An action research on the use of educational games in the matter and heat unit of science course

The aim of this study is to develop an educational game for the topics in the Matter and Heat unit of the 6th grade Science course and to determine the effectiveness of this game using various data collection tools. A sequential transformational design, one of the mixed research designs, was used in the study. A quasi-experimental design was used in the quantitative dimension of the study, and a phenomenological design was used in the qualitative dimension. The study was conducted in the first semester of the 2023-2024 academic year with a total of 55 students, one experimental (n=27) and one control (n=28) groups, in a secondary school in the central district of Çorum. In the study, which had an implementation period of four weeks, educational games were used in the experimental group, and the course was taught with the activities in the textbook prepared within the scope of the current curriculum in the control group. The Matter and Heat Unit Achievement Test (MIÜBT), Attitude Towards Science Scale (FYTÖ) and Science Motivation Scale (FBMÖ) were used as data collection tools. In collecting qualitative data, semi-structured interview form, science diaries and educational game metaphors were used. Since the pre-test and post-test results showed normal distribution in the analysis of quantitative data, independent sample T-test was used in comparing independent paired groups, dependent sample T-test was used in comparing dependent paired groups and two-factor anova in repeated measures was used in the analysis of group and time interaction. The analysis of qualitative data was done through Excel program. According to the findings obtained from the research, it was determined that the course activities carried out with educational games contributed significantly to the academic success and motivation of the students in the experimental group towards learning science, but did not contribute significantly to the attitude towards science. According to the qualitative data of the research, it was determined that educational games made the education process more fun and interesting and increased the students' interest and motivation towards the lesson.However, it was observed that some students had difficulties due to factors such as crowded classrooms, noise during games, and insufficient time to participate in all activities. When all these are taken into consideration, it was concluded that educational games are an effective method in teaching the relevant subject. At the end of the study, it was suggested that the educational games prepared could be used by other researchers who will conduct studies on the subject and teachers who will teach the subject.