The Impact of Game-like Learning on Content Comprehension and Retention in an Eighth Grade Social Studies Classroom

摘要

Game-like learning is an instructional approach that allows students to engage with the curriculum through play. By using game-like learning in the form of puzzle-based and discussion-based games, social studies teachers can leverage classroom games as a type of experiential learning where students actively participate in a classroom activity and engage with historical content. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of game-like learning on content comprehension and retention. From curriculum-specific puzzle-based and discussion-based games, this teacher researcher collected data in the form of a Likert Scale survey, an open-ended questionnaire, field notes, a post-test, and a re-test. The study revealed that students enjoyed playing the games, understood content from the games, and felt involved. In addition, the data indicates that playing classroom games should be used as one of many instructional approaches to positively impact the way students comprehend and retain information in the social studies classroom.