Investigation of the effect of the "Solar System and Eclipses" unit enriched with games on students' anxiety, motivation and academic achievement towards science learning

Games are activities that can find a place in every moment of our lives, offering unlimited learning environments with their entertaining features. The impact of the dynamic structure of games on the educational process is among the topics of interest for educators. Games are among the methods frequently used by educators, especially in teaching abstract concepts. In this study, the effects of the "Solar System and Eclipses" unit enriched with games on students' anxiety, motivation, and academic achievement towards science learning were examined. The research was conducted in accordance with the quasi-experimental design with a pre-test, post-test control group, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The population of the study constituted sixth grade students; the study group consisted of 48 sixth grade students (26 experimental, 22 control) studying at a public school in the Central District of Aksaray Province in the 2024-2025 academic year. The appropriate sampling method was preferred to determine the study group. The Solar System and Eclipses Achievement Test, the Motivation Scale for Learning Science, and the Science Anxiety Scale were administered to the students as data collection tools during the four-week study. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted to test whether the obtained scores differed according to the groups. No statistically significant difference was found between the scores of the experimental and control groups on the pre-test data collection tools. While no significant difference was found between the post-test motivation scores of the experimental and control groups as a result of the application, a significant difference was found between the academic achievement and anxiety scores of the groups in favor of the experimental group. As a result of the study, it is suggested that researchers include further studies that will demonstrate the effects of the selected locations and the competition factor in games on students' academic achievement, motivation, and anxiety.