A Pilot Study of College Students' Experiences with an Educational Game to Learn Difficult Plant Science Concepts

College students are typically challenged when learning science content in introductory courses. Particularly, students majoring in agriculture and natural resources related sciences need to master difficult plant science concepts such as photosynthesis and respiration. At the same time, students benefit from learning abstract concepts using educational games because they are more engaged in learning and had greater retention when computer games are used compared to conventional classroom instruction. The purpose of this pilot test was to describe college students’ experiences of playing an early prototype of an educational game focused on learning about the concepts of photosynthesis and respiration. When developing educational games it is important to conduct early field-tests of the prototype to get feedback from students. Results from this study guided the instructional design team to more accurately target educational outcomes with relevant game features. Early feedback is critical in educational game development, and this pilot provides important information moving forward with continued development of the project.