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Development of a Gamification Blueprint for Teaching Chemistry in Junior High School

RONADANE N. LIWANAG
University of the Philippines Rural High School
University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna
rnliwanag@up.edu.ph

ABSTRACT

Among the innovative pedagogical strategies that are becoming more popular these days is gamification, transforming tasks and behavior into a more dynamic and engaging experience by borrowing the mechanics and ideas from games. With the belief that humans are naturally playful and curious, this research is grounded on the idea that motivation and engagement improve learning. This study adopts a participatory action research approach in developing a gamified classroom for a laboratory high school chemistry class in the northern part of the Philippines. It involved a two-step cycle, including the curation of game resources, developing game mechanics, award systems, and game economies. Methods of triangulation were done to establish the validity of the following resulting insights about the use of the gameful design on student interest, motivation, and engagement: (1) inclusion of more trade store items in the game economy help broaden student engagement and promote investment in the course (2) personalized achievement card allows flexibility and autonomy (3) game stations extend student learning beyond class time and increase student motivation, (4) game mechanics that allow students to interact with peers are most enjoyed and favored because of increased engagement among participants, which also promote collaborative learning, and (5) addition of creative outputs as extra tasks encourages creativity and allow for inclusive education. Findings also indicate that the implemented practice of action research enriches the teacher’s pedagogical repertoire for creating student-directed chemistry
lessons useful, appropriate, and relevant in this new normal in the education system.

Keywords:
gamified learning system; gamification blueprint; motivation and learning; student-directed learning; gameful design

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