Research suggests that videogames can promote science learning; however, studies have largely focused on conceptual knowledge rather than the development of the science and engineering practices emphasized in current standards for science education. Previous studies have also tended to exclude informal learning that can occur in the spaces surrounding videogames. Given the crucial role that social context plays in scientific sensemaking, affinity spaces like online discussion forums seem to offer particular affordances for players to engage in science and engineering practices within a sphere of public reasoning. This study investigated how science and engineering practices manifested in these kinds of communities through a mixed-methods case study of two online gaming forums: the Portal 2 Steam Community and the official forum for Kerbal Space Program. After collecting the 1000 most recent posts made to each forum, I employed content analysis with an a priori protocol coding scheme based on the Next Generation Science Standards' (NGSS) Science and Engineering Practices (SEP) and Nature of Science Connections (NOS) to interpret and code forum posts. I identified whether evidence of SEP was focused on science and/or engineering, rated posts for their depth of engagement with the practices and for quality, and characterized posts as being nurturing, elitist, or neutral in terms of tone. I then used descriptive statistics to identify patterns in the data, and rich description to qualitatively analyze each online community and the games with which they are affiliated. The resulting study combined quantitative statistics to describe trends in the forums with qualitative analysis to ground the results within the context of the two specific affinity spaces. Across both forums, I found that roughly half of the posts showed evidence of science and engineering practices. Most of that evidence had an engineering focus. The most common practices evidenced in the forums were Asking Questions and Defining Problems, Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions, and Obtaining, Communicating, and Evaluating Information. I found very little evidence of engagement with the Nature of Science in either forum. Posts from KSP were twice as likely to engage with science and engineering practices compared to those for Portal 2. KSP posts showed significantly more evidence of seven out of the eight Science and Engineering practices and significantly more evidence of Nature of Science Connections overall. The depth and quality of KSP posts were significantly higher than those from the Portal 2 forum. The results of this study offer practical implications for the design of learning environments and for teacher education. The differences between posts from Portal 2 and KSP suggest that some features of games and their affiliated affinity spaces are more effective in fostering engagement with science and engineering practices than others. Educators and designers may therefore wish to leverage features that appear to be most conducive for their intended learning goals. Additionally, these spaces may offer opportunities for teachers to identify and notice authentic ways learners engage with the practices in interest-driven spaces. This study also contributes to theory by further complicating our understanding of affinity spaces and addressing the nuanced ways that learning can occur outside formal educational structures.
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