Abstract
Educational researchers have suggested that computer games have a profound influence on students’ motivation, knowledge construction, and learning performance, but little empirical research has targeted preschoolers. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of implementing a computer game that integrates the prediction-observation-explanation (POE) strategy (White and Gunstone in Probing understanding. Routledge, New York, 1992) on facilitating preschoolers’ acquisition of scientific concepts regarding light and shadow. The children’s alternative conceptions were explored as well. Fifty participants were randomly assigned into either an experimental group that played a computer game integrating the POE model or a control group that played a non-POE computer game. By assessing the students’ conceptual understanding through interviews, this study revealed that the students in the experimental group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the concepts regarding “shadow formation in daylight” and “shadow orientation.” However, children in both groups, after playing the games, still expressed some alternative conceptions such as “Shadows always appear behind a person” and “Shadows should be on the same side as the sun.”
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aldrich C (2005) Learning by doing: a comprehensive guide to simulations computer games, and pedagogy in e-learning and other educational experiences. Pfeiffer, San Francisco
Bednar AK, Cunningham D, Duffy TM, Perry JD (1992) Theory into practice: how do we link? In: Duffy TM, Jonassen DH (eds) Constructivism and the technology of instruction: a conversation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, Hillsdale, pp 17–34
Burguillo J (2010) Using game theory and competition-based learning to stimulate student motivation and performance. Comput Educ 55:566–575
Chen S-M (2009) Shadows: young Taiwanese children’s views and understanding. Int J Sci Educ 31:59–79
Cohen J (1988) Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences, 2nd edn. Lawrence, Hillsdale
Condie R, Livingston K (2007) Blending online learning with traditional approaches: changing practices. Br J Educ Technol 38:337–348
Eshach H (2003) Small-group interview-based discussions about diffused shadow. J Sci Educ Technol 12:261–275
Eshach H, Fried M (2005) Should science be taught in early childhood? J Sci Educ Technol 14:315–336
Herrington J, Oliver R, Reeves TC (2003) Patterns of engagement in authentic online learning environments. Aust J Educ Technol 19(1):59–71
Huang W, Huang W, Tschopp J (2010) Sustaining iterative game playing processes in DGBL: the relationship between motivational processing and outcome processing. Comput Educ 55:789–797
Jonassen DH (1999) Design constructivist learning environments. In: Reigeluth CM (ed) Instructional-design theories and models: vol. 2, a new paradigm of instructional theory, 2nd edn. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, pp 215–239
Ke F (2008) A case study of computer gaming for math: engaged learning from gameplay? Comput Educ 51:1609–1620
Ke F, Grabowski B (2007) Gameplaying for maths learning: cooperative or not? Br J Educ Technol 38:249–259
Kearney M, Treagust D, Yeo S, Zadnik M (2001) Student and teacher perceptions of the use of multimedia supported predict-observe-explain tasks to probe understanding. Res Sci Educ 31:589–615
Kebritchi M, Hirumi A, Bai H (2010) The effects of modern mathematics computer games on mathematics achievement and class motivation. Comput Educ 55:427–443
Kim B, Park H, Baek Y (2009) Not just fun, but serious strategies: using meta-cognitive strategies in game-based learning. Comput Educ 52:800–810
Lane AE, Ziviani JM (2010) Factors influencing skilled use of the computer mouse by school-aged children. Comput Educ 55:1112–1122
Mayer R, Moreno R (2003) Nine ways to reduce cognitive load in multimedia learning. Educ Psychol 38:43–52
Miller G (1956) The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychol Rev 63(2):81–97
National preschool curriculum standards (2011) Retrieved March 30, 2011, from http://www.ece.moe.edu.tw/policy/course_standard.pdf
Neulight N, Kafai Y, Kao L, Foley B, Galas C (2007) Children’s participation in a virtual epidemic in the science classroom: making connections to natural infectious diseases. J Sci Educ Technol 16:47–58
Parker J (2006) Exploring the impact of varying degrees of cognitive conflict in the generation of both subject and pedagogical knowledge as primary trainee teachers learn about shadow formation. Int J Sci Educ 28:1545–1577
Prensky M (2007) Digital game-based learning (Paragon House ed.). Paragon House, St. Paul
Segal G, Cosgrove M (1993) “The sun is sleeping now”: early learning about light and shadows. Res Sci Educ 23:276–285
Sung Y, Chang K, Lee M (2008) Designing multimedia games for young children’s taxonomic concept development. Comput Educ 50:1037–1051
Sweller J, van Merrienboer J, Paas F (1998) Cognitive architecture and instructional design. Educ Psychol Rev 10:251–296
Taber K (2008) Exploring conceptual integration in student thinking: evidence from a case study. Int J Sci Educ 30:1915–1943
Tao P, Gunstone R (1999) The process of conceptual change in force and motion during computer-supported physics instruction. J Res Sci Teach 36:859–882
Tsai C-C, Chang C-Y (2005) Lasting effects of instruction guided by the conflict map: experimental study of learning about the causes of the seasons. J Res Sci Teach 42:1089–1111
Tüzün H, Yılmaz-Soylu M, Karakuş T, İnal Y, Kızılkaya G (2009) The effects of computer games on primary school students’ achievement and motivation in geography learning. Comput Educ 52:68–77
van Merrienboer J, Ayres P (2005) Research on cognitive load theory and its design implications for e-learning. Educ Technol Res Dev 53:5–13
van Merrienboer J, Sweller J (2005) Cognitive load theory and complex learning: recent developments and future directions. Educ Psychol Rev 17:147–177
Wandersee J, Mintzes J, Novak J (1994) Research on alternative conceptions in science. In: Gabel DL (ed) Handbook of research on science teaching and learning. Macmillan, New York, pp 177–210
White R, Gunstone R (1992) Probing understanding. Routledge, New York
Zacharia Z (2005) The impact of interactive computer simulations on the nature and quality of postgraduate science teachers’ explanations in physics. Int J Sci Educ 27:1741–1767
Acknowledgments
Funding for this research work was supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan, under grant numbers NSC-98-2511-S-001-005-MY3 and NSC-99-2631-S-011-001.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hsu, CY., Tsai, CC. & Liang, JC. Facilitating Preschoolers’ Scientific Knowledge Construction via Computer Games Regarding Light and Shadow: The Effect of the Prediction-Observation-Explanation (POE) Strategy. J Sci Educ Technol 20, 482–493 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-011-9298-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-011-9298-z