Juego educativo como estrategia pedagógica para motivar el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de Ciencias Naturales en estudiantes de 4to año en Escuela de Educación Básica Dr. Alfredo Pérez Guerrero

Abstract

Considering the technological and educational challenges faced by the Dr. Alfredo Perez Guerrero School, this project was developed. It focuses on the design of an educational game to motivate the teaching-learning process of fourth-year students of parallel primary school "C" in the subject of Natural Sciences. The greatest problem detected was the lack of motivation, in addition to the lack of use of technology to solve these problems. The general objective stated in this project is to determine how the use of educational games as a pedagogical strategy influences the teaching-learning process of fourth-year students. The specific objectives addressed are to identify the most effective gamification strategies for motivation, analyze the concept of gamification, and the challenges teachers face when implementing it in the classroom. Within the framework, topics such as learning theories stand out. These are approaches that attempt to explain how individuals acquire, process, and retain information. These theories focus on the different mechanisms and processes involved in learning. Gamification, in particular, stands out for its ability to capture students' attention. These topics served as the basis for developing this project. The research applied a mixed approach with a descriptive scope and pre-test and post-test methods. The results of Experiments I and II, extracted from the interview with the teacher and the surveys administered to the students, demonstrate the effectiveness of using an educational game as a pedagogical strategy to motivate the teaching-learning process. The teacher highlighted the user-friendly interface of the designed prototype, as well as how effective its application can be after explaining a class in the subject. Regarding the surveys, initially, opinions were divided during the pretest. However, after implementing the resource and evaluating it through the posttest, significant progress was revealed. The application resulted in a high degree of acceptance. The most notable comments were that it was entertaining, easy to use, and useful for better understanding the topics. In conclusion, the use of educational games as a pedagogical strategy proves to be an effective tool for improving motivation in the teaching-learning process of 4th-year students, as it encourages participation, interest, and engagement with the content. The most effective gamification strategies include the incorporation of reward systems, progressive challenges, and immediate feedback, which not only increase intrinsic motivation but also promote meaningful and autonomous learning by allowing students to experience tangible achievements and progress in their educational process.