ERIC Number: EJ1111070
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2155-6849
EISSN: N/A
Transforming Classrooms through Game-Based Learning: A Feasibility Study in a Developing Country
Vate-U-Lan, Poonsri
International Journal of Game-Based Learning, v5 n1 p46-57 2015
This article reports an exploratory study which investigated attitudes towards the practice of game-based learning in teaching STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) within a Thai educational context. This self-administered Internet-based survey yielded 169 responses from a snowball sampling technique. Three fifths of respondents were female (59.2% or N = 100 females and 40.8% or N = 69 males). Slightly more than half (55.6%) of the participants were elementary, secondary and university students. An additional second group of thirty-five per cent (N = 59) were teachers who were in charge of STEM educational programs. Almost one tenth (9.5%, N = 16) were parents. Frequency tables were used to analyze the quantitative data. The qualitative data was derived from a single open-ended question. The study found some divergent opinions that are useful in considering game-based learning for STEM education in Thailand. The overall average attitude towards the usage of game-based learning was very positive (3.92 out of 5, S.D. = 0.80). The study found that the majority of informants preferred that the delivery mode was online through a web browser followed by the mobile mode through an application and the least preferred was the offline mode recorded on CD-ROM (55.0%, 31.4% and 13.6% respectively). Thai was still the most preferred language to be used though both students and parents surveyed had a stronger preference for English and a Thai-English bilingual mode than the teachers. An important finding in this research was that stakeholders expected game-based learning to be integrated into the traditional classroom because of its enhanced learning approach.
Descriptors: Teaching Methods, STEM Education, Educational Games, Technology Uses in Education, Educational Technology, Foreign Countries, Online Surveys, Elementary School Students, Secondary School Students, College Students, Teachers, Parents, Attitude Measures, Statistical Analysis, Telecommunications, Handheld Devices, Language of Instruction
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Thailand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A