Motivation and learning through the creation of educational games

• Autor(a) principal: Martins, Ana Rute
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Oliveira, Lia Raquel
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.34624/id.v10i3.11257

The problem of school failure points to the need for new pedagogical strategies to motivate and teach students, especially in risk contexts. Several studies have highlighted the potential of games as vehicles for learning and motivation. Placing students in the role of game designers is one of the possible approaches to integrate games in education, supported by Constructionism, with positive results, but with scarce application in Portugal.This project intends to investigate the design of educational games by middle school students, in a classroom context, in order to understand the processes and effects of the proposed pedagogical strategy. The research consists of a case study in a TEIP (Educational Territory of Priority Intervention) School Group. The study includes three phases: 1. Teacher training, 2. Creation of video games by 5th grade students (contents of Mathematics and Portuguese), 3. Creation of games (digital and non-digital) by 8th grade students (contents of 9 of the 12 school subjects of the class, including Mathematics and Portuguese). Data is collected using participant observation, survey, documents, and audio-visual materials (games created). Data analysis is conducted through descriptive statistics and thematic analysis.Initial results indicate that students are able to create functional games that represent their understanding of the contents approached, with evidence of learning in terms of curriculum contents, game design, technological skills and soft skills. There are also indicators of motivation and engagement (such as students working during their free time or showing their creations outside of school).