Students' Perceptions about the Use of Educational Games as a Tool

Article pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc

Students’ Perceptions about the Use of Educational Games as a Tool for Teaching the Periodic Table of Elements at the High School Level Antonio Joaquín Franco-Mariscal,*,†,⊥ José María Oliva-Martínez,‡ and M. L. Almoraima Gil§ †

IES Juan Ramón Jiménez, Málaga, Spain Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain ‡ Departamento de Didáctica, Á rea de Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales, and §Departamento de Química Física, Universidad de Cádiz, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain ⊥

ABSTRACT: The study reported here was conducted to investigate the perceptions of high school students on the use of educational games as a tool for teaching the periodic table of elements in a chemistry class in Spain. The 127 students who participated in this study came from six different classes in grade 10 (15−16 years old). The students’ perceptions of the usefulness of a series of 13 specifically designed games as educational tools was assessed. This was achieved in a survey containing 13 items using a 5point Likert-type scale, which was completed by the students at the end of the unit. The results of the study reveal that the students who participated had positive perceptions regarding the use of educational games. Students usually found the educational games to be an interesting tool to make the learning process more enjoyable. It can be observed that the students’ perceptions of the games are more favorable than for other class tasks used in the control group. The opinions indicate that games also stimulated their participation in classroom activities. Moreover, educational games are considered to help students better understand some of the main concepts presented and discussed throughout the unit. KEYWORDS: First-Year Undergraduate/General, High School/Introductory Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Collaborative/Cooperative Learning, Humor/Puzzles/Games, Nomenclature/Units/Symbols, Student-Centered Learning, Periodicity/Periodic Table

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INTRODUCTION

In an effort to circumvent the acknowledged limitations of the more conventional approach to teaching chemistry at the high school level, numerous methodological alternatives have been proposed. Likewise, new teaching materials have been developed. A major goal of these alternative methods and materials is to promote a much more participative attitude of students in their learning process. Thus, as stressed by Orlik12 in his review on the use of active methodologies in the teaching of science, particularly chemistry, educational games constitute one of the most valuable instruments to make the learning of science a much more participative process and improve students’ attitudes toward chemistry. According to Salen and Zimmerman,13 a game is a “system in which players engage in artif icial conf lict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome” (p 80). Hence, any game has a challenging component in terms of the rules and purposes, by raising either a personal challenge or a competitive drive. Moreover, in education it is essential that the game also results in student learning, at either a cognitive or affective level, to enable the development of positive attitudes toward chemistry. In this regard, several authors have found that

The subject of science in general, and chemistry in particular, is often not well appreciated by high school students. There is evidence of a decline in interest in science from high school students, and the numbers choosing to pursue the study of science and scientific careers are falling.1,2 The attitude of students is usually acknowledged to be an important factor in determining the success of learning processes.3−5 This is particularly true in the case of chemistry, where several authors have found a positive relationship between attitude toward chemistry and achievement in chemistry.6−9 This relationship is important because teachers may inadvertently create the negative attitudes that many students have toward science by using inappropriate teaching styles and instructional techniques.10 Nevertheless, as these authors have also noted, teachers could change these conditions by focusing on specific strategies, such as active and cooperative student learning activities or the development of appropriate interpersonal relationships between students. In fact, two of the key factors that should be considered in any attempt to enhance students’ attitudes toward learning chemistry are the methods used to present the content and the instructional techniques that are implemented.11 © XXXX American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

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dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed4003578 | J. Chem. Educ. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX

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through academic performance measures involving written tests. In particular, the predictions considered are 2-fold: 1. In this study the students who usually use educational games to learn chemistry will value in a positive way the contribution of these games, in terms of both cognitive learning and affective level. 2. Educational games will be considered superior to other modes of learning that are usually introduced to students.

