THE USE OF COMPUTER-BASED INTERACTIVE GAMES IN TEACHING SCIENCE CONCEPTS FOR STRUGGLING LEARNERS: BASIS FOR A COMPILATION OF RECOMMENDED GAMES IN TEACHING

In the advent of technologies, learners had changed in different ways including their study habits and learning style. Thus, teachers of today must update their teaching strategies complementing the use of technologies in teaching and learning process. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using computer-based interactive games in teaching struggling learners in Physical Science concepts. It also determined to identify students' attitude towards the use of these interactive games. The pre-test and posttest designed was utilized in this study. Respondents for this study were Grade 11 struggling learners and were identified based on their general average grade during the first semester. Random assignment of the two experimental treatment groups was done. One group was taught using computer-based interactive games as an intervention while the other did not have any teaching intervention. Both groups had regular class instruction in Physical Science and were taught of the same content and the same amount of time. The findings reveal that upon exposure to computer-based interactive games, struggling students' performance in science concepts as described by their pre-test and post-test scores were statistically comparable with the performance of the struggling students using lecture-discussion approach. This implies that students enhanced by interactive games approach performed at par with those who were exposed to traditional learning. Hence, the uses of computer-based interactive games in teaching Physical Science concepts are recommended, in addition to regular class instruction. It is suggested that science teachers especially senior high school teachers who teach Physical Science should inject and use computer-based interactive games since it promotes better understanding of the lesson.