Contract Closed

A More Perfect Union

NCER

Program: Small Business Innovation Research

Award amount: $196,621

Project director: Greg Trefry

Awardee:

Gigantic Mechanic

Year: 2018

Award period: 8 months (05/12/2018 - 01/12/2019)

Project type:

Phase I Development

Contract number: 91990018C0026

Purpose

In this project, the developers created a prototype of VOXPOP (formerly A More Perfect Union), a role-playing game for high school civics and history. The technology-facilitated intervention provides a library of simulations on a range of topics and historical moments with learning outcomes aligned to AP U.S. History Curriculum and the Common Core History Standards.

Project Activities

The prototype game developed during Phase I focused on the Shays Rebellion. In the game, students are cast in the roles of leading political and intellectual figures and tasked to learn facts from primary sources to navigate the challenges facing the nation. At the end of Phase I, results from pilot research with six history educators and 129 students in grade 11 found that the prototype functioned as planned during a two-day implementation. All teachers reported that a full product concept could be implemented within a social studies course to cover content that aligns to the curriculum.