Abstract
In the environmental sector, in recent years, policies and governance of marine issues have seen greater enhancement of participatory and community-based processes (for example the Blue Growth Actions of the Interreg Med Program of the European Union). The greater involvement of citizens in the processes and policies of the sea can greatly benefit the survival of the marine environment and support reforms, since most environmental problems are caused by human behavior. Changes in individual behaviors are desirable to ensure sustainable use of the ocean and its resources. These changes are possible only if there is an improvement in people's knowledge and awareness since the childhood. Ocean literacy interventions will allow people to understand their responsibilities towards the oceans and their health. For this reason, it is necessary to promote sustainable behavior changes using new educational approaches that can be effective with young pupils. The research presents a serious game and an explainer video, used in order to introduce the problem of marine litter, one of the main dangers for the marine species. The aim of the serious game was to enhance ocean literacy with a particular attention to the biodiversity of the Apulian and Mediterranean sea to raise children's awareness of the issue of caring for life in the sea. The measure of learning effectiveness confirmed that the knowledge gained can be actually acquired by children using new technologies, in general, and serious games in particular.
Highlights
AND MOTIVATIONThe United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (DESS) was characterized by a large number of initiatives addressed both to promote debate and to act in defence of the environment and sustainable development, both in the educational and extra-curricular contexts
Sustainability is not a new topic to be included in curricula, it is rather a lifestyle that allows people ‘‘to think about and work towards a better world, The associate editor coordinating the review of this manuscript and approving it for publication was Chin-Feng Lai
Serious games are useful for educating to sustainable development thanks to their ability to motivate and engage players on both emotional and cognitive levels. If they are designed with attention to the complexities of the environmental phenomena that they simulate, serious games can facilitate the understanding of the systemic processes that shape sustainability
Summary
The United Nations Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (DESS) was characterized by a large number of initiatives addressed both to promote debate (among politicians, teachers, educators, etc.) and to act in defence of the environment and sustainable development, both in the educational and extra-curricular contexts. New ways of thinking and learning are required to let the society moves towards a truly sustainable development [5] This awareness concerns the oceans and the sea that have a decisive importance for the life and survival of our planet, but to which the world of education does not devote the necessary attention. Serious games are useful for educating to sustainable development thanks to their ability to motivate and engage players on both emotional and cognitive levels If they are designed with attention to the complexities of the environmental phenomena that they simulate, serious games can facilitate the understanding of the systemic processes that shape sustainability. The aim is to encourage the acquisition of knowledge about the marine life using an active learning approach
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