Level Up!: Gamification of Students' Conceptual Understanding Motivation in Science

https://doi.org/10.70228/CBJ2024050

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ABSTRACT

Students need a strong foundation in science education because it is the basis for their future intellectual development. Additionally, students will need a solid understanding of the basic sciences for their future careers. Gamification can be a potential strategy to enhance students' conceptual understanding and motivation in science. Specifically, this quasi-experimental study compared science students' conceptual understanding and motivation before and after gamification exposure. A total enumeration of 33 Science, Technology, and Engineering (STE) Grade 9 students enrolled in a public secondary school in online classes for School Year 2021-2022. The duly validated 50-item test and Science Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ) were used to measure students' conceptual understanding and motivation. Mean, standard deviation and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests were used as statistical tools. Results revealed that students had an "average" conceptual understanding of science before the intervention and a "high" motivation towards the subject. However, after eight sessions, their conceptual knowledge improved to "high" while their motivation was "very high." Moreover, results revealed a significant difference in the conceptual understanding and motivation in science among students before and after exposure to gamification, making it an effective strategy. It is recommended that further studies be conducted to identify other factors that may contribute to the strategy's effectiveness.

Keywords: conceptual understanding, gamification, motivation, science education