Abstract
Game-based learning is gaining popularity in elementary schools in Thailand. The use of games to teach nutrition education in elementary schools in Thailand is relatively rare. The teaching of nutrition education in the elementary school classrooms in Thailand is predominantly book-based. It can be dry and boring. Therefore, an educational card game called Food Mission is developed to teach elementary school students basic nutrition concepts. This paper explores the perceptions of educational experts, postgraduate students, an elementary science teacher and Grade 6students’ responses towards Food Mission educational card game in teaching nutrition education in the classroom. The research participants were two educational experts, eleven postgraduate students, one elementary science teacher and 45 Grade 6 students from a private school in Samut Sakorn Province, Thailand. A pilot study was carried out with seven elementary school students in a home setting prior to the classroom implementation to test the game playability. Interview data was transcribed verbatim. Participants test played the Food Mission card game and found that the educational card game was engaging and fun to play. Elementary school students enjoyed the card game and acquired new vocabulary and basic knowledge about nutrition. This paper discusses the genesis of Food Mission card game and provides guidelines for further modifications of the card game to help elementary students learn basic nutrition concepts.
Highlights
Learning and teaching health and nutrition topic in elementary schools in Thailand can be dry and boring
Motivational and affective engagement Tobar-Munoz et al [16] reported that elementary school students in the treatment group enjoyed the novel experience of augmented reality game-based learning during reading comprehension activities
An extensive amount of time was invested in the test play with educational experts, postgraduates and elementary science teachers for content verification and game playability
Summary
Learning and teaching health and nutrition topic in elementary schools in Thailand can be dry and boring. Traditional classroom learning skews towards drilling, memorization and text-book teaching. Althoughgame-based learning is gaining popularity in elementary schools in Thailand, it is still relatively rare to use games to teach nutrition in the classroom. A number of contrastingly reviews on the pros and cons in game-based learning exist. Some claims about the effectiveness of game-based learning are grounded in existing theory and research, others have little or no empirical evidence [2,3]. This research is designed to explore the educational value of using card games to teach Grade 6 students the basic nutrition concepts in Thailand
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
