Efficacy of Gamification to increase the Scientific Concepts Acquisition in science learning and creative problem solving skills for Second Preparatory Grade Students

Abdel Hamied Abuzied, Dr. Amany Mohamed

doi:10.21608/mktm.2019.113847

Efficacy of Gamification to increase the Scientific Concepts Acquisition in science learning and creative problem solving skills for Second Preparatory Grade Students

Document Type : Researches for promotion to assistant professor and professor degrees

Author

Dr. Amany Mohamed Abdel Hamied Abuzied

Lecturer at faculty of Education-Ain Shams University

10.21608/mktm.2019.113847

Abstract

This study reports on preparatory- stage students in Egyptian language school with a focus on Gamification and Creative problem solving (CPS). The research problem stated in “The shortage of acquiring the scientific concepts in science and retain it, in addition to weakness of creative problem-solving skills for 2nd prep Students”. An oriented module prepared according to gamification principals and CPS skills and introduced in the summer semester of 2018 academic year to 25 candidates students in one of the language schools. They studied for 16 sessions, 2 sessions per week. Throughout the module, students studied through flipped classroom to promote their scientific concepts acquisition that encourage their meaningful understanding of the “Cell module” concepts and develop their creative problem solving skills through the challenges they faced in studding its lessons. To achieve the aim of the research, two learning instruments were built; “The cell module” student’s booklet and teacher guide, in addition to the gamified cell sites through virtual learning environment. The framework that guided this study based on experiential, constructivist methods; their responses’ data analyzed quantitatively and discussed qualitatively. The author developed two quantitative instruments: A Scientific concepts test and Creative problem solving questionnaire. The former was to probe the cognitive of the students had in relation to the scientific concepts of the cell module before and after their studies of the educational module. The second instrument used to measure the impact of the oriented module on promoting the students’ skills in solving the scientific problems creatively. Statistical data analysis using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences indicates that students in their post-results had developed better cognitive organization for the scientific concepts of the cell module; positive responses towards solving the scientific concepts. Gamification has a motivational affordances and psychological outcomes (as well as behavioral, mental and cognitive outcomes).

Keywords

References

Al-abadi, Z. (2008). The Effect of an Educational Program based on problem solving model on developing creative thinking skills among gifted disabled students. PhD Dissertation, Arabic Amman Graduate Studies University, Amman: Jordan.
 Al-khatib, B. (2012). The Effect of Using Brainstorming Strategy in Developing Creative Problem Solving Skills among Female Students in Princess Alia University College. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, v. 2 (10) October, pp. 29-38.
 Al-lala, S. (2009). The effectiveness of a training program based on Trafnger model in developing creative problem solving among kindergarten children in Jordan, PhD Dissertation, Arabic Amman Graduate Studies University, Amman: Jordan.
 Al-Tarawneh, M. (2016). The Effectiveness of Educational Games on Scientific Concepts Acquisition in First Grade Students in Science. Journal of Education and Practice, v.7 (3), pp. 31-37, ISSN 2222-288X (Online).
 Annetta, L.; Cheng, M. & Holmes, S. (2010). Assessing twenty-first century skills through a teacher created video game for high school

