Poster #24 - Changing High School Students' Perceptions of Wealth Inequality in the United States Through Agent-Based Participatory Simulations

• In Event: 47.099 - MTCC Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: 47.099-5 - Learning Sciences SIG Poster Session

Abstract

In this paper, we report on the results from a design-based research study that we conducted with the goal of improving high school students’ understanding of and attitudes toward wealth inequality in the United States. We designed an agent-based participatory simulation curricular unit called Mind the Gap, which allows students to participate in a simple economy in a shared virtual space and experience the emergence and dynamics of wealth inequality. Data analysis in this paper is based on 67 high school students’ responses. Our findings show that students who used Mind the Gap had significantly more accurate estimates of wealth inequality in the post-test. Students who watched a documentary film about wealth inequality, however, did not have significant changes.

Authors

• Yu Guo, Northwestern University

• Uri J. Wilensky, Northwestern University