games provide interesting opportunities to build students’ mental structures,14 to develop abstract thinking15,16 and to improve some relevant abilities of students like those related to attention, memory, creativity, and imagination.15−17 Specifically, educational games are a powerful tool to motivate students in their learning of science12 and to try to make learning chemistry more interesting and fun.18 Thus, educational games have emerged as a popular activity for many chemistry teachers. Numerous papers have been published in this area, including an interesting review in which contributions from different authors are critically analyzed.19 In particular, in recent years a significant number of educational approaches focused on the chemical elements and periodic table have been published in the literature, as reflected in the extensive review by the first two authors of this paper,20,21 in which the various proposals are categorized into two groups: games aimed to the students’ familiarization with the periodic table, through the memorization of the names and symbols of chemical elements and their place in the table,20 and games with the aim of helping students to conceptualize and understand more complex aspects related to the nature, the foundations, and the applications of the periodic table.21 However, most of the available studies are devoted to the description and way to use such resources18,22−27 rather than the assessment of their possibilities and limitations as educational tools. The paper by Larson et al.28 is an exception. However, the research purpose is mainly devoted to the analysis of students’ difficulties in building relationships and arguments concerning the periodic table rather than the assessment of the usefulness of the educational games in their own learning experience. For this reason, and because the periodic table is considered by students as a dry topic when it is taught by transmission of knowledge,29 we have designed a unit on this topic where games play a central and recurring role in trying to improve learning. In particular, we have developed and tested some new games specifically devoted to the teaching of the periodic table of elements in 10th grade classrooms.30 Our main goal was to investigate the effects of the new teaching material on the students’ learning both through academic assessment of these topics and through the students’ own evaluation of the relevance and interest of the methodology and resources used. Specifically, through this study we wanted to ascertain the students’ perceptions about the use of games in the classroom as a routine device used in the teaching unit implemented. The students’ assessments not only provide a first indication of the efficiency of the teaching/learning process from a conceptual and procedural point of view but also provide some information about the impact on affective and attitudinal level. Indeed, recent literature on the impact of curricular change acknowledges the usefulness of including students as sources of data,31,32 since students’ perceptions about teaching practices are more reliable than teachers’ self-assessment of their own approaches.33 This study is specifically aimed at exploring the student’s perception of the usefulness of games as educational instruments in the chemistry class. Our hypothesis is that the materials tested, which incorporate a number of educational games as classroom resources, would be valued positively by students, thus reflecting the positive perception that they have about the usefulness for learning in both the cognitive and affective fields. Future studies will attempt to verify this utility

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DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIT WITH EDUCATIONAL GAMES With the aim of contextualizing the didactic scene that will serve to evaluate the students’ perceptions about the use of games, the learning purposes and contents of the unit are shown in Table 1 and Figure 1, respectively. We designed the Table 1. Learning Purposes of the Teaching Material Learning Purpose Category34 Learning science

Doing science

Learning about science

Unit Content as Student Learning Outcomes: Students Will Be Able To Know the “bricks” of matter and the universal nature of the chemical elements Assimilate some basic properties of the chemical elements (atomic number, mass number, atomic mass, isotopes, octet rule) and their relationship with the periodic classification of the elements Know some applications of isotopes Know the limitations of the periodic table Identify some chemical elements in the surrounding materials Obtain useful information about the chemical elements from the analysis of the atomic data that characterize them Design and perform some experiments to classify elements Differentiate some elements from their properties Recognize some chemical properties of the elements: e.g., reactivity and stoichiometry Classify some chemical elements according to their properties Analyze data from the periodic table to infer the atomic constitution Solve problems and answer questions about the constitution and properties of the elements Interpret and predict the stability of atoms and their chemical reactivity Infer the evolution of atomic properties Recognize the importance of using universal symbols for the identification of chemical elements Appreciate the importance of chemistry in daily life Identify regularity and order as criteria in the periodic classification Estimate the limitations and open-to-revision nature of the present form of the periodic table of elements Appreciate the usefulness of scientific models Recognize the lack of variability of the chemical elements and subatomic particles that form them as a key concept to understand the world in which we live Recognize the strengths and limitations of atomic models: Thomson, Rutherford, shells, and the periodic table itself

learning purposes using the three major categories proposed by Hodson:34 “learning science”, “doing science”, and “learning about science” (Table 1). Content included in the unit is summarized in the concept map in Figure 1. The unit was taught in 24 1 h lessons. In all, 21 lessons corresponded to the implementation, another two to assessment tests, and an initial lesson was given to develop a B



