Hexacago Health Academy: Games for STEM Learning
Overview
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Hexacago Health Academy (HHA) is a five-year study funded by the NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA). We aim to make STEM & health learning more accessible by incorporating principles of game play, game design, systems thinking, and experiential learning into educational settings.
Approach +
Methodology
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Our innovative approach engages high school students in addressing major health issues through interactive and immersive experiences. By integrating game play, experiential learning, storytelling, systems thinking, and peer mentorship, we foster a deeper understanding and interest in STEM and health careers.
The program began with the development of educational board games co-designed by youth participants, and has since expanded to include comprehensive workshops and classroom activities that integrate game design and other interactive methods.
Project Components
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Final project components now available for young people, educators, families and youth-supporting organizations include the board games Hearsay, Babytown, and Smokestacks, along with curriculum activities to support incorporating systems thinking, game play, and game design in educational settings.
Games
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Initially prototyped by young people from Chicago, these educational board games have been refined and playtested by our team of faculty, researchers, designers, artists, educators, and youth stakeholders as part of Hexacago Health Academy workshops. The result is a suite of games that foster a sense of agency, empathy, and fun when it comes to health education.
Hearsay
Hearsay is a youth co-designed collaborative storytelling card game that aims to challenge narratives around sexual health by engaging young people in discussions about contraception. Players use cards to narrate a young person’s first year of college, earning points by integrating information about contraceptive methods and sexual health into the character’s decision-making within the story.
Request Hearsay>
hearsay rulebook>
Babytown
Babytown is a youth co-designed resource management game that centers around common stereotypes about young parents and young parenthood. In Babytown, players act as young parents, and must balance their social life, work, school, and the health and happiness of their baby.
Request Babytown>
babytown rulebook>
Demo video>
Smokestacks
Smokestacks is a resource management game that uses play-based learning to challenge beliefs about tobacco use by exposing the deceptive tactics of tobacco companies. Players take on the role of tobacco company executives, aiming to increase profits through targeted marketing campaigns while dealing with the public health impact of the tobacco industry.
Request Smokestacks>
smokestacks rulebook>
Demo video>
Curriculum Activities
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First developed for Ci3’s Hexacago Health Academy, these evidence-based experiential learning modules teach STEM concepts and game design along with social-emotional learning skills such as collaboration and presentation.
Science for Social Justice
Activities designed to teach STEM concepts through the lens of social justice and ecological systems thinking. Learners roleplay as scientists and health professionals analyzing real data to uncover the structures that make up our society today.
request an activity kit>
Game Design for Systems Thinking
Ready-made activities for learners to design their own educational game based on one that already exists. Pairs well with Smokestacks, Babytown, or Hearsay.
request an activity kit>
Game Design for Educators
A step-by-step guide to for educators to create effective educational games from scratch on the subject of their choice.
request an activity kit>
“Firstly, I think what stuck out to me the most is the way you guys approached educating us. I think the ways and strategies you guys did it, it really made the information stick with me longer than I thought it would’ve.”
Findings / Impact
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Research on Hexacago Health Academy games and interventions have assessed feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness among young people and stakeholders by conducting surveys before and after game play.
Hearsay
Results showed a significant increase in contraception knowledge, a decrease in negative attitudes towards contraception, and an increase in the perceived importance of communication with sexual partners following game play. Most participants reported that they did not find the game difficult to play and they enjoyed the use of storytelling. More than half agreed that Hearsay is a good way to learn about contraception, while many would like their school to use Hearsay in their classroom and would recommend the game to other young people.
Babytown
Research suggested increased association of teen parents with positive adjectives about their parenting capabilities following game play. Most youth liked completing goals in the game and found that Babytown was a good way to learn about being a teen parent. Most would like to use the game in the classroom, and many would recommend the game to other young people to play.
Smokestacks
After game play, participants had significantly more negative attitudes about the tobacco industry and an increased perception of the negative impacts of tobacco use. Participants also demonstrated increased knowledge of tobacco industry regulation following the intervention. Participants generally found Smokestacks to be easy to understand, easy to use, and fun. Additionally, they wanted to replay the game, recommend the game to others, and play the game at school. Qualitative responses indicated that participants found the game thought-provoking and it challenged their beliefs about the tobacco industry.
PUBLICATIONS
Game-Based Health Education: The Case of Hexacago Health Academy
View publication >
Increasing Anti-Tobacco Industry Attitudes Among Youth: A Pilot Study of a Multiplayer Educational Board Game
View publication >
