Cogent Education creates Interactive Cases, which provide engaging real-world scenarios in which high school students take the role of a STEM professional to practice problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, their Interactive Cases were designed by scientists and created by programmers, game designers and artists to provide students opportunities to act like real scientists. They use videogame technologies to enable students to collect and analyze data, form and test hypotheses, and communicate their findings. Students learn the relevance of science by solving a real world problem. Data on students’ critical thinking abilities are sent to teachers in real time, to help teachers see how their students are thinking. Teachers see a “heat map” that pinpoints areas of need for each student, allowing teachers to instantly differentiate and personalize their instruction. Learn more.