Twenty-sixth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

The use of games for teaching and learning scientific concepts is gaining popularity in recent years and board game is one among them. Board game is widely used in teaching several scientific concepts; however, there is a lack or board game in teaching the nutrition topic for Grade 6 students. Therefore, the “Calorie Counter” board game, which is a collaborative, engaging, challenging and joyful board game, has been created in this study to help teach Grade 6 students about the nutrition concept. A panel of six educational experts and three science teachers was asked to validate the quality of the “Calorie Counter!” board game. After revision, the Calorie Counter board game was tried out with a group of 12 post-graduate students at Mahidol University and 102 Grade 6 students from three different primary schools in Thailand. The results showed that the Calorie Counter board game was effective in promoting Grade 6 students’ understanding about nutrition to some extent. Most of the participating students felt that the Calorie Counter board game is engaging, challenging and joyful and they appreciated the collaborative environment of the game. The suggestions for further improving the Calorie Counter board game for Grade 6 students are also discussed.