MOTIVATING STUDENTS IN THE BIOLOGY CLASSROOM VIA GAMES

Martha Georgiou, Marina Pandi

Abstract


In recent decades, the increased use of digital games by students at all education levels has attracted the attention of many researchers interested in the effect games used in the classroom have on learning. Despite the strong interest internationally in the use of educational games in the teaching of Biology, in Greece the degree of corresponding research is limited. The purpose of our research is to examine the effect that games have on Greek high school students’ acquisition and retention of knowledge relating to genetics concepts. The sample consisted of 32 K-9 students, who were divided into two groups. In the first group, the chosen teaching approach was based on the traditional teaching method, while in the second group, it was based on the use of an educational genetics card game. All students completed the same assessment test both before and immediately after the teaching interventions. Based on the results, it was found that both approaches yielded statistically similar learning outcomes, with students in the group taught by the game-teaching approach performing better on average than those in the control group.

 

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Keywords


motivating students, genetics, educational game, traditional teaching, learning outcomes, assessing knowledge retention

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v10i10.4993

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