Science Instruction through the Game and Physical Activities Course: An Interdisciplinary Teaching Practice

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of science instruction given through the game and physical activities course in accordance with interdisciplinary teaching approaches on students' science achievement and retention. The participants were 82 third grade students from a public elementary school. Three classes were chosen as experimental groups and one class was chosen as a control group in the school. The instruction period lasted for five weeks in all groups. The data were collected by an achievement test and an education portal achievement (EPA) test. The pretest-posttest control group design was used in the study. Data obtained from the tests were analyzed through one-way analysis of variance and post-hoc analyses. The findings indicated that some of the experimental groups were more successful than the control group with large effect sizes. The results suggested that the game and physical activities course incorporating interdisciplinary teaching approaches could be used in increasing students' science achievement and retention of science knowledge.

Validation of Game-Based Activities in Teaching Grade 7-Biology

“…This means that the integration of GBAs in the lesson had positive effects on the students' performance. This result is parallel to previous studies where game-based activities in teaching yielded an increase in the students' level of performance due to the engaging, interactive, informative, and fun elements of games and constructive approach in its implementation (Tham & Tham, 2012;Boyraz & Serin, 2017;Karamustafaoğlu & Coşgun, 2021). Moreover, to support the t-test result and measure how much the significant difference was, the study computed the Cohen's d. In the same table, it was revealed that the significant difference between the pretest and posttest results was very large (d=1.08), showing that the effect size of the integration of GBAs in the lessons is notable on the student knowledge gained.…”

Educational Games in Science Center: Experiences of Pre-Service Science Teachers

“…Games have many positive educational results (Connolly et al, 2006): increase academic achievement and interest for the course, embody abstract subjects, make learning environment enjoyable, develop a positive attitude, facilitate understanding of concepts, provide an active learning environment for learners, improve students' various abilities and skills (e.g., Barzilai & Blau, 2014;Bayat et al, 2014;Boyraz & Serin, 2016;Coşkun et al, 2012;Demircioğlu & Akdemir, 2019;Karamustafaoğlu & Kaya, 2013;Karamustafaoğlu et al, 2018;Shaffer et al, 2005;Shute et al, 2019;Wouters & van Oostendorp, 2013;Yazıcıoğlu & Çavuş-Güngören, 2019;Yenice et al, 2019;Yıldız, Şimşek & Araz, 2016;Yıldız, Şİmşek & Ağdaş, 2017). Prensky (2003) claims that educational games will have an important place in the 21st century education.…”