In the Classroom
Biochemistry Games: AZ-Quiz and Jeopardy! tejnska * and Helena Klímova Milada Ros Department of Teaching and Didactics of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Albertov 3, 128 43, Prague, Czech Republic *
[email protected] We have been creating didactic games to make learning chemistry more interesting and fun. Didactic games bring variety to the learning process because the material is presented in a different and more interesting manner than students are used to. An example of the possible use of didactic games could be to review material covered in previous lessons. We have created two presentations for biochemistry instruction: AZ-Quiz and Jeopardy! (Figure 1). Both games are modified versions of the popular television game shows, which may be one of the reasons why these formats are often used in
the creation of didactic games (1-5). The games were created using the Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 software. The Games include 81 biochemical questions. Both games with rules are available in the supporting information. Evaluation Results
The educational games were given to seven high school chemistry teachers, who used the Jeopardy! game with 76
Figure 1. Game boards of AZ-Quiz (left) and Jeopardy! (right).
Figure 2. Results from the questionnaires.
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Vol. 88 No. 4 April 2011 pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc r 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc. 10.1021/ed100231r Published on Web 01/14/2011
In the Classroom
students and the AZ-Quiz with 117 students. The students evaluated the motivational function of the educational games, the clarity of the questions, and the graphics. Each question is on a five-point scale (from -2 to þ2) between two extreme statements. The student responses on the questionnaire to both games were almost identical (Figure 2). Students testified that both games were clearly devised and that the quality of the graphic design was high. The students also expressed excitement about these forms of instruction. For students, the inclusion of didactic games in the lessons served to diversify and revitalize instruction, and they would welcome a similar teaching style in other lessons of chemistry, as well as in other subjects. It is clear that games including questions from the
r 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
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field of biochemistry are both motivational and interesting for students. Literature Cited 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Campbell, S.; Muzyka, J. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 79, 458. Keck, M. V. J. Chem. Educ. 2000, 77, 483. Deavor, J. P. J. Chem. Educ. 2002, 73, 430. Scarpetti, D. J. Chem. Educ. 1991, 68, 1027–1028. Grabowski, J. J.; Price, M. L. J. Chem. Educ. 2003, 80, 967.
Supporting Information Available Games: rules of the games. This material is available via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
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