Game-Based Learning for STEM Education
Dr. Matthew Marino
About Dr. Matthew Marino
Matthew T. Marino, Ph.D., is a professor of Exceptional Student Education at the University of Central Florida and the director of the Toni Jennings Exceptional Education Institute. His award-winning research on game-based learning, STEM education, executive function, universal design, and artificial intelligence has positively impacted thousands of students and their teachers across the United States. Dr. Marino is the Principal Investigator for Inclusive Education Services, where he spearheads efforts to enhance workforce readiness and participation for young adults with intellectual disabilities. This involves helping students, communities, and employers identify workforce barriers along with their innovative solutions.
The problem highlighted in this brief
Many students, particularly those with disabilities, struggle with understanding complex concepts related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics that impact success and future STEM opportunities. Traditional instruction often lacks the flexibility and accessibility to address diverse learning needs which in turn reduces engagement significantly (Marino et al., 2014). There is a need for innovative approaches like game-based learning that support engagement, conceptual understanding, and sustained interest in STEM among all students in classrooms (Hunt et al., 2025; Marino et al., 2014).
Why does this topic matter to teacher preparation?
Preparing teachers to integrate game-based interventions is essential for addressing foundational learning gaps and promoting STEM opportunities for all students. Research demonstrates that when teachers use carefully designed, research-based games, students, particularly those with disabilities, experience enhanced engagement and STEM knowledge (Hunt et al., 2025; Marino et al., 2014). Embedding such pedagogical tools in teacher preparation programs equips educators to critically evaluate and implement engaging, instructional tools and practices that go beyond procedural teaching, fostering deeper conceptual understanding and long-term.
About This Brief
This brief highlights how game-based learning can transform STEM education for all students, including those with disabilities. Readers will gain insights into how game-based learning fosters student engagement, collaboration, and conceptual understanding, supported by real-world projects and research. It also explores how iterative design principles and AI-enhanced personalization can be integrated into teacher preparation. Dr. Marino’s approach illustrates how evidence-based game development and reflective practice can bridge the gap between research and classroom implementation.
Research and Practice Context
Game-Based Learning for STEM Education
Game-based learning has emerged as a powerful strategy to make STEM education more engaging and accessible. In this interview, Dr. Matthew Marino shares how his work aims to ensure students with disabilities have equal opportunities to succeed in STEM. Through game-based learning and iterative design, his research demonstrates how authentic, interactive experiences can enhance learning, foster engagement, and inform teacher preparation in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
The following are key insights shared by Dr. Matthew Marino on this research. The interview focused on seven questions about game-based learning for STEM education.
Conversation with Dr. Matthew Marino
Q1: What issues are you trying to address through your work?
Dr. Marino’s work addresses the accessibility barriers that students with disabilities face in STEM education, particularly in secondary science classrooms where complex vocabulary can be overwhelming. Drawing from his early teaching experience, he observed that students with learning disabilities often struggled not due to a lack of interest or ability, but because of how inaccessible the content was. This realization led him to seek alternative ways to present information and assess understanding, aiming to ensure that all students, regardless of disability, can pursue and thrive in STEM pathways if they choose to.
Dr. Marino: “My goal very quickly became to ensure that all students, including those with disabilities, have the opportunity to participate in meaningful STEM careers if they're interested… the content was really unobtainable for them… words like endoplasmic reticulum or deoxyribonucleic acid were absolutely impossible for my students with learning disabilities to read.”
Q2: Can you walk us through how game-based learning can support STEM learning for all students including those with disabilities?
Dr. Marino emphasized that game-based learning supports STEM education by increasing student engagement and peer interaction, both critical for understanding complex concepts, especially for students with disabilities. Through games like Alien Rescue, students face meaningful challenges (e.g., saving alien species by finding suitable planets), which makes abstract STEM content more concrete and motivating. Unlike traditional textbook-based instruction, games promote spontaneous collaboration, with students discussing strategies and learning in real time. This environment helps all students grasp difficult material through active participation and social learning.
Dr. Marino: “Games promote learning by presenting students with authentic problems or challenges that they wouldn't otherwise be able to solve… what we found is the first one that was most important was really engagement… the kids are talking to each other as they're experiencing and learning the information… that was one of the most powerful things that we found through this game-based research.”
Q3: How did you integrate game-based learning for STEM education into your teacher preparation program?