biology teachers. Science and Technological Education, v. 28 (2), pp.101 – 114.
 Barko, T. & Sadler, T. (2013). Learning outcomes associated with classroom implementation of a biotechnology-themed video game. The American Biology Teacher, v. 75 (1), pp. 29- 33.
 Becker, K. (2007). Digital game-based learning once removed: teaching teachers. British Journal of Educational Technology, v. 38 (3), pp. 478- 488.
 Bosche, W. (2010). Violent video games prime both aggressive and positive cognitions. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, v. 22 (4), pp. 139- 146.
 Buyukyıldırım, Ü. (2014). Oyunla"tırma (Gamification) Nedir? Accessed on: http: //www.bilim.org/oyunlastirma-gamification-nedir/ at: may 17, 2018.
 Christensen, C. & Raynor, M. (2003). The Innovator’s Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth.Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA. ISBN: 978-1578518524.
 Clark, D.; Nelson, B.; Chang, H.; Martinez-Garza, M.; Slack, K. & D‟Angelo, C. (2011). Exploring Newtoinian mechanics in a conceptually integrated digital game: Comparison of learning and affective outcomes for students in Taiwan and the United States.Computers & Education, v. 57 (3), pp. 2178-2195.
 Creative Education Foundation (2015). Creative Problem Solving Tools & Techniques Resource Guide. Accessed online on: http://www.creativeeducationfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ToolsTechniques-Guide-FINAL-web-watermark.pdf, at: 14/7/2018.
 Deterding, S.; Dixon, D.; Khaled, R. & Nacke, L. (2011). “From game design elements to gamefulness: defining gamification”. In Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments, September 28-30, Tampere, Finland: ACM, pp. 9-15.
 Deterding, S.; Sicart, M.; Nacke, L.; O'Hara, K., & Dixon, D. (2011). Gamification: Using Game-design Elements in Nongaming Contexts. CHI '11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA '11), ACM: New York- USA, pp. 2425-2428. Accessed on: http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1979742.1979575- at: 7/7/2018.
 Elkind, D. (2008). The Power of Play: Learning What Comes Naturally. American Journal of Play, v. 1 (1).

Elnemr, M. (2015). The crisis of building science and math curricula, 17th scientific conference for Scientific Education, Dar- Aldeyafa- Ain-shams university, 10-11 August, pp. 11-18.
 Entertainment Software Association (2013). Essential facts about the computer and video game industry. Acessed on: http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/esa_ef_2013.pdf. At: 7/7/2018.
 Farahani, M.; Hasan, M. & Noroozi, N. (2014). The Study on Features of Informal Education in Postmodernism. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, v. 136, pp. 559-563.
 Ferdig, R. E. (Ed.) (2009). Handbook of research on effective electronic gaming in education. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference, DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-808-6.
 Ferguson, R. (2011). Meaningful learning and creativity in virtual worlds. Thinking skills and creativity, v.1 (1), 169-178.
 Fleischmann, F. & Ariel, K. (2016). Gamification in Science Education: Gamifying Learning of Microscopic Processes in the Laboratory. CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, v. 7 (2), pp. 138-159.
 Fogleman, J.; McNeill, K. & Krajcik, J. (2011). Examining the effect of teachers‟ adaptations of a middle school science inquiry-oriented curriculum unit on student learning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, v. 48 (2), pp. 149- 169.
 Folta, E. (2010). Investigating the Impact on Student Learning and Outdoor Science Interest through Modular Serious Educational Games: A Design-Based Research. Doctor Dissertation, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.
 Gee. J. (2007). What video games have to teach is about learning and literacy (rev. and updated ed.). New York: Macmillan.
 Gentile, D.; Lynch, P.; Linder, J. & Walsh, D. (2004). The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance. Journal of Adolescence, v. 27 (1), pp. 5- 22.
 GLOVER, I. (2013). Play as you learn: gamification as a technique for motivating learners. In: HERRINGTON, Jan, COUROS, Alec and IRVINE, Valerie, (eds.) Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2013, Chesapeake, VA, AACE, pp. 1999- 2008. Accessed on:
http://shura.shu.ac.uk/information.html. At: 17/7/2018.

