A serious game for interactive teaching of Newton's laws

Abstract

One goal of physics teaching is to tackle students' preconceptions about the laws of motion and promote student comprehension based on physical concepts. In this study, we used a serious 3D immersive game to put students in situations in which their preconceptions are no longer adequate explanations. The expectation is that students will see the need for new theories. This design-based study aims to improve both students' comprehension and motivation regarding Newton's laws. In the game students had to bring a ball to a finish line. Students were able to set values for forces acting on the ball. A quasiexperimental evaluation conducted in three grade 9 classes (N = 73) followed the design phase. Students worked in pairs. Possible learning effects were measured with a pre- and post-test and students' motivation to engage in the learning activity was also measured in the post-test. The experimental group played the game followed by a classroom discussion. The control group experienced a traditional lesson. In both groups students did not score significantly higher on their post-test than on their pre-test (p = .287 and p = .252). However, students who played the game were more motivated than students who experienced the traditional lesson (p < .001, d = 1.43).