Collaborative Scientizing in Pokémon GO Online Communities

Abstract

Finding and applying science practices in everyday contexts (scientizing) is a powerful way for people to engage in science learning. This paper examines how people collaboratively scientize through a massively multiplayer mobile game called Pokémon GO. For three months, we conducted observations of online communities around Pokémon GO and examined how crowdsourcing engagements in these communities can lead to science inquiry. We adhered to the standards of a comparative case study to examine three exploratory cases of scientizing in online discussion about Pokémon GO. These examples include crowdsourcing collaborations to compare multiple data sets, countering misinformation, and creating mapping sets. We demonstrate how aspects of these online engagements follow authentic and simple science inquiry. Furthermore, the implications of our research for informal science learning are especially meaningful for understanding how Pokémon GO can be used to motivate scientizing practices in families and children.