The effect of card games and computer games on learning of chemistry concepts

Abstract

Chemistry has often been thought of as a dry and conceptual subject matter to grasp. Through the infusion of games, the learning of difficult chemistry concepts could be immensely improved. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of teacher-made instructional card games and computer games on the learning of chemistry concepts in high school students. This was an experimental pretest / posttest study with a control group. The population consisted of female high school students majoring in math and science. The selected sample consisted of three groups of 35 students. The instrument was a teacher-made text of chemistry. Data were analyzed by ANCOVA. The results indicated that there was a significant difference between teacher-made card games and computer games with the traditional teaching method. However, there was no significant difference between teacher-made card games and computer games. Playing had a significant role in the learning of abstract concepts and the understanding of chemistry concepts was facilitated through creating excitement and joy, as well as interaction amongst students.