US History Through Young People’s Eyes: An Efficacy Study of Mission US
Project Director:
EDC Staff:
Funded by:
Institute of Education Sciences
Partners:
WNET, Electric Funstuff, The American Social History Project at CUNY
Focus Area:
Elementary & Secondary Education
Region:
United States
Duration:
2021-Present
Challenge
According to the Nation’s Report Card, a staggering 88% of students graduate from U.S. high schools without proficiency in U.S. history and thus lack an essential component of informed citizenship. This is partly due to limited instructional time. Grade 8 students receive only 4.2 hours of history instruction per week, as compared to 6.5 hours in English language arts and 5 hours in math.
EDC conducted a rigorous three-year study of Mission US, a widely used online role-playing game that seeks to enhance students’ historical literacy. The study, Mission US: US History Through Young People’s Eyes, examined the impact of the game on grade 8–10 students’ historical content knowledge, ability to analyze and interpret historical documents, and motivation to learn history.
Key Activities
EDC, in collaboration with WNET, Electric Funstuff, and the American Social History Project, carried out the following activities:
- Conducted a rigorous block randomized study that meets the What Works Clearinghouse Standards (WWC) without reservations
- Evaluated the impact of Mission US on grade 8–10 students’ history knowledge and skills
- Studied the mediating impact of historical empathy on students’ history knowledge and skills by developing and validating a new measure of historical empathy
- Examined the cost effectiveness of using Mission US as a supplement to existing history curricula
- Designed and implemented a Mission US dashboard to improve teachers’ ability to evaluate students’ understanding, to differentiate instruction, and to adjust curriculum
Our Impact
Findings from the study show:
- Mission US was feasible to implement in a variety of grades and courses.
- Students who used Mission US learned as much as—and under some conditions, learned more than—those who didn’t.
- Some schools might have more appropriate resources than others to adopt interventions like Mission US.
- Early evidence that Mission US is effective in some classrooms and not others merits further research.
