The effect of a 7th grade digital educational game designed about the absorption of light and the formation of colors on the academic achievements and science attitudes of students

In this study, the effect of digital educational game on students' academic achievement in science course and their attitudes towards the course was investigated. The study model is quasi-experimental design with control group. The sample consisted of 44 7th grade students in a secondary school in the west of Turkey. The digital educational game about the absorption of light and the formation of colours was designed by the researcher using Unity C++ programming language according to the game design stages. In the game, games were developed at different levels about which colour objects would appear under different light sources, and teaching was done by giving examples from daily life about light absorption. In order to test the playability and comprehensibility of the game designed before the instruction, a pilot application was carried out in another group with the same characteristics and then the actual application was carried out. Data collection tools were "Science Academic Achievement Test", "Attitude Scale towards Science Course" and semi-structured interview form. The experimental group was taught with digital educational game applications and the control group was taught with the traditional method. A semi-structured interview was conducted after the application in the experimental group. The data obtained were analysed with SPSS programme. According to the analyses, while there was no significant difference between the pre-test scores of both groups, there was a significant difference between the post-test scores in favour of the experimental group. Students' attitudes towards the course increased positively. According to these results, it was concluded that this digital educational game developed increased academic achievement and attitude towards science course on the absorption of light and the formation of colours.