Utilizing Instructional Games as an Innovative Tool to Improve Science Learning among Elementary School Students

Introduction Education researchers and teachers have long been interested in improving younger students' understanding of scientific concepts and they have also been interested in improving students' motivation levels to do school work (Klein & Freitag, 1991). Over the past two decades, there have been studies done that examined the benefits of using instructional games to improve students' motivation and performance levels (Klein & Freitag, 1991). However, very few studies were conducted that looked specifically at how young students may benefit from such an innovative tool. Brief Review of literature Klein and Freitag (1991) conducted a quantitative, experimental study to determine the effect of instructional gaming on students' motivation and performance. Klein & Freitag conducted their study using 75 undergraduates. The undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups after they had attended a lecture on the information-processing model of learning. The participants in one treatment group used an instructional board game to practice the material presented in their lecture, while those in the other group practiced using a traditional worksheet (Klein & Freitag, 1991). Results from Klein and Freitag's study revealed that using the instructional game significantly affected the four motivational components of attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. However, the instructional game did not seem to influence academic performance (Klein & Freitag, 1991). Theoretical Underpinnings According to the National Science Educational Standards, Teaching Standard A, science curriculum and lesson content should originate and be designed from the interests, knowledge, understanding, ability, and experiences of the students (Krantz, 2003). Although it might be felt that younger students are not adept in regards to science, many researchers are proving this theory wrong. It is pointed out that the elementary science classrooms are composed of learners who are engaged in scientific processes. These youngsters often ask real world questions and seek real world answers. So even at very young ages, students are becoming scientific inquirers (Krantz, 2003). Some pre-schoolers, kindergartners, and first graders may have difficulty in classifying concrete objects grouped by a single property. So with this in mind, teachers have to plan a process that actively involves students in their own learning (Wolfinger, 1984). Such a process can generate a variety of perspectives on a topic, provide depth to content, and lead to significant understanding of concepts. Further, according to the socio-cultural and social constructivist theorists, effective teaching must be improvisational because if the classroom is scripted and directed by the teacher, the students can not co-construct their own knowledge (Sawyer, 2004). Additionally, a socio-cultural perspective implies that learning is a shared social activity and is collectively managed by all participants, not only the teacher (Sawyer, 2004). It has been argued that creative teaching is vital to facilitating students' grasping and understanding of new concepts. It is often implied that the best teachers are those who can apply immense creativity to their lessons and yet impart profound content in their subject area in a way to enable students to fully grasp understanding of the lesson content. Moreover, teachers know the importance of cognitive theory in structuring appropriate experiences in science. Teachers may try to introduce youngsters to those skills that will grow and carry over to other subject areas and other science experiences. Behaviors such as observing, classifying, predicting, and inferring are important science process skills to build in the elementary years or even earlier. Much of the Piagetian research in cognition has underlined the importance of teaching science between the ages of six and eleven from a concrete, demonstrable foundation (Miller, 1989). …