Health Quest: Engaging Adolescents in Health Careers with Technology-Rich Personalized Learning

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R25 · $110,634 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Administrative Supplement - Project Summary / Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has produced a dramatic nationwide shift in K-12 education. In response to the pandemic, it has become clear that students need to develop a deeper understanding of public health and pandemics. The Health Quest team has made a significant pivot in the project to lay the groundwork for producing a COVID-19 version of CRYSTAL ISLAND with the goal of teaching middle grade students about the importance of science and public health. Leveraging game-based learning technologies, the Health Quest project focuses on developing and disseminating technology-rich resources to broaden the interests of adolescents in biomedical, behavioral and clinical research careers. Health Quest features a Career Adventure Game, a Student Discovery Center, and a Teacher Resources Center for teaching middle school students about health science careers. This proposed Administrative Supplement will enhance the parent SEPA grant by building out a COVID-19 version of Crystal Island that students and teachers can use to learn about public health and the role of science in addressing outbreaks. It has three aims: 1. Refine CRYSTAL ISLAND’s core game mechanics and create new content to support the COVID- 19 version of CRYSTAL ISLAND. 2. Modify CRYSTAL ISLAND’s software architecture to support a scalable “publicly available” implementation of CRYSTAL ISLAND: COVID-19 so that students, teachers, and parents can easily connect with Health Quest’s virtual resources. 3. Create additional Teacher Portal resources to support remote implementations of Health Quest and CRYSTAL ISLAND: COVID-19 for middle school teachers and parents.

Key facts

NIH application ID
10430592
Project number
3R25GM129215-05S1
Recipient
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH
Principal Investigator
James Curtis Lester
Activity code
R25
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2021
Award amount
$110,634
Award type
3
Project period
2017-08-01 → 2023-07-31