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Figure 1. Concept map of the unit about the periodic table.

strongly agree (five) to strongly disagree (one) for the positive statements, the reverse ratings, strongly agree (one) to strongly disagree (five), were used for the negative statements. Agreement with a positive statement indicates a favorable perception toward the use educational games. The survey was developed by the authors of this article and was reviewed and revised by experts for their content validity.

questionnaire to assess students’ initial knowledge about the topic. The unit incorporates different materials and tasks in which educational games were central elements. A significant proportion of the games consisted of adaptations of traditional games such as Go Fish, Bingo, or word puzzles. Games included in the unit are presented in Table 2 along with a brief description. It is not reasonable to expect that all aspects of a teaching unit can and should be addressed through games. As a result, such activities were combined with other more conventional tasks in the unit.

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Pilot Study

To validate the survey a pilot study was conducted with 43 10th grade students from a secondary school in Spain in 2007. Students’ ages ranged from 15 to 17 years, and they belonged to two classes, each of which consisted of 22−24 students. The students were enrolled in a chemistry course and had received chemistry preparation in the previous year. The statements in the survey were validated through a statistical measure. A prior exploratory correlational analysis revealed that three of the negatively formulated items were not correlated with the rest and they were also difficult for the students to understand. As a consequence, these statements were removed from the final version of the survey. The resulting scale showed a Cronbach-alpha coefficient of 0.81, in contrast to the value of 0.76 obtained for the complete survey. The 13 statements included in this final version are shown in Table 3.

ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS

Instrument Design

The purpose of the research described here was to investigate and portray the students’ perceptions concerning the use of educational games in the chemistry class, and the main instrument used to achieve these goals was a survey. Survey statements are grouped into categories that reflect various students’ perceptions: the usefulness of the educational games for learning chemistry, the relevance and assistance in understanding chemical concepts, the simplicity of the game rules, and their contribution to the participation of students in class activities. Sample perception items crafted for the instrument used were “Educational games have allowed me to become much more involved and participate in classroom tasks” (example of a positive statement) or “I think that educational games are very boring” (example of a negative statement). Specifically, a 16 item perception scale (with 8 positive and 8 negative statements) was used. The survey contained items in a 5-point Likert-scale (strongly agree, agree, undecided, partially disagree, strongly disagree). While the ratings ranged from

Main Validation Study

A more comprehensive study was conducted in 2008 and 2009 involving 127 10th grade students from the same secondary school where the pilot study was carried out. A total of 58% of the participants were male and 42% were female. The students’ ages ranged from to 15 to 17 years, and they belonged to six classes. The students were enrolled in a chemistry course and had received chemistry preparation in the previous year. This sample did not include the pool of students surveyed in the pilot study. C


Computer Tetris game based on the symbols of the elements Design of a model to familiarize the student with De Chancourtois’ telluric helix WebQuest to work the different atomic models Two simulations to learn Rutherford’s experiment (a macroscopic simulation and another computer simulation)

Card game illustrating the octet rule An analogy to recognize the strengths and limitations of the periodic table Puzzle designed from questions about the periodic table A simulation game of the Soccer World Cup using chemistry questions

Tetris Game Model of the Telluric Screw40

Octet Rule Card Game Calendar Game41

Clues and Elements42 Soccer World Cup Game43

WebQuest Rutherford’s Experiment Game

Aim

Puzzle aimed at improving the students’ skill in naming the chemical elements Card game for learning the different families of elements of the periodic table The execution of drawings to recognize the presence of certain chemical elements in objects from daily life Practical work to learn some properties of the chemical elements Bingo to learn about the structure of atoms

Educational Game

50 States and the Chemical Elements35 Families of Chemical Elements Card Game36 Identification of the chemical elements in pictures37 Conductors and Insulators38 Bingo Game39

