TEACHING SENSE ORGANS SUBJECT WITH AN EDUCATIONAL GAME: SMELL AND REALIZE THE TASTE

Abstract

The aim of the study is to design an educational game related to understanding the relationship between tongue and nose subject in the unit of the “The Systems of Our Body and their Health” and the topic of “sense organs” in the science education curriculum at 6thgrade level and take students’ views about it. This study was carried out through engaging students’ interest on the topic, increasing their motivation, providing students’ activity, ensuring associated with the daily life of the object, offering the opportunity by doing and living and having fun and teaching without misconception. The research was carried out with the phenomenological method which is one of the qualitative research methods. Criterion sampling of the purposive sampling method was used in this study. This study was conducted on thirteen students at 6th grade attending private school in Merzifon, Amasya. An educational game in the game theory was developed according to the theory of cognitive and energy in the dynamic game theory. Before performing educational game, researcher told a story related to daily life and give one sheet of paper to the students to complete at the end of the story. This helped to check out the students’ prior knowledge about the topic. At the end of the educational game, completing the end of the story activity was repeated to find out the difference between performed educational game and before it. The educational game was implemented to three groups of four with the help of a referee for thirteen 6th grade students. As a data collection tool after the application, semistructured interviews were conducted with randomly five of the students who played the game and one of the students who did not. Semi-structured interviews recorded with a voice recorder were resolved by researchers. In the analysis of the study, content analysis of the qualitative research was used. The findings of the study provide telling a story engaged students to have a positive attitude and willingness for lessonbefore the educational gameand after the educational game drawing the map of tongue showed that students learned the topic through educational game.It is concluded that students learned the subject by participating the educational game “smell and realize the taste”, and experienced learning by living, and aroseinterest and attention of the students for the lesson. At the end of the study, necessary recommendations about different topics which students have a difficulty to understand are given for willingness researchers.