Hamari, J. (2013). “Transforming Homo Economicus into Homo Ludens: A Field Experiment on Gamification in a Utilitarian Peer-To-Peer Trading Service”. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, v. 12, n. 4, pp. 236-245.
 Hanus, M. (2015). Assessing the effects of gamification in the classroom: A longitudinal study on intrinsic motivation, social comparison, satisfaction, effort, and academic performance. Computers & Education, v.80, January pp. 152-161.
 Hassard, J. & Dias, M (2009). The Art of Teaching Science. Second Edition, Routledge Press,Taylor and Francis.
 Honey, M. & Hilton, M. (Eds.). (2011). learning science through computer games and simulations, Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
 Hsu, C.; Tsai, C. & Liang, J. (2011). Facilitating preschoolers‟ scientific knowledge construction via computer games regarding light and shadow: The effect of the prediction observation-explanation (POE) strategy. Journal of Science Education and Technology, v. 20 (5), pp. 482-493.
 Huotari, K. & Hamari, J. (2012). “Defining gamification: a service marketing perspective”. In Proceedings of the 16th International Academic MindTrek Conference, October 3-5, Tampere, Finland, ACM, pp. 17-22.
 Inal, Y. & Cagiltay, K. (2007). Flow experiences of children in an interactive social game environment. British Journal of Educational Technology, v. 38, pp. 455-464.
 Juul, J. (2003). The Game, the Player, and the World: Looking for a Heart of Gameness. Proceedings of Level Up: Digital Games Research Conference, 30-45. Accessed on: http://www.jesperjuul.net/text/gameplayerworld/ at: 7/7/2018
 Kapp, K. (2012). The gamification of learning and instruction: Game-based methods and strategies for training and education. San Francisco: Wiley, ISBN: 978-1-118-09634-5.
 Ketelhut, D.; Nelson, B.; Clarke, J. & Dede, C. (2010). A multi-user virtual environment for building and assessing higher order inquiry skills in science. British Journal of Educational Technology, v. 41 (1), pp. 56- 68.
 Khataybeh, A. (2011). Tadrees Aluloum liljamei-“Teaching science for all”. Amman, Jordan: Dar Al-Massira Publishing Distribution & Printing.

Kirriemuir, J., & McFarlane, A. E. (2004). The Effectiveness of Educational Games on Scientific Concepts Acquisition in First Grade Students in Science. Games and learning. Bristol: Future lab. Retrieved on https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00190453/document.
 Klisch, Y.; Miller, L.; Wang, S. & Epstein, J. (2012). The Impact of a Science Education Game on Students‟Learning and Perception of Inhalants as Body Pollutants. Journal of Science Education & Technology, v. 21, pp. 295-303.
 Klopfer, E.; Osterweil, S. & Salen, K. (2009). Moving learning games forward. Cambridge, MA: The Education Arcade.
 Kuo, M. (2007). How does an online game based learning environment promote students‟ intrinsic motivation for learning natural science and how does it affect their learning outcomes?, Paper presented at the First IEEE International Workshop on Digital Game and Intelligent Toy Enhanced Learning, (DIGITEL‟07), Jhongli, Taiwan.
 Liu, E. & Chen, P. (2013). The Effect of Game-Based Learning on Students‟ Learning Performance in Science Learning- A Case of “Conveyance Go”. Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, v. 103, November, pp. 1044- 1051.
 Mahmoud, A. (2015). The efficacy of science teaching through SCAMPER strategy for information generation to develop the imaginative thinking and some habits of mind to the first prep. Stage‟ students. Journal of Science Education, v. 18 (4), July, pp. 1-50.
 McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. New York, NY: Penguin.
 Milne, C. & Otieno, T. (2007). Understanding engagement: Science demonstrations and emotional energy.
 Michael D, Chen S (2006). Serious Games: Games That Educate, Train and Inform. Boston: Thomson Course Technology.
 Muntean, C. (2011). Raising engagement in e-learning through gamification. In Proceedings 6th International Conference on Virtual Learning, pp. 323-329.
 Murphy, G. (2002). The Big Book of Concepts, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
 Al-Nagdy, A., et al. (2003). New trends in Science Teaching in The light of Global Standards, Constructivism and Thinking Development. Egypt: Dar Elfekr Alaraby.

