Category Archives: FA16-Project 2

FA 16- Project 2: Final

PSY 200-Poster ( click the link to see the full poster) 

This stimulus has really helped children and I am so thankful I decided to create it. This class has opened my eyes to the possibilities of helping others. Below in full detail is the complete explanation of how I went about my creation and the outcome that has come about.

Many individuals believe that games have no educational background for children but after much testing and research the results were outstanding. Games of all kind serve a great purpose for many children. Not all games are educational but many serve the same purpose, they enforce socialization, eye-hand coordination, as well as critical thinking. The stimulus, Smarty Pants was created to prove that games are beneficial to the individuals that play them. Most children zone out and become unfocused when sitting in a classroom learning a topic they are unsure of. When a child is not paying attention to the topic at hand, they are making it harder on themselves to retain the knowledge needed to succeed. It is predicted that the study will help children learn while having fun. The stimulus forces the children to answer trivia questions based on subjects they are currently learning. The players must answer the questions correctly to win the game. The stimulus enforces children to socialize with other children as well as critical thinking to answer the questions asked throughout the game.

Methods- Subjects

The participants in this study were all between the ages of 7 and 9 years old. Boys and girls were both used to make sure there was a fair range of participates throughout the 16-week period. The subjects were recruited based on age and gender; they were children part of a first grade class that welcomed me with open arms. The subjects were randomly selected and were put into two groups, the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group played the stimulus created while the control group played a non-educational game. The participants were voluntary and were not paid. When the study was over they received cupcakes as a thank you.

Methods- Apparatus

Smarty Pants was a board game that had a start and an end. A spinner was used to determine how many places to move each player’s game piece when a question was answered correct. Questions varied based on the subjects the players were currently learning. The questions also varied based on the children’s age group. Each player had to answer a question in order to move his or her game piece. If the participant answered the question correctly they were then asked to spin the spinner and move their game piece the correct number of places. If they answered a question wrong, the player did not move their game piece. The stimulus was presented like any other game; the directions were read to each participant to make sure they understood the rules and what was asked of them. The participants were unsure of the questions until it was their turn to answer a question. Participant responses were measured based on number of questions each player had to answer versus the number of questions they answered correctly. The behavior of each player was documented in a notebook as well as academic grades after playing the stimulus. I was able to have the participants take a quiz after playing a full game of Smarty Pants to see how the game worked. Majority of the children did outstanding on the quiz and believed that the game was the cause for their high scores. The game was able to keep their attention and focus.

Methods- Procedure

The conditions created were educational vs. non-educational. Both groups were compared based on behaviors and performance on the quiz. The experimental group always seemed to score higher on the quiz then the control group. The two groups were unaware of the documenting so there was no fear of the participants changing their behavior. The game was tested many times with this group and each time the results benefitted the participants.

Results

The outcome was as predicted, the game benefitted the participants and helped them learn the material needed while having fun. The first grade class was broken into 5 groups to play the stimulus. Group 1 answered 10 questions and answered 5 correctly. Group 2 answered 10 questions and answered 8 correct. Group 3 answered 10 questions and answered 8 correct. Group 4 answered 9 questions and answered 7 correctly and Group 5 answered 9 questions and answered 8 correct. The total correct answers total 36 questions, therefore the average of correct answers were 7. When the participants worked individually the number of correct answers were higher which the quiz scores supported. I believe the number of correct answers were lower when working in a group because the other participants easily influenced each other. At times the correct answers were mentioned in the group but then the final answer was given and it was wrong. The children seemed to second-guess themselves when another participant seemed more confident in their answer. Regardless of the participants working in groups or individually, the stimulus did what it was supposed to and benefitted each player.

