Digital Game-Based Learning for Science Teaching

The immediacy of information and the large amount of visual stimuli adolescents receive on their mobile devices or video games are part of the daily lives of the new generations. It implies a primary challenge for teachers when designing academic activities to attract and keep students motivated in their learning, inside or outside the classroom. Therefore, I implemented Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) in the Biology class, a student-centered pedagogical approach that integrates curricular content into digital games for educational purposes (Anastasiadis, Lampropoulos y Siakas, 2018). Through the class’s digital games, the students practiced managing new vocabulary and memory, identifying biological processes in different situations, and improving the speed of their responses, among others. This article shares five technological platforms for teaching or designing digital educational games from scratch for different areas of knowledge.

Using digital games for learning allows students to apply what they have learned in a safe practice environment and in different contexts, where they can fail and repeat the game as many times as necessary, receiving sufficiently quick feedback that allows them to identify and correct errors (Ormazábal, Hernández y Zúñiga, 2023). Different class activities through play can include a knowledge diagnosis, introducing a new topic, identifying concepts learned, and applying new ideas (Clérici, 2012). Several benefits of digital educational games are 1) the improvement in decision-making and problem-solving skills, 2) feedback-driven, student-centered learning, and 3) the students’ rewarding feeling of their progression and learning achievement (Anastasiadis et al., 2018). 

Digital games in class for learning

Incorporating digital games in class requires clarity about the academic objectives to be achieved and defining beforehand the time to be dedicated to them. In the closing of each “Fundamentals of Life” course module that I teach to PrepaTec first-semester students, I implement free-of-charge online didactic games on digital platforms, which allows me to design games from scratch according to the class theme.

First, I looked for interactive games from different sources that could be aligned with each class topic and adapted to the academic level. Also, I checked that they did not have errors that could confuse the students. The class topics best adapted to this didactic strategy were 1) the cell and its organelles, 2) protein synthesis, and 3) transport through the membrane. We can design online games individually or as a team with available technological tools, which also helps improve collaboration skills.

Digital Games Used

Searching for educational digital games, I found several usable pages and applications. However, I selected only some for their characteristics: 1) variety of games or application options, 2) games for different academic levels and grades, 3) adaptation to the contents of the “Fundamentals of Life” course, 4) simplicity in the elaboration and execution of the game and 5) attractive colors and designs.

Quizziz

This application’s questionnaires are simple to prepare and allow the incorporation of various types of questions and images. They are free for teachers and students. I used previously designed questionnaires on the platform, and I created others. This application allows uploading and embedding the game in the learning management system (LMS), Canvas, with the option to download a file with the grades. A game integrated into the course activity lets you view the grade immediately.

WorldWall

WorldWall allows the generation of games such as crossword puzzles, roulette, matching pairs, sorting by group, word search, hangman, airplane, quiz show, diagrams with labels, and smashers. It was the most used application because it provides different games for different educational levels. For example, we can find the exact memory game for cellular organelles for different academic levels: primary, secondary, or high school. The games are very dynamic and colorful. Allow us to design five games of your choice, with the content relevant to each course, or use pre-designed ones. It also allows the games to be embedded within the Canvas course to visualize the results immediately.

Educaplay

I used this app’s crossword option, which performs excellently. It allows for elaborating games or using those that are preloaded with each theme. The application has an artificial intelligence advisor that lets you give instructions on the topic, describe the students’ ages or grades, and provide other specific indications, and in a few seconds, it generates a game that is available to everyone.

Cerebriti

Cerebriti has many games for different educational levels, but many of them contain errors. On the other hand, they are not as visually attractive as those mentioned above; however, with a thorough search, you can find a game that fits the course’s needs.

Didactalia

This has visually appealing games primarily for identifying structures, such as cells, tissues, levels of organization, etc. It is organized by theme and student age. Although some games are free, most require a prepaid account.

Tips for implementing digital game-based learning in class

Design the activities to comply with the following guidelines: What learning will the students achieve? What will they learn through play? How will this activity be evaluated? How much time will be dedicated to it? Subsequently, if your institution uses an LMS, provide a link to the game in the activity description so that it is instantly visible to students. This helps them view the game without migrating to another page.

Assessing Students Using Digital Games in Class

In the course, I assigned review activities employing digital games. A single review activity could include one to four game sets, depending on the complexity and time required to invest in its solution. Each activity was assigned 100 points based on the number of games: if an activity had only one game, it was worth 100 points, while if there were four games, each one had a value of 25.

I assigned the review activities on Fridays to do individually or in teams of four people. The team members could ask questions and support each other’s investigations when they found new knowledge or concepts. Although the main idea was for students to review a topic, they could find some variants of the concepts, so they needed to investigate before answering. For example, the Oparin-Haldane origin of life theory is also known as Physicochemistry or Chemosynthesis, which the students had to examine to respond and continue the game.

