Gamification in preschool science education

Abstract

Over the last few years, rapid technological progress has developed our lives in all areas. The adoption of technology in the everyday lives of both adults and children through smart mobile devices has led to the foreseeable integration of digital tools in the educational process. Smart mobile devices and the applications that accompany them have been proven effective in the educational field since they allow students to acquire knowledge through activities with an interactive and playful character. A technique that has gained popularity among technology users in the last decades is gamification. Gamification combines mechanisms and elements of games, enhancing students' learning, motivation, and interest in various educational fields, such as mathematics and science. The usage of game elements in education is not encountered for the first time due to the spread of gamification in technology, but it has been mentioned since the early ancient Greek years. However, technology has reinforced gamification through components and techniques that provide students with all the necessary supplies leading to positive learning outcomes. This bibliographic review presents the literature findings on gamification through smart mobile devices in science teaching in preschool education.

Development of Android Based Educational Games to Enhance Elementary School Student Interests in Learning Mathematics

“…It can be highlighted in this study that android-based educational games can improve elementary school student interests in learning Mathematics. This is in accordance with previous research stating that ICT plays an important role in facilitating and bringing good influence for students in learning [41][42]. In line with the previous study declaring that development of ICT which also has an impact on the world of education.…”

Students' evaluation and learning experience on the utilization of Digital Interactive Math Comics (DIMaC) mobile app

“…Finally, researchers have presented that visuals are remembered longer than words because visuals support the emotional impact (Barianos et al, 2022;Kimball & Hawkins, 2008;Kostelnick & Roberts, 2010;Schafer, 1995;Schriver, 1997;Tufte, 2003;Statton, 2018). It further reinforces that verbal statements with images promote concentration and concretization (Xezonaki, 2022;Uzuner et al, 2010;Özkubat & Ulutas ¸, 2017).…”

Kahoot, is it fun or unfun? Gamifying vocabulary learning to boost exam scores, engagement, and motivation

“…Gamification can be an attractive solution to enhance engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes as it provides enjoyable and entertaining nature (Kim et al, 2018;Kalogiannakis and Papadakis, 2019b;Rivera and Garden, 2021). Students are more confident to engage in the activities, and peer collaboration is improved, allowing for collaborative learning (Xezonaki, 2022). Similarly, Hung (2018) confirmed that including games is another strategy for increasing learners' motivation to learn English and decreasing their anxiety about pursuing the language.…”