Teaching Science Concept with Games: A Case of Naming Inorganic Compounds with IUPAC System in Rivers State, Nigeria

Background: This study investigated the effect of games teaching approach on students’ academic performance in IUPAC inorganic nomenclature in Senior Secondary Schools in Rivers State, Nigeria. Quasi-experimental design, specifically pre-test post-test control groups was adopted. The sample comprised 93 Senior Secondary 2 and 3 chemistry students Methods: The instrument was IUPAC Inorganic Nomenclature Performance Test validated by two Science Education Lecturers and one expert in Measurement and Evolution. The reliability coefficient of 0.87 of the instrument was determined by test-retest method. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions and hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance using Analysis of Variance. Results: There was a significant difference in the performance of students taught IUPAC inorganic nomenclature with games approach and those with lecture method. Students taught with games approach performed significantly better in the performance test than those taught with lecture method. There was no significant gender based difference in performance, however, significant difference based on class level was obtained. It was recommended among others that, chemistry teachers should incorporate suitable educational games in teaching chemistry and also motivate students towards learning of chemistry.

La gamificación educativa y sus desafíos actuales desde la perspectiva pedagógica

La gamificación en el área académica facilita una estrategia eficaz para motivar al alumnado, intensificar el aprendizaje e invocar una competencia amistosa y colaborativa a través de actividades lúdicas. Con el propósito de suministrar una visión general de la gamificación en el sistema educativo, profundizando en la efectividad y desafíos de la misma, se desarrolló una revisión sistemática de la literatura científica donde se examinaron 47 artículos de investigación publicados en la base de datos de Web of Science entre 2015 y 2020. Desarrollándose una investigación de tipo descriptiva. En el estudio no solo se prevé destacar la novedad de la gamificación educativa apreciada como un cambio motivador, sino que también persiguió esclarecer desafíos de la misma. Los resultados confirmaron que las prácticas adoptadas en estas actividades lúdicas sirven para apoyar los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje en el ámbito educativo y ha sido observada como un fenómeno de vertiginoso crecimiento en la actualidad. PALABRAS CLAVE: Pedagogía; gamificación; juegos; enseñanza; desafíos. Educational gamification and its current challenges from the pedagogical perspective ABSTRACT Gamification in academia facilitates an effective strategy to motivate students, intensify learning, and invoke friendly and collaborative competition through playful activities. With the purpose of providing an overview of gamification in the educational system, delving into its effectiveness and challenges, a systematic review of the scientific literature was developed where 47 research articles published in the Web of Science database between 2015 and 2020. Developing a descriptive research. The study not only expected to highlight the novelty of educational gamification appreciated as a motivating change, but also sought to clarify its challenges. The results confirmed that the practices adopted in these recreational activities serve to support the teaching-learning processes in the educational field and has been observed as a phenomenon of vertiginous growth today. KEYWORDS: Pedagogy; gamification; games; teaching; challenges.

O uso de games nos anos iniciais do ensino fundamental: o que dizem as pesquisas

Resumo: Neste texto apresentamos um panorama das pesquisas sobre uso de games nos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental a partir dos repositórios da CAPES e da Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e Dissertações (BDTD) em um recorte temporal de 2014 a 2019. Trata-se de uma pesquisa do tipo bibliográfica. Foram reunidos 17 trabalhos sobre games ou jogos digitais e após uma filtragem, analisamos nove produções. Os trabalhos revelaram que as crianças contemporâneas passam mais de duas horas do seu tempo diário fazendo uso de games e no contexto escolar, seu uso também é presente, possibilitando um ensino dinâmico e atrativo nas diferentes áreas do saber. Além disso, colabora para aprendizagem de alunos com dificuldades de aprendizagem, permite maior interação, o desenvolvimento do raciocínio lógico e estimula as relações entre objetos virtuais e reais.Palavras-chave: Anos iniciais. Games. Ensino-aprendizagem. The use of games in the first years of fundamental education: what research saysAbstract: In this text, we present an overview of research on the use of games in the early years of elementary school from the CAPES and Brazilian Digital LLibrary of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD) repositories in a time frame from 2014 to 2019. This is a bibliographic research. 17 works about games or digital games were gathered and after filtering, we analyzed nine productions. The works revealed that contemporary children spend more than two hours of their daily time using games and in the school context, their use is also present, enabling dynamic and attractive teaching in different areas of knowledge. In addition, it contributes to the learning of students with learning difficulties, allows greater interaction, the development of logical reasoning and stimulates the relationships between virtual and real objects.Keywords: Elementary school. Games. Teaching-learning.

Perceived Learning Strategies Employed by Preschoolers in Learning English

Learning strategies are plans that learners use to achieve their learning goals. The current study investigates the perceived uses of learning strategies among preschoolers, namely Basic rehearsal strategies, Complex rehearsal strategies, Basic elaboration strategies, Complex elaboration strategies, Basic organizational strategies, Complex organizational strategies, Comprehension monitoring strategies and Affective and motivational strategies among preschoolers in learning English. The study employed 23 preschool teachers as the samples having semi-structured interviews as the research instrument. Findings from the study showed that the learning strategies were implemented by the preschoolers in the course of their learning. Yet, the degree of the usages of the learning strategies varies from one to another. The study implied that deciding on learning games, teaching aids, and asking appropriate questions during lessons are essential to maximize the learning strategies among children in their early learning.