Results from a study of the effects of playing Immune Attack on students' confidence in the context of molecular biology.

1. How does this make you feel? I want to demonstrate that students gain confidence with molecular biology by playing Immune Attack. This confidence, I argue, will make them better life long learners. It may also show us how to present molecular biology the best way for kids who have played the game. I began with one diagram last spring and this fall I have expanded the confidence part of the survey to 5 questions.

2. Students’ Confidence increase due to playing Immune Attack I would be able to understand this diagram if I read it and think about it. 1 Disagree definitely 2 Disagree somewhat 3 Neutral 4 Agree somewhat 5 Agree definitely Results are statistically significant T-Test, 2 sided, gives a p value of 0.00012 Control Immune Attack Difference Grades 7,8,9 Female 2.72 3.36 0.64 Male 2.69 3.18 0.49 Grades 10,11, 12 Female 2.66 3.15 0.50 Male 3.00 3.46 0.46 Total 2.77 3.25 0.57

3. I would be able to understand this diagram if I read it and think about it. 1 Disagree definitely 2 Disagree somewhat 3 Neutral 4 Agree somewhat 5 Agree definitely

4. Trends in the data suggest confidence increases for boys and girls. I would be able to understand this diagram if I read it and think about it. 1 Disagree definitely 2 Disagree somewhat 3 Neutral 4 Agree somewhat 5 Agree definitely 7,8,9, Girls 7,8,9 Boys 7,8,9, Girls 7,8,9 Boys Immune Attack n = 50 Immune Attack n = 60 Control n = 36 Control n = 42 1 3 8 8 7 2 9 8 7 12 3 14 15 9 12 4 15 23 11 9 5 9 6 1 2

5. Trends in the data suggest confidence increases for boys and girls. I would be able to understand this diagram if I read it and think about it. 1 Disagree definitely 2 Disagree somewhat 3 Neutral 4 Agree somewhat 5 Agree definitely HS Girls HS Boys HS Girls HS Boys Control n = 35 Control n = 27 Immune Attack n = 39 Immune Attack n = 35 1 7 4 3 4 2 12 5 12 6 3 5 7 4 3 4 8 9 16 14 5 3 2 4 8

6. 1. Cartoonish On topic 2. Non cartoonish On topic 3. Non cartoonish Off topic 4. Non cartoonish Off topic 5. 3D and Cartoonish Off topic Confidence questions, next round The 5 were chosen to investigate whether confidence increase was topic dependent: Would kids report feeling able to understand ANY molecular biology diagram or ONLY ones about transmigration? Additionally, would the style of the diagram affect their feeling of confidence? I hypothesize that diagrams that are on topic will be more confidence inspiring. I hypothesize that 3 dimensional and 3 dimensional cartoons will inspire more confidence than 2D drawings. This Fall I have included the same diagram and added 4 more. I categorized my diagrams this way. You can finds all 5 in my survey at http://101112.questionpro.com and a power point slide of a rough summary of my data so far. The protocol was the same as for the previous data: Protocol: week 1 half of each class plays IA or a control game for 40 min Week 2 same halves play same games for another 40 min 1 or 2 days later, all take my survey online.

7. Students’ Confidence with 3 dimensional depictions of molecular structures increases due to playing Immune Attack I would be able to understand this diagram if I read it and thought about it. 1 Disagree definitely 2 Disagree somewhat 3 Neutral 4 Agree somewhat 5 Agree definitely N = 21 for Control N = 16 for IA Statistically significant, T = 2.13 P = 0.04 * * This is the fifth diagram These are the results so far for all 5 diagrams

8. Boys and girls comprehended the game mechanics and remembered key details of the game and objects. Game-Specific questions from Spring 2009 (7 th , 8 th and 9 th grades only) IMMUNE ATTACK Game Specific Questions 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 # Total kids 80 80 79 80 80 79 80 % Correct 63% 80% 20% 94% 61% 66% 88% # Girls 36 36 36 36 36 35 36 % Correct 69% 81% 17% 86% 53% 57% 89% 4.3 Average level of the game reached by Boys # Correct 25 29 6 31 19 20 32 3.9 Average level of the game reached by Girls Six levels available # Boys 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 % Correct 57% 80% 23% 100% 68% 73% 86% # Correct 25 35 10 44 30 32 38 Girls minus Boys 13% 1% -6% -14% -15% -16% 3% "Winners" Girls Girls Boys Boys Boys Boys Girls Answers 1 What color were the Pseudomonas bacteria in the game Immune Attack? Green 2 What color were the Monocytes in the Game Immune Attack? Blue 3 What color were the Neutrophils in the Game Immune Attack? Green 4 What is the arrow pointing to (Is pointing to a Selectin in Transmigration level A wiggly thing you need to shoot to win 5 .. Which color object above will make monocytes stop? (see a Selectin, an ICAM and a blue protein). Bown 6 What is the arrow pointing to (Is pointing to a Selectin in Transmigration level A protein that makes Monocytes slow down. 7 What kind of cell is this? (See monocyte from the game). Monocyte