on feel for it. With this game, students will gain
knowledge in multiple facets of biology, master science experiments, and rescue each captured
character which will be instant gratification for the player.
This game also motivates its players because they know they have to learn this for their class
(depending on the mode selected for the game). The teacher is the one who can grant them
permission to continue to move forward in the game or if they have to go back to repeat one of
the mini-games. The game is not only fun and rewarding, but it can also be used as a grading tool
for teachers.
Target Market:
The targeted audience for my game will be anywhere from children ages eight and older. I have
designed my game so that it appeals to not only a wide variety of age ranges but also gender and
ethnicity. I have also geared my game to appeal to game lovers of many types. Children younger
than eight years old may not possess the hand-eye coordination and the strategizing abilities
required to advance in the game. Additionally, a child younger than eight years old may not be
able to grasp the scientific method and other biological terms which is the crux of the
experimentation within the game.
Genre:
Inquiry fits into a hybrid genre of role playing, puzzle, graphic adventure, 3D, and strategy
games. For example, the player assumes the role of a genius, who is rescuing his or her friends in
the game. As the player continues their adventure by completing the mini-games in the through
the Biology Lab, the player will have to overcome challenges by puzzle-solving and problemsolving. Additionally, he or she will have to play several games, answers questions, and complete
experiments in order to break free the captured victims from Dr. Mendel.
Target Rating:

The target rating for my game from the Entertainment Software Rating Board will be rated E for
Everyone. Games with this rating contain content which the board believes is suitable for
children ages eight and older; they can contain infrequent use of "mild" or cartoon/fantasy
violence and language.
Licensing and Copyrights:
Inquiry, the game, does not violate any license or copyrights. However, the actual word Inquiry
has been prominently used in other science articles on the internet, but not actual games. For
example, if you Google search Inquiry games you will find several searches that will appear to
have journal articles relating to why scientific inquiry is used in positive relation with gamebased learning.
Literature Cited:
American Association for the Advancement of Science. (1993). Benchmarks for Science literacy.
New York: Oxford University press.
Bybee R. W., Taylor, J.A., Gardner, A., Van Scotter, P., Powell, J. C., Westbrook, A., and
Landes, N. (2006). The BSCS 5E instruction model: origins, effectiveness, and
applications. Colorado Springs: BSCS.
www.bscs.org/curriculumdevelopment/features/bscs5es.html (accessed 19 May 2011).
National Research Council. (1996). National Science Education Standards. Washington, DC:
National Academy Press.

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