Topic outline

  • Discovering the World of Minecraft

      Time: 8 weeks

      Level: 7-10

      Key Learning Areas: ICT, Maths, Science

      Skills required: Medium IT skills

    • MinecraftMinecraft is a complex world with laws that govern how things behave from gravity to machines, and genetics to agriculture.

      If you are an explorer who has landed in this brave new world, how would you investigate it? How could you find out which soils are best for growing specific plants in? What happens when you mate sheep of different colours? How fast do things fall in the Minecraft world?

      Can you design an experiment that will enable you to find out how things behave in Minecraft? How do you control your experiment so that the only thing that affects your results is the thing you are investigating. How do you make sure that your results are accurate? How do you measure them and then how do you analyse the data? What conclusion can you make based on your results?

      In this module you will come up with a question to ask about the world of Minecraft, create a hypothesis, design an experiment, carry out the experiment, analyse the data and decide whether the data supports your original hypothesis or not.

      Which version of Minecraft should I use?
      Whilst you can do several good experiments in the Pocket Edition of Minecraft running on an iPad, the full version on a desktop or laptop will provide many more tools for discovery.

      Note that Minecraft Education Edition is now available at no cost to students from the Department of Education. Talk to your IT coordinator.

  • Asking the right question

    MinecraftThere are lots of questions you could ask about the world of Minecraft. Your first task is to find a question worth investigating. A question that is both interesting and worth finding the answer to. Here are some examples to get you thinking:

    • Which type of soil do plants grow best in?
    • Do you catch more fish on a sunny day or a rainy day?
    • How fast do objects fall in the Minecraft world?
    • How fast can a mine cart go?
    • Is there air in the Minecraft world?

    • Forming a hypothesis

      MinecraftBefore we can design an experiment we need to write our question as a hypothesis which has an "If . . . then . . ." format. Your second task is to form your hypothesis.

      Most of the time a hypothesis is written like this:  "If I do this, then this will happen." 

      Your hypothesis should be something that you can actually test. We call this a testable hypothesis.  You need to be able to measure "what you do" and "what happens."

    • Designing the experiment

      MinecraftA poorly designed experiment will lead to poor or even no results. Make sure you check with your mentor when you have a design completed.

      You should have one variable (the thing you change like the type of soil) and know what you are measuring (how long it takes for the plants to grow).

    • Doing the experiment

      Now you have the chance to carry out your experiment in the world of Minecraft. You might like to take screen shots of your progress and your results and then add them to your report.

      Remember, you have planned out your experiment so carry it out carefully. Don't rush! Take your time. If you have the opportunity and you think it would help, do it more than once.

      • Analysing the results

        GraphYou now have your data collected in the world of Minecraft. What do you do with it?

        Analysing data is an important part of any experiment. In your maths classes you have probably looked at statistics such as averages, maximum and minimum. You can use these to make your data more easily understood. You can also produce graphs of different types to show if your hypothesis was correct or not. Graphs are easily created using Excel.

        • Drawing a conclusion

          You created a hypothesis earlier and now it's time to decide if your results support or disprove your hypothesis. If you designed your experiment well and carried it out carefully then your data should make it clear.

          If your data is not clear you could suggest ways of redesigning the experiment to improve your results.

          • Presenting your results

            How will you present your results? Perhaps you could:

            • write a formal practical report
            • make a class presentation
            • write about your experiment and results in your blog
            • create a poster