Take Logical Thinking Into Nature!
And Bring Nature Back Into Code...
In collaboration with the Ontario Science Centre, our team developed an innovative workshop blending Minecraft and environmental science to explore invasive species. This initiative is designed to engage diverse learners in applying logical thinking across digital and natural realms.
Popular Video Game + Local Natural Environment:
What Can We Get Out of This Combination?
The popularity of Minecraft among middle school students came to our minds when we first started conceptualizing this project. At the same time, all of the team members agreed on the idea of adding some outdoor components to the curriculum.
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All of these sound exciting, but how can we combine these two parts of learning to create a comprehensive experience?
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After some discussions with our mentors from the Ontario Science Centre, we settled on a plan to make two sets of knowledge points intertwine with each other throughout the whole workshop: using the method of logical thinking to teach things that the students need to know about invasive species and solve invasive species challenges inside the video game using coding skills.
What to include?
It might sound easy to say, "Let's just put a little of everything everywhere," but in reality, it is almost impossible to make the connections when we are not clear about what to include in the learning activities.
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To simplify the knowledge system for our targeted audience (10 to 13-year-olds), I created two content plans for the learning activities in nature and in Minecraft. For example, the learning in nature is streamlined down to 3 steps for each invasive species case: What is an invasive species? How to identify it? What we can do when it is identified?
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If you look at these steps, they are closely related to some logical structures that are often used in programming languages. Using the IF-THEN condition as a case, it can be translated into "IF we identify a wild pig in a park nearby, THEN we call the Invasive Species Centre to report it."
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From the in-game coding aspect, we can simulate a situation of how invasive plants are brought into nature by human-beings and ask the students to collaborate and take action in the Minecraft code project to stop the spreading.
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Cultivating Diversity Through Collaborations
One other significant point we considered when designing the workshop is that we don't want to only attract students who have already played Minecraft.
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So, we made sure to include cute souvenirs, creative activities, and collaborative competitions as a part of the program. These elements made learning accessible to students with different backgrounds and interests. Our aim was to create an environment where learning about the planet becomes a shared adventure, showing that teamwork and diverse perspectives are key to understanding and protecting our world.