Examination of educational game design skills of primary school teacher candidates in terms of various variables

In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the educational game design skills of teacher candidates by examining them in terms of various variables. The research study was carried out with a total of 70 teacher candidates, 27 of whom were juniors and 43 were seniors, studying in the Department of Primary Education, Primary Teacher Education Program in a state university in the Aegean Region in the 2020-2021 academic year. In the study, a form consisting of two parts was sent to the teacher candidates and the data were collected online. In the first part of the form, there were items to determine the demographic information. In the second part, teacher candidates were asked to design a game in line with the outcome, which is BO.4.1.1.2. coded "Student effectively uses movements that require balancing in games", in the Physical Education and Game Lesson Curriculum prepared by the Ministry of National Education in 2018. The games designed by the primary school teacher candidates were evaluated using the Educational Games Evaluation Rubric developed by the researcher. The Educational Games Evaluation Rubric consists of 34 items. During the development process of the rubric, the relevant literature was examined, a draft form consisting of 38 items was created and presented to the expert opinion. As a result of the feedback from the experts, four items were removed from the rubric and eight items were revised. The rubric, whose final form has 34 items, consists of 3 parts. In the first part, the ID and form information of the designed educational games are evaluated with nine items, in the second part, the applicability of the designed educational game is evaluated with twelve items, and in the third and last part, the content of the designed educational game is evaluated with thirteen items. In the evaluation, except from the researcher, two experts in the field, as co-coders, also evaluated the forms. It was aimed to increase the reliability of the rater by calculating the intra-class correlation with the evaluations of the researcher and two experts. When the designed games were examined, it was seen that the primary school teacher candidates designed only one low-level game. It was concluded that more than half (52%) of the games designed by primary school teacher candidates were designed at a high level. It has been observed that the majority of the primary school teacher candidates, both male and female, have designed games at a high level. When analyzed by grade level, it was seen that most of the junior primary school teacher candidates (63%) designed educational games at a high level, while more than half of the senior primary school teacher candidates (56%) designed educational games at a medium level. In the appropriateness level section of the game ID, it was seen that the educational games designed by the primary school teacher candidates were generally at a low level (43%). Considering the educational games in terms of applicability, it was concluded that the majority of the designed educational games (84%) were highly applicable. Considering the suitability of the content of the educational games designed by the primary school teacher candidates, it was seen that more than half (56%) were moderately appropriate.