Dr. Marino integrated game-based learning into teacher preparation by actively involving pre-service teachers in the design and testing process of educational games. In a project called Model Mathematics Education, developed with experts in dyscalculia and funded by NSF, his team used the Lean Startup model, an iterative cycle of “build, measure, learn,” to refine the game over time. Pre-service teachers were not only introduced to the game itself but also to the design thinking and implementation strategies behind it. This hands-on experience gave future educators insight into how to use game-based tools thoughtfully and responsively in STEM classrooms.
Dr. Marino: “We brought in our pre-service teachers and shared iterations of the game with them. We used what’s called the Lean Startup model, build, measure, learn, so that it’s continuously getting better. Our pre-service teachers were learning about this iterative cycle and then able to see how we were implementing it and help us design the implementation methods we would be using in the classroom.”
Q4: How can we better prepare educators for using these technologies in the field?
Dr. Marino emphasized that due to the rapidly evolving nature of educational technology and varying district licensing agreements, it's unrealistic to train pre-service teachers on specific tools. Instead, preparation should focus on developing teachers’ skills in critical analysis and evaluation of technology. Future educators need to assess tools based on accessibility, cognitive demands, and instructional value, rather than novelty or popularity. This approach equips them to make informed decisions in diverse and changing classroom environments, ensuring that technology integration supports meaningful, learning rather than being driven by trends.
Dr. Marino: “I think a better approach is to teach them how to critically use or analyze and use a product that’s technology-based. They can look and say, this product has these accessibility features and allows students to use these cognitive processes. I think the evaluation of the technology is more important than cool tools.”
Q5: What implications do you see for future research, and what are some questions we might be asking?
Dr. Marino identified AI-based technologies, particularly chatbots, as a promising area for future research in education. He highlighted a project with Dr. Kenneth Holman, which explored how AI chatbots could promote conceptual understanding of fractions by personalizing problem contexts based on student interests. For instance, a chatbot might adapt a math lesson to include sports statistics for a student who loves baseball. Future research, he suggested, should examine which specific features of AI tools, such as personalization, feedback, or adaptivity, contribute most to student learning. This line of inquiry can guide the design of effective, learner-centered AI tools that enhance conceptual understanding across STEM domains.
Dr. Marino: “I think that the AI-based technologies are really the wave of the future. We should be asking about what features of the chatbot lead to the largest gains in student learning. It would use what it learned about the kid to present problems… in a unique way.”
Q6: What else should teacher preparation programs consider moving forward?
Q7: Are there any resources/tools you can suggest for those who would like to learn more about game-based learning for STEM education?
Dr. Marino highlighted a key challenge for teacher preparation programs: the mismatch between the pace of technological innovation and the slow cycle of academic research publication. By the time research is published, it may already be outdated in terms of current tools and classroom realities. He stressed the need for creating collaborative communities, like those supported by the CIDDL Center, where educators and researchers can exchange ideas and test innovations in real time. These partnerships can bridge the gap between research and practice, allowing teacher preparation programs to remain agile, relevant, and responsive to evolving technologies.
Dr. Marino suggested that educators interested in game-based learning should explore resources tailored to their own preferred learning modalities, whether through books, videos, or podcasts. Drawing from a recent literature review, he emphasized that digital games, particularly strategy games, can significantly enhance cognitive skills in STEM, with the most notable gains in science and computer science. He also underscored the importance of game design quality and how subject area and assessment type can influence learning outcomes. Rather than recommending one-size-fits-all resources, he encouraged a personalized, self-directed approach to exploring game-based learning grounded in evidence and aligned with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles.
You can watch the trailer and the success story of the game, You Make Me Sick, via the links.
Resources and References
Hunt, J. H., Taub, M., Marino, M., Holman, K., & Womack-Adams, K. (2025). Increasing student engagement, fraction knowledge, and STEM interest through game-based intervention. Journal of Special Education Technology, 0(0), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/01626434251314014
Marino, M. T., Gotch, C. M., Israel, M., Vasquez III, E., Basham, J. D., & Becht, K. (2014). UDL in the middle school science classroom: Can video games and alternative text heighten engagement and learning for students with learning disabilities?. Learning Disability Quarterly, 37(2), 87-99.
Suggested Citation
Seung, Y., Marino, M. T., & the CIDDL Team. (2025). Game-Based Learning for STEM Education. The Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.