‘The Game of the Sea’: An Interdisciplinary Educational Board Game on the Marine Environment and Ocean Awareness for Primary and Secondary Students

Games are a proven tool for learning at all ages and in many contexts. They increase the attractiveness of learning processes through arousing interest and enhancing motivation, and aid with the development of social skills. Educational games provide teachers with different approaches to teaching. ‘The Game of the Sea’ is an interdisciplinary board game, specifically designed to teach its players about the marine environment, regardless of their age. Through its 68 sections, coloured according to particular topics and organised as a fish shape, players encounter a wide range of questions and activities. Through playing this game, players acquire a broad knowledge of science, the marine environment and its importance, and literature. The game uses an interdisciplinary approach with question cards on a variety of topics (including maths, physics, biology, chemistry, art, etc.). A total of 222 players (111 children, aged 11–15, and 111 adults, aged 18–72) tested the game. These players were enrolled in different formal and non-formal educational contexts and had different educational backgrounds. For a qualitative analysis of game sessions (participant observation), researchers acted as game moderators and, while doing so, made subtle observations of players playing the game. On top of this, the value of the game, as a didactic tool, was evaluated with a test that players took before and after the game. After playing the game, knowledge of the marine environment, increased in both children and adults, with a slightly higher increase in children. Therefore, ‘The Game of the Sea’ is suitable for teaching all ages about the marine environment. Further, this game can impart to its players the importance of the marine environment and the importance of protecting this environment.

Game-Based Learning to Engage Students With Physics and Astronomy Using a Board Game

In this research article, the authors developed a novel astronomy board game and examined how this approach could facilitate the learning and teaching of astronomy topics covered in the new Irish Science Syllabus. A total of 119 post-primary students took part in the pilot trial across Ireland. Data was collected via feedback questionnaires, systematic observations and pre and post-test surveys. Results indicate that this astronomy board game significantly enhances students' knowledge of astronomy concepts and perceptions of scientists. Furthermore, teachers showed positive attitudes towards this approach for teaching astronomy. Additionally, the game was demonstrated as a useful learning tool and as an activity to promote social skills. The findings offer a promising basis for further exploration of the integration of game-based approaches to physics education to promote active participation and interaction, balancing the learning objectives with play.

Integrating Educational Board Game in Chinese Learning Environment to Enhance Students' Learning Performance and Flow Experience

Game-based learning is a wide-used learning way in recent years. Many research have showed that educational board games cause a positive effect on students' learning motivation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of educational board game on students' Chinese learning performance, flow experience, and learning motivation. Nineteen undergraduate students participated in this study. The outcomes indicated that the integration of educational board game into Chinese learning could maintain and arouse students' learning. Also, the study showed that game-based Chinese learning activities could significantly improve students' learning performance and narrow the learning gap between high-level group students and medium-level group students.

Perancangan Media Pembelajaran Board Game Edumaze Untuk Jenjang Pendidikan Sekolah Dasar

Pembelajaran secara daring selama pandemi Covid-19 menimbulkan beberapa permasalahan dalam motivasi belajar siswa. Selama pembelajaran daring siswa banyak menggunakan handphone atau gadget sebagai alat untuk belajar. Namun, siswa lebih cenderung menggunakan gadget-nya untuk bermain game ataupun mengakses media sosial daripada untuk belajar. Hal tersebut mengakibatkan berkurangnya semangat untuk belajar dan menurunnya frekuensi berinteraksi seorang anak dengan teman sebayanya secara langsung. Oleh karena itu, ketergantungan terhadap gadget ini perlu diminimalisir dan semangat untuk belajar perlu ditingkatkan. Dengan dimulainya Pembelajaran Tatap Muka (PTM) lagi di sekolah saat ini, kegiatan belajar-mengajar di kelas membutuhkan sebuah terobosan untuk membangkitkan kembali minat belajar siswa. Perancangan media pembelajaran berbentuk board game ini diharapkan dapat meningkatkan motivasi belajar dan membantu siswa untuk dapat bersosialisasi dengan teman-temannya secara langsung. Dalam studi ini, metode yang digunakan adalah research and development untuk melihat kebutuhan materi yang perlu disampaikan dan diaplikasikan ke dalam board game bernama Edumaze. Materi ajar yang diaplikasikan adalah untuk kelas 6 SD yang berasal dari buku bahan ajar tematik. Hasil yang didapatkan yaitu terciptanya sebuah board game yang mengadopsi mekanisme permainan berupa dice rolling, grid movement, dan variable phase order. Mekanisme tersebut dimodifikasi kembali menjadi beberapa mekanisme yang baru. Pada board game Edumaze terdapat komponen-komponen alat untuk bermain berupa papan maze, papan menu, kartu karakter, kartu bertanya, kartu ditanya, kartu buku, pion karakter, pion play dan koin dari Bank Edumaze.

