The game takes us into a world governed by different rules than those we encounter in our everyday lives, thus providing a safe place where we can relax without worries. The atmosphere created by the game is particularly suitable for learning, which is why the game has always served as a teaching tool, whether in the form of a dollhouse through which girls learned the routines of household chores or as a setup of military figurines for learning strategic thinking.
Even today, the game plays an important role in a child's life, but as they grow up, it is increasingly pushed to the sidelines and becomes solely a source of entertainment. However, due to its effectiveness in learning, the game is being more frequently tested in the educational process for older students. As a result, several studies conducted at universities have recognized its usefulness in teaching complex topics such as neurology, nursing, and anatomy.
When designing a game whose fundamental purpose is for it to be as effective as possible when used as a teaching tool, we must ensure that the game is simple enough to not overwhelm the player, provides feedback or a sense of progress, and enables the player to make decisions, which contributes to the feeling of inclusion. Apart from that, we must focus on making the game interesting and fun, which helps retain the player’s attention and allows him to reach the flow state. The exercise that the game offers through the repetition of various activities must be based on a balanced ratio of difficulty and the player's skill, with the difficulty escalating relative to the player’s improvement, all while providing a sufficient level of entertainment.
In order to teach the art elements in a more dynamic way, I designed a board game called Art Race for my thesis. In my master's thesis, I tested this board game in practice. I conducted qualitative research involving two classes of ninth grade elementary school students, where I taught about the art elements by two different methods: by simply explaining the concepts and by using the board game. In each class, I applied a different teaching method and gathered data about the effectiveness of the method using an observation scale, questionnaires, and analysing the artwork that was created by the participants.
The research showed that students who learned the art elements through the game were more motivated to learn, demonstrated greater progress in their knowledge of the art elements, and were more successful in solving the art task. However, the motivation for learning about art elements observed during the game did not translate into motivation for creative expression, as the students in the class that learned through the game were less motivated for the art task compared to the students who learned through explanation.
I used the research findings to improve the game by adding more questions, visual materials, and dynamics to maintain a tense atmosphere during gameplay.
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