Promoting awareness about marine biological invasions through educational games

Biological invasions are a global problem that threatens marine biodiversity. However, not all the cultures and regions are equally sensitive to the problem. To understand the effect of digital educational games on the awareness about environmental problems, we designed a learning situation for K-12 students around a serious game based on name and/or image recognition and applied it to a total of 349 coastal and inland students. In pre-test, coastal students knew more invasive species, but learning gains of inland students were higher, probably due to lower previous knowledge about marine species. The level of awareness about invasive species increased after the game, demonstrating the usefulness of serious games for promoting environmental stewardship in children. Introducing the topic early in education will reinforce awareness and foster the identification and control of invasive species.