# Digital Gamification to Foster Attitudes Toward Science in Early Childhood Teacher Education
## 3 Results
### Quantitative Analysis
However, their confidence in their ability to teach science content was moderate, with a median of 3 for feeling capable of teaching science to young children (Item 21) and a median of 2 for considering themselves to have sufficient knowledge to teach science content (Item 22). The students strongly agreed that the science they can learn is important for their future professional development (Item 20, M = 5). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Item Number and Statement**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Pretest**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Posttest**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**W**} & \multirow{2}{*}{\(p\)**} \\ \cline{2-2} \cline{4-6}  & **M** & **IQR** & & & & \\ \hline
9—Science has no connection to my life & 2 & (1) & 2 & (1) & 273 & 0.474 \\ \hline
10—Understanding science is important for everyone & 5 & (1) & 5 & (1) & 121 & 0.579 \\ \hline
11—I like to read and learn about science through social media, & 4 & (1) & 3 & (1) & 242.5 & 0.141 \\ YouTube, or other media & & & & & & \\ \hline
12—I think science is interesting & 4 & (1) & 4 & (1) & 182 & 0.405 \\ \hline
13—I am interested in explanations of scientific phenomena & 4 & (1) & 4 & (0) & 218 & 0.526 \\ \hline
14—Science makes our lives healthier, easier, and more comfortable & 4 & (1) & 4 & (1) & 214.5 & 0.069 \\ \hline
15—The benefits of science outweigh the potential adverse effects & 4 & (1) & 4 & (2) & 299 & 0.166 \\ \hline
16—Science can solve environmental problems & 4 & (1) & 4 & (1) & 116.5 & 0.721 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* M = median, IQR = interquartile range, W = Wilcoxon signed-rank test statistic, \(p\) = \(p\)-value. No effect sizes ([PERSON]’s \(\delta\)) are reported, as no statistically significant differences were observed.  
\end{table} 
Table 2: Changes in attitudes and motivation towards science before and after a gamified course: present dimension. Post-intervention, significant improvements were observed in self-efficacy and perceived knowledge in the future dimension (Table 3). The median for feeling capable of teaching science content (Item 21) increased from 3 to 4 (\(p\) < 0.001), with a large effect ([PERSON]'s \(\delta\) = 0.54). The median for considering themselves to have sufficient knowledge (Item 22) rose from 2 to 4 (\(p\) < 0.001), with the largest effect size observed in the study ([PERSON]'s \(\delta\) = 0.74), indicating enhanced confidence and perceived competence. The median for advocating more time for teaching science (Item 18) remained at 4 but showed a significant \(p\)-value (\(p\) = 0.024), though the effect was negligible ([PERSON]'s \(\delta\) = 0.13). There was no significant change in the belief that science should not be taught in early childhood education (Item 17, median remained at 1, \(p\) = 0.627) or that teaching science to young children must be boring (Item 19, median remained at 1, \(p\) = 0.267), reflecting consistent strong disagreement. The median for the importance of science for professional development (Item 20) decreased slightly from 5 to 4, but this change was not significant (\(p\) = 0.652). These quantitative improvements in attitudes related to teaching science are further explored in the discussion in connection with students' open-ended responses. The additional posttest section assessed the perceived motivational impact of various FantasyClass features and other gamification elements (Table 4). Several features were notably effective in engaging students, as indicated by high median scores, low interquartile ranges, and positive feedback. Among these, collectibles, gold coins, group work, and FantasyClass as a gamification tool stood out, each achieving a median motivation score of 5, with consistent responses. Collectibles were rated as either \"Quite Motivating\" (4) or \"Highly Motivating\" (5) by nearly 88% of the students, making them one of the most engaging features. Completing collectible sets offered tangible rewards, such as experience points or gold coins, which incentivized the participants to stay engaged.