Table 2. Brief Description of the Games Included in the Unit Description

Students should fill out a puzzle similar to Scrabble from some clues about the chemical elements Each student makes up the players of a soccer team from the chemical symbols included in the name of the team. Students compete in the different phases of the Soccer World Cup by solving chemistry questions

Students should answer the different questions proposed in a WebQuest about atomic models (a) Macroscopic simulation: Students should discover the shape of a hidden object by shooting marbles into a box. (b) Computer simulation of the model Students should form some combinations of 8 electrons Students should compare the periodic table with a calendar

Students should measure the electrical conductivity of certain elements Students make a bingo card where the numbers are changed to chemical symbols. Students should fill out the card with information about the number of protons, electrons, or neutrons in the atoms Students should place each element in the corresponding box in the periodic table Students should design a model showing the De Chancourtois’ telluric helix

Students should collect complete main-group families of the elements, i.e., families 1, 2, 13−18. The game combines features of Gin Rummy and Go Fish Students should show in a drawing the presence of the chemical elements in his/her life

Students should identify the name of each US state from a series of chemical elements included as clues

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It can be seen from Table 4 that the average values were around 4 for the majority of items, with all items having values higher than 3. A t test between the highest and lowest rankings (item 13 and item 7, respectively) showed significant differences (t = −9.203, df = 126, p < 0.001). Higher scores are achieved when students value educational games as a device to help to make the course content easier (item 1), as an aid to learning (item 3), as a chance to boost the participation in class (item 13 as the negative statement), and as a way to make classes more enjoyable (item 6 and item 11 as the negative statement). The lowest rates were obtained for educational games as an appropriate tool for a better understanding of relevant chemical concepts (item 7 as the negative statement), the simplicity of the rules of the games (item 2 as the negative statement), and the value given to chemistry through educational games (item 12). Evaluation of the results for items 3 (positive statement) and 7 (negative statement) shows different values for the contribution of games to the students’ understanding of the topic (t = 6.245, df = 126, p < 0.001). It is possible that the different ways in which the questions were expressed will contribute to the differences observed for these items. It is feasible that the average value for the two items is more appropriate to evaluate how the assessment is appreciated by students. This average value is 3.70, which is reasonably high and indicates that games are rated fairly highly as an aid to understanding the content studied. A similar trend was found for items 2 and 8, which evaluated the difficulty in understanding the rules of the games (t = −2.704, df = 126, p < 0.01). In this case, the average value of the two scores is 3.55, which is a modest but acceptable value. A principal components analysis was performed to examine the construct validity of the survey as a whole. Principal components analysis is a technique that attempts to reduce complex data sets that consist of many different variables to a smaller set of new variables that can still describe much of the variation in the original data. These new variables, called principal components, are chosen to be independent (i.e., the new variables are not correlated whereas the original, untransformed variables may have been correlated) and to maximize the variance found in the original data. The Kaiser−Meyer−Olkin measure of sampling adequacy index was 0.82, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significantly less than 0.05 (χ2 = 433.91, df = 78, p < 0.001), thus demonstrating that the identity matrix instrument was reliable and confirming the usefulness of the factor analysis. In accordance with this analysis, a three-factor solution was found (eigenvalue higher than 1) (Figure 2). However, the scree plot showed that there was only one principal factor, suggesting that most of the information is “saturated” by one single component. This means that the information provided by this set of 13 items can be summed up by just one variable or component from which the rest could be obtained. This type of result is often desirable when trying to summarize all of the information obtained from a test on a single variable defined as the average of results for individual items. It can then be stated that the resulting variable has an internal validity. The values that Cronbach’s alpha would have if a particular item was deleted from the scale are shown in Table 5. It can be seen that the removal of any item would result in a lower Cronbach’s alpha value. Therefore, all of the items seem to contribute positively to the construction of the scale.