Nelson, B. (2007). Exploring the use of individualized, reflective guidance in an educational multi-user virtual environment. Journal of Science Education and Technology, v. 16 (1), pp. 83- 97.
 Nicholson, S. (2012). Strategies for meaningful gamification: Concepts behind transformative play and participatory museums. Meaningful Play, Lansing, Michigan. Available online at
http://scottnicholson.com/pubs/meaningfulstrategies.pdf
 Pappas, Ch. (2016). 7 eLearning Gamification Tips To Enhance Problem Solving Skills. E-Learning Industry, November, 20. Accessed on:
https://elearningindustry.com/elearning-gamification-tips-enhance-problem-solving-skills, at 20 may 2018.
 Puccio, G., Mance, M. & Murdock, M. (2011). Creative leadership: Skills that drive change (Second Edition). London: Sage Publications.
 Rastegapour, H. & Marashi, P. (2012). The effect of card games and computer games on learning of chemistry concepts. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, v. 31, pp. 597- 601.
 Rovai, A.; Ponton, M.; Wighting, M. & Baker, J. (2007). A Comparative Analysis of Student Motivation in Traditional Classroom and E-Learning Courses. International Journal on E-Learning, v. 6, n. 3, pp. 413-432. Accessed on: http://www.editlib.org/p/20022. At: 7/7/2018.
 Rubin-Vaughan, R.; Pepler, D.; Brown, S. & Craig, W. (2011). Quest for the Golden Rule: An effective social skills promotion and bullying prevention program. Computers & Education, v. 56, pp. 166-175.
 Ruzhitskaya, L.; Speck, A.; Ding, N.; Baldridge, S.; Witzig, S. & Laffey, J. (2013). Going virtual or not: Development and testing of a 3 D virtual astronomy environment. Communicating Science: A National Conference on Science Education and Public Outreach, pp. 473, 255.
 Sadler, T. D., Romine, W., Stuart, P. E., & Merle-Johnson, D. (2013). Game-based curricula in biology classes: Differential effects among varying academic levels. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, v. 50 (4), pp. 479- 499.
 Sadler, T.; Romine, W.; Menon, D.; Ferdig, R. & Annetta, L. (2015). Learning Biology through Innovative Curricula: A Comparison of Game and Nongame-Based Approaches. Science Education, v. 99 (4), pp. 696-720.
 Salen, K. & Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of play: Game design fundamentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Accessed on:

https://gamifique.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/1-rules-of-play-game-design-fundamentals.pdf- 7/7/2018.
 Sanchez, J. (2011). Experiencing the Creative Problem Solving Thinking Skills Model in Virtual Worlds. Studies Graduate Student Master's Projects, paper 148. Accessed on: http://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/creativeprojects, at: 23/9/2018.
 Shaffer, D. & Serlin, R. (2004). What good are statistics that don‟t generalize? Educational Researcher, v. 33, pp. 14- 25.
 Shaffer, D. W. (2006). How Computer Games help Children learn. New York: Macmillan.
 Squire, K. & Jan, M. (2007). Mad City Mystery: Developing scientific argumentation skills with a place-based augmented reality game on handheld computers. Journal of Science Education and Technology, v. 16 (1), pp. 5- 29.
 Squire, K. & Jenkins, H. (2003). Harnessing the power of games in education. InSight, v. 3 (1), pp. 5- 33.
 Steinkuehler, C., & Duncan, S. (2008). Scientific habits of mind in virtual worlds. Journal of Science Education and Technology, v. 17 (6), pp. 530- 543.
 Sung, y.; chang, K. & Liu, T. (2016). The effects of integrating mobile devices with teaching and learning on students‟ learning performance. A meta-analysis and research synthesis, Computer& education, v. 94, pp. 252-275.
 Al-Tarawneh, M. (2016). The Effectiveness of Educational Games on Scientific Concepts Acquisition in First Grade Students in Science. Journal of Education and Practice, v. 7 (3).
 Twining, P. (2010). Virtual worlds and education. Educational research, v. 52 (2), pp. 117-122. doi: 10.1080/00131881.2010.482730
 UNESCO (2010). Current Challenges in Basic Science Education, Accessed on
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001914/191425e.pdf at: 14/7/2018.
 Uribe, D. & Cabra, J. (2010). Creative Problem Solving in Second Life: An action research study. Creativity and Innovation Management, v. 19 (2), pp. 167- 179.
 Yapici, U. & Karakoym, F. (2017). Gamification in Biology Teaching: A

Sample of Kahoot Application. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry (TOJQI), V. 8, 4, October, pp. 396-414, DOI: 10.17569/tojqi.335956.
 Zaytoon, A. (2003). Science Teaching Methods. Fourth edition, Oman: Dar Elshourouq.
 Zaytoon, M. (2013). Asaleeb Tadrees Al’uloum”-Methods of Teaching Science”. Amman, Jordan: Dar Al-Shorok Publishing Distribution & Printing.
Zirbel, E. (2006). Teaching to Promote Deep Understanding and Instigate Conceptual Change. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, v. 38, pp. 1220-1244.