APLIKASI PRODUK BOARD GAME ‘HOOTANIA’ SEBAGAI UPAYA MENINGKATKAN MINAT BACA PADA ANAK

Membaca adalah dasar dari ilmu yang perlu kita perhatikan banyaknya program dari Lembaga pemerintahan tentang budaya literasi di sekolah ataupun di masyarakat, akan tetapi yang perlu diperhatikan adalah masih sangat kurang budaya membaca. Efektifitas penerapan dalam kebiasaan budaya membaca adalah sejak dini yang di terapkan oleh orang tua dan guru. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan studi kasus dan pencarian data dengan teknik user center designed dengan tahapan alur analisis, desain, evaluasi dan implementasi . Maka hasil yang diberikan berupa project base produk boardgame ’Hootania’ yang memiliki indicator ketercapaian mampu membaca, mengenal hewan, mengenal warna, dan berhitung disudut visualisasi produk ini mengkedapankan pendekatan user pada umur 4 hingga 6 tahun. Luaran hasil produk mampu mengatasi permasalahan pengenalan membaca kepada peserta didik.

Board Game Sebagai Sarana Untuk Memperkenalkan Tokoh-Tokoh Cerita Rakyat di Jawa Timur Pada Anak Usia 7-12 Tahun

Di era modern saat ini, banyak budaya luar yang masuk ke Indonesia. Dengan banyaknya budaya yang masuk ke Indonesia, banyak memberikan dampak positif kepada anak-anak generasi muda, karena anak-anak dapat mempelajari kebudayaan yang beragam dari budaya asing. Akan tetapi, itu semua juga berdampak buruk pada anak-anak, dengan banyaknya budaya asing yang masuk ke Indonesia, membuat anak-anak menjadi lupa dengan budayanya sendiri diantaranya adalah cerita rakyat. Perancangan ini bertujuan menciptakan seperangkat board game petualangan sebagai media interaktif untuk memperkenalkan kembali tokoh-tokoh cerita rakyat di Jawa Timur. Penelitian dilakukan dengan menggali data melalui kegiatan wawancara dengan narasumber terkait seperti guru. Selain itu melakukan studi komparator dengan board game yang sejenis untuk menggali data dan SWOT. Tahapan perancangan penulis meliputi perancangan tema, pembuatan konsep, proses desain, produksi, hingga finishing dari berbagai komponen-komponennya.Perancangan board game ditujukan untuk memperkenalkan tokoh-tokoh cerita rakyat di Jawa Timur pada anak usia 7-12 tahun. Board game berjudul Ngulandara. Board game ini memiliki genre adventure dengan menggunakan konsep yang diangkat dari tokoh-tokoh cerita rakyat di Jawa Timur. Terdapat media pendukung berupa merchandise dan media promosi. Diharapkan agar board game ini dapat membantu anak untuk lebih mengenal tokoh-tokoh cerita rakyat di Jawa Timur.

Gastronot: a pilot project for promoting healthy eating habits using mixed-method study design

Background: Eating habits are formed from childhood and develop into adulthood. Unhealthy eating habits will persist into adulthood and can lead to various diseases. Healthy eating and behaviour should be taught using engaging tools. The study aims to pilot nutrition education using the game-based learning approach, implementing a specially designed learning board game entitled "Gastronot". Methods: A mixed-method study was used in two stages. The first stage was an FGD with 14 informants and in-depth interviews with six informants to develop the game. The second stage was the game's development, and a pre and post-test were conducted on 88 children to evaluate the game—the study was conducted from August 2019 to July 2020. Results: Results showed almost half the children (49%) never heard about Balanced Nutrition Diet Pyramid. There was a significant difference between respondents' knowledge before and after playing the game with a p-value of 0.021. The game was able to engage participants in the active learning process. Conclusions: We concluded that the game-based learning utilizing the Gastronot board game demonstrated good results as a method for teaching primary school students about food and healthy eating habits.

Development and Evaluation of a Chinese Character Educational Board Game for Non-Native Learners

There is no doubt that knowing Chinese gives graduates a competitive advantage. The ability to communicate fluently in Chinese has long been a requirement for Chinese employers, particularly those looking to do business in China's e-commerce market. Non-native learners must master four fundamental abilities in order to become literate in the Chinese language: listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Previous research has found that writing Chinese characters is frequently the most difficult task for both non-native and native learners. The issue arises during the process of learning Chinese characters and excessive use of gadgets, while online learning inspires both researchers to create a Chinese educational board game dubbed the LiSCReW Family Board Game (LiSCReW). LiSCReW is an acronym for Listen, Speak, Count, Read, and Write. The purpose of this study is (i) to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of the LiSCReW for learning Chinese characters; and (ii) to share non-native learners' perspectives and experiences while playing LiSCReW during a one-day exhibition at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Johor Campus. To facilitate playtesting and evaluation of the board game, a total of 22 students from UiTM Johor were conveniently selected. The findings indicate that the LiSCReW board game is an effective educational tool for learning Chinese characters. The results show that respondents are more confident in recognising Chinese characters (90.9%), pronouncing Chinese characters (68.2%), reading Chinese characters (54.6%), and applying the Chinese characters they learned while playing LiSCReW to their Chinese test (77.2%). The findings can be used to guide future research into the empirical testing of Flow Theory's applicability among a large number of respondents.