Table 3. Items Selected for the Perceptions Scale Item Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Statements for Response The use of educational games makes it easier for me to study chemistry. Some educational games have confusing rules. Nobody knew what we should do. Educational games have helped me to gain a better understanding of the chemistry content. Despite the use of educational games, I definitely do not like chemistry. I found the educational games that we used attractive. Educational games have allowed me to become much more involved and participate in classroom tasks. I do not consider educational games to be an appropriate tool for a better understanding of relevant chemical concepts. The rules of the educational games were simple and easy to follow. I do not find educational games to be an appropriate way to learn chemistry. By using educational games some chemical content has been made interesting and even enjoyable subject matter. I think that educational games are very boring. Educational games have contributed to me seeing chemistry as an important area in my life. I felt less motivated to participate in classroom tasks when we used educational games.

The students completed the survey of perceptions at the end of the unit. The survey was anonymous, and it did not contribute to the student’s grade, meaning that there was no grade penalty directed toward a student if they did not fill out the survey. The students were informed of the performance of the study and of the use of their output as instruments for the research. They also showed their agreement with both of these intentions. The data analysis procedure included two main phases: descriptive statistical data analysis and principal components analysis. In both cases, SPSS software was used for data storage and for the corresponding calculations. Partial scores for each item and their confidence intervals are shown in Table 4. Table 4. Mean Scores and Standard Errors Results of Student Survey, N = 127 Item Number

Mean Scores on a 1−5 Scalea

SD

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

4.10 3.41 4.02 3.80 3.76 4.06 3.38 3.69 3.91 3.87 4.13 3.45 4.44

0.91 0.95 0.80 1.11 0.90 1.04 1.00 1.03 0.99 0.86 0.91 0.97 0.89

a

The survey used a 5-point Likert-type scale, with these characterizations: strongly agree; agree; undecided; partially disagree; strongly disagree. For positive statements, the ratings ranged from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1); for negative statements, the ratings were reversed, with a range of strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5). See Table 3 for the survey statement text. E



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Figure 2. Scree plot for the principal components analysis.

Table 5. Item Total Statistics Item Number

Scale Mean If Item Deleted

Scale Variance If Item Deleted

Corrected Item − Total Correlation

Cronbach’s Alpha If Item Deleted

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

45.93 46.62 46.01 46.23 46.28 45.97 46.65 46.34 46.13 46.16 45.90 46.58 45.59

40.908 44.189 42.151 43.035 42.535 42.428 42.339 41.464 42.635 41.578 41.934 41.785 45.101

0.636 0.316 0.607 0.331 0.493 0.415 0.444 0.493 0.422 0.609 0.537 0.507 0.307

0.796 0.820 0.800 0.821 0.807 0.813 0.811 0.807 0.813 0.799 0.804 0.806 0.823

Figure 3. Distribution of ratings of the perception scale (global assessment).

employed, and they were also taught by the same teacher that taught the experimental group. At the end of the unit, these students filled out the identical survey of perceptions used to assess the games (Table 3), where the term “educational game” was changed to “task”. The aim was to compare the views of students in the control group in relation to the activities proposed in the classroom with those obtained for the experimental group in relation to the games. Partial scores for each item and their confidence intervals for the control group are shown in Table 6.

In order to make a global assessment of the survey we calculated the average scores for the 13 items and normalized the results on a scale of 0 to 100 points. The resulting scale showed a Cronbach-alpha coefficient of 0.83, indicating a fairly high reliability.44 The score from the scale ranged from the lowest (score =15) to the highest (score =100), with a mean score of 71 points and a standard deviation of 13 points (Figure 3). These results suggest that the students had a rather positive perception of educational games.

Table 6. Mean Scores and Standard Errors for the Control Group Results of Student Survey, N = 85

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COMPARISON OF RESULTS FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS We considered it of interest to use a control group to assess the educational tool for the sake of comparison. This comparison could bolster the prediction that the use of games is indeed effective rather than simply being perceived as effective by the students. The subjects for this study were 85 10th grade students from a secondary school in Spain. The study was conducted in 2013. A total of 52% of the participants were male, and 48% were female. The students’ ages ranged from 15 to 17 years, and they belonged to four classes, each of which consisted of 21−24 students. The students were enrolled in a chemistry course and had received chemistry preparation in the previous year. Students in the control group covered the same material using pedagogical methods in which the games were not

Item Number

Mean Scores on a 1−5 Scalea

SD

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

3.58 3.43 3.68 3.64 3.31 3.71 2.85 3.54 3.56 3.52 3.73 3.52 3.73

1.12 1.09 1.20 1.22 1.12 1.08 1.21 1.13 1.17 1.09 1.18 1.09 1.21

a

The survey used a 5-point Likert-type scale, with these characterizations: strongly agree; agree; undecided; partially disagree; strongly disagree. For positive statements, the ratings ranged from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1); for negative statements, the ratings were reversed, with a range of strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5). See Table 3 for the survey statement text.

