Gamification as a Learning Strategy in Organic Chemistry Teaching

Resumo

Background: Teaching chemistry to high school students is a challenge. Students do not believe they are capable of learning and believe that the content is not related to their daily lives. Objectives: This work intends to contribute to teaching methods, especially in the Chemistry subject, through gamification. Design: Using a didactic sequence centred on organic functions, we investigate the effects of gamification and what signs of understanding come from using this methodological resource. We analysed the data found in light of the theory of meaningful learning. Setting and Participants: The research was carried out with 3^rd-grade high school students from a public school in the format of a didactic sequence contextualising the topic of food and concepts of organic functions, using digital resources and gamified methodologies as a basis. Data collection and analysis: Explore and discuss the use of digital information and communication technologies (DICT) in methodological proposals to engage and motivate students in chemistry teaching, making them direct participants in the teaching process with interaction between teacher and student. To direct the research, a qualitative methodology was chosen, with a design characteristic of action research. Results: The analysis of the questionnaires answered by the students, together with the observations recorded in the field diary, aroused students’ interest in the activities and contributed to the development of new skills, as it allowed the concepts of organic functions to be constructed with meaning in a contextualised way. Conclusion: We could observe signs of significant learning. During the organisation of activities in the classroom, we observed the development of social and emotional aspects in students, such as cooperation, argumentation, responsibilities and initiative. The research also contributed so that teachers can analyse and observe which types of new active methodologies fit into their professional context.