The Challenge
Today’s students are growing up in a world overflowing with data — yet U.S. performance in data literacy is falling behind. Statistics and probability are the lowest-performing areas in national math assessments, and educators report lacking both the content knowledge and digital tools to confidently teach these topics. With data science becoming an essential life and career skill, the need for innovative, real-world-aligned instruction has never been more urgent.
The Opportunity
In partnership with WestEd and with support from the National Science Foundation, Immersed Games expanded its proven Tyto Online platform into a groundbreaking new math experience: Tyto Online: Statistics & Probability. This marks the first time Tyto Online is tackling mathematics, with a focus on helping middle school students master core statistics and probability standards through immersive, story-driven gameplay.
A Real-World, Game-Based Approach
Tyto Online: Math uses real-world storylines to teach students to reason with data, not just memorize formulas. Each math unit unfolds as an interactive narrative, where students solve authentic problems—like helping a cat café owner estimate future sales using mean, or analyzing whether a social media platform’s income claims are misleading by comparing mean and median.
Through these narratives, students work directly with data, build graphs using intuitive game-based tools, and engage in open-ended analysis with support from new math-focused mechanics. A key innovation includes AI-powered discourse tools that help students articulate and deepen their thinking, both through typed responses and classroom discussions.
Results That Show Promise
WestEd’s pilot study showed a 20% average improvement in student assessment scores after using the math prototype. Teachers reported that the game helped students grasp challenging concepts like dot plots and appropriate measures of center, and they saw students more motivated and engaged than with traditional materials.
Teachers also found the game an effective tool for building connections between math and science lessons—an early sign of the cross-disciplinary potential of Tyto’s math expansion.
What’s Next
Following strong results in Phase I, Immersed Games will be using the Phaes II to expand the product to cover the full 6th–8th grade standards for statistics and probability. New features include:
- Enhanced discourse tools, with voice-supported AI that encourages student reflection and analysis
- New gameplay mechanics for modeling probability and interacting with data in 3D
- Teacher dashboards that summarize student thinking and identify misconceptions
- Universal Design for Learning features to ensure accessibility for all students
With more than 45,000 students already served by Tyto Online, this new math offering builds on a trusted foundation—now with the potential to transform how students across the country experience and understand data.