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CONCLUSIONS The results reported in this work show that the games that were assessed have a positive impact on the students’ perceptions toward the use of educational games in chemistry learning. Some conclusions concerning the use of educational games that emerged from our analysis are as follows: • Students’ perceptions in the experimental group, in which educational games were used, were more positive than the perceptions of pupils in the control group, where more traditional classroom-based methods were used. This finding shows that the use of innovative methodologies in the classroom enhances students’ perceptions of chemistry. • In the opinion of students the use of games served to facilitate learning and make the classes interesting and enjoyable. • On the negative side, it appears that the instructions for the games were not particularly easy to understand for students, and this is an area that should be addressed in the future. Therefore, in a sense, educational games can be considered as powerful tools in science, and, when used appropriately, they are an excellent resource for the teaching/learning process.45,46 It can be concluded that educational games should be incorporated within the battery of tools that help to make the teaching/learning process in chemistry more appealing and fruitful. To date, however, the number of studies concerned with the development and use of new games specifically devoted to the teaching of chemistry at the high school level is rather limited. Further research in this field is certainly necessary to make the learning of a central science a more stimulating and enjoyable activity in order to ensure the balanced and sustainable development of students. The study has some limitations to keep in mind. For example, we insist that the data come only from the students’ perceptions, responding to a very particular point of view, the validity and reliability of which are conditioned by the honesty of the subject’s response. Therefore, it would be also necessary to access data from other sources, e.g., the opinions of their teachers, classroom observations, or performance tests results. For these reasons the conclusions that can be made are partial and further research is necessary to confirm and/or extend the conclusions offered here.

The partial scores for each item in the experimental and control groups are compared in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Partial scores for each item in the experimental and control groups.

The assessments made by the students in the experimental group were more favorable than those given by the control group in all cases except for items 2 and 12. Nevertheless, the differences were not statistically significant for item 4 (p = 0.124) or item 8 (p = 0.088). Accordingly, it appears that the games had the following positive effects: • The chemistry content was perceived by the students as being easier than other tasks (item 1). • The students had a greater appreciation of the understanding achieved (items 3 and 7). • The classes seemed to be more attractive, interesting, and enjoyable (items 5, 10, and 11). • Higher levels of student participation were achieved (items 6 and 13). • Overall, the use of games was considered to be an appropriate strategy to enhance the learning of chemistry (item 9). However, it did not seem that the instructions for the games were easier for students than those for other tasks (item 2) nor did they contribute to a greater appreciation of the importance of chemistry (item 12). There is insufficient evidence to indicate that the use of games awakens a greater motivation toward chemistry (item 4). The data for a comparative analysis of the global assessment for the experimental and control groups are given in Table 7.

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Group

Mean Scores (0−100)

SD

Experimental (N = 127) Control (N = 85)

71 63

13 16

0.83 0.82

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Corresponding Author

*E-mail: [email protected].

Table 7. Comparison of Mean Scores in the Experimental and Control Groups (Global Assessment) Cronbach’s Alpha

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Notes

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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REFERENCES

This research was partially supported with funds from the Educational Innovation Team "KIMIKA" (EIEU26), of the University of Cádiz (Spain).

It can be observed that the students’ ratings in the survey on the games are more favorable than for other class tasks used in the control group. These differences are statistically significant: F(1,210) = 16.028, p = 0.000. This result suggests a preference by students for the use of educational games as a learning resource in comparison to other classroom tasks.

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Students' Perceptions about the Use of Educational Games as a Tool

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