Results

The evaluation of digital games took place at the end of the semester using a questionnaire for the 103 first-semester students in three classes. It comprised six closed questions and one open question, in which students could make comments and suggestions.

The results indicated that the students felt that the game dynamics helped them reinforce the knowledge they reviewed in class (74.1%) and only partially so (25.9%); knowledge reinforcement was the purpose of the dynamics. Fifty percent of the students stated that the games helped them to identify new concepts and vocabulary, and 59% felt they promoted general skills such as improving response speed. It may be due to teamwork, although the students had to record their answers individually.

On the other had, 86.2% of the students identified the following advantages of digital games: The most attractive feature was the possibility to repeat the game as many times as necessary, allowing them to identify and correct an error. Another advantage was that each student could advance at their own pace; some preferred to respond quickly, and others focused on answering correctly in the first attempt. Also, 70% responded that game dynamics allowed them to identify their skills and leverage them better.

Regarding the students’ perceived disadvantages of learning through digital games, 65.5% reported that they could see no disadvantages, 14.5% mentioned that the game confused them, 12.7% felt that the games were slow, and 5.5% found them long and repetitive.

Concerning the motivation to perform the activity, 87.7% responded that they felt more motivated than with more traditional closing activities. In contrast, the others did not feel a difference in motivation from what they were used to. In the more general questions, 98.3% of the students stated that digital games allowed them to learn in a different, effective, and fun way. All the students (100%) said they would like to continue with this dynamic in the closing activities instead of the traditional way.

Finally, in the comments and suggestions section, a student mentioned that the games were helpful for people like him who need a different way to memorize. Other comments included that the games were dynamic, useful for learning, and “even make them enjoy biology.” However, some also commented that they occasionally like exercises geared to a higher academic level, especially in topics of greater complexity.

Reflection

Digital game-based learning is an excellent pedagogical approach that helps students capture their attention with the elements they handle daily. Although a thorough selection of games that align with the course objectives is required, many games on varied topics in any subject can be found for free on the Internet.

Among the advantages of DGBL is that students can regulate their learning through the feedback they obtain and repetition, learning from mistakes while talking with their classmates to resolve questions, and investigating while playing. However, classroom digital games must always be directed towards a learning objective and carefully planned not to overstimulate students or call into question the quality of academic content.

The teaching community is invited to explore this pedagogical approach, periodically change the stimuli for learning, and take controlled risks to seek new strategies that motivate students in their learning process. I invite you to share your experiences and results in the Institute for the Future of Education Observatory of Tec de Monterrey to inspire other teachers.

About the author

María del Pilar Ponce Cincire (maria.ponce@tec.mx) is a biologist with a master’s in education focusing on Counseling and Educational Development from Tecnologico de Monterrey. She has more than 25 years of teaching experience. She is an instructor of courses and workshops and a speaker at education congresses. She has participated in designing and redesigning science courses for PrepaTec. Currently, she is a full-time science professor at the PrepaTec Morelia campus. Maríaistheauthor of Edu bits publications at the IFE Observatory of Tec de Monterrey: Learn Experientially with Chicken Lab Practice and Science Laboratories at Home.

References

Anastasiadis, T., Lampropoulos, G., & Siakas, K. (2018). Digital game-based learning and serious games in Education. International Journal of Advances in Scientific Research and Engineering, 4(12), 139–144.

Bergen, D. (2009). Play as the learning medium for future scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. American Journal of Play, 1, 413–428.

Clérici, C. (2012). El juego como estrategia de enseñanza y aprendizaje en el nivel superior. Diálogos Pedagógicos, 10(19), 136-140. https://revistas.bibdigital.uccor.edu.ar/index.php/dialogos/article/view/199

Cornella, P., Estebanell, M. y Brusi, D. (2020).Gamificación y aprendizaje basado en juegos. Enseñanza de las ciencias de la Tierra. Universitat de Girona: Vol. 28

López RI, Avello MR, Baute ALM, et al. Juegos digitales en la educación superior. Revista Cubana de Educación Médica Superior. 2018;32(1):264-276.

Ormazábal, V., Hernández, L. y Zúñiga, F. (2023). El juego como herramienta de aprendizaje en educación superior. Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa, 25, e28, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.24320/redie.2023.25.e28.4952

Scott, A. y Neustaedter, C. (2013). Analysis of gamification in Education. Surrey: Connections Lab: Simon Fraser University

Editing

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Edited by Rubí Román (rubi.roman@tec.mx) – Editor of the Edu bits articles and producer of The Observatory webinars- “Learning that inspires” – Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education at Tec de Monterrey.

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Translation

Daniel Wetta

This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0