Discussion

The results support the thesis because each week the stimulus was tested on participants and the results were documented. The stimulus encouraged socialization and critical thinking. The children could not answer the questions without first thinking about the topic. Some questions were harder then others and used more thought while others were easily answered. Games have been used in many different studies, one study in particular was done by Mark Griffiths where games were used to help children receiving chemotherapy, undergoing psychotherapy or even struggling with emotions and behavioral problems. The results in this study stated that children benefitted greatly from the games. “Videogame therapy has been therapeutically successful in a wide range of childhood and adolescent disorders” (Griffiths, 1996, para 1) Nausea seemed to decrease when children were not focused on the environment around them. The games distracted the children from the bad in the world and helped them get through the rough times ahead of them. Another study stated that board games teach values, ethics, academic skills and the importance of playing by the rules (Parents, 2016, para 6). Articles that influenced this decision to focus on the importance of board games were Board games for kids: Do they have educational benefits? Written by Gwen Dewar and The Five Reasons to Use Games In The Classroom. Games are very beneficial and should have a chance to help more children

Conclusion

After much research and testing it is concluded that board games are beneficial to young children. Educational games helped the children focus their attention on the subjects at hand while having fun. Smarty Pants helped children study for a test while having fun and socializing with other participants. Much more testing, the stimulus could be perfected and published to help other children. Toward the end of my study I noticed that the non-educational game was a distraction because at times the children were loud and argumentative. The non-educational game was stopped and only the educational game continued being tested. The children responded very well to the stimulus and were eager to participant in the study. More positive research should be done to help children in so many ways. Games are very beneficial to children of all ages and should be seen as positive.

Reference

Dewar, Gwen. (n.d.). Board games for kids: Do they have educational benefits?     Retrieved December 10, 2016, from http://www.parentingscience.com/board-       games-for-kids.html

Griffiths, Mark. (2003). The Therapeutic Use of Videogames in Childhood and      Adolescence. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 8(4), 547-554.

Five Reasons to Use Games in the Classroom. (2016). Retrieved December 09, 2016, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/reasons-to-play-games-in-the-  classroom.shtml

The Benefits of Board Games. (2016). Retrieved December 11, 2016, from             http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/creativity-play/benefits-  board-games

 

FA 16- Project 2: Week 16

Since week 1 I have been so eager to see how my study turned out. Throughout the weeks, the results were outstanding with positive and rewarding results. I am so happy that my stimuli helped others and made a difference. Even if it was just a small difference it still made a difference in the lives of many children. All the participants had one thing in common: they loved my creation and was excited to take part in my study. I could not have done it without the many children and adults that took part. I was fortunate enough to have many people in my life willing to volunteer. I could not that them enough.

As I mentioned in previous blogs, I have never been one to enjoy studying or even been one to stay focused for a long period of time. The stimuli I created was to help children like me who want to study and do good in school but have a hard time. I am beyond thrilled that my game has accomplished that. I was frightful that my game would not have a positive result and even more happy that those were just fears. My game has honestly helped children and made studying and learning fun.

No game is perfect but I believe that my game is very close. There are aways things that can be changed to make things better. With many more trials I believe my game can be perfect and will continue to help others. My game was mostly tested on young children but at times tested on young adults and the results remained the same. Therefore, I believe my game would be beneficial to everyone. It can help many people study for exams, finals or even remembering important information.

I enjoyed this study very much and was so happy I decided to create this stimuli!!

FA 16- Project 2: Week 15

Smarty Pants Questions: questions were used for second grade group! Based on material they were learning.

After all the research I have done and all the testing that I have done I conclude that games are beneficial to young children while learning. I believe it is a crucial aspect to help stay children focus and attentive in school. Many times children zone out and become bored because sitting at a desk all day listening to a teacher talk can get very boring at times. If a child does not understand what is going on then they zone out because they are discouraged with themselves. I believe having them in a relax setting and introducing a board game, set up to help them, can be very beneficial and can keep their focus. That is exactly what my game, Smarty Pants did, it was set up based on questions the children were currently learning and they answered questions in a relaxed setting They were always encouraged to try their best and if they got an answer wrong they knew it was okay and they had another chance to answer the next round.

Each week I tested my game on a different group and sometimes even I different age group. The results always remained the same, the children stayed focus and had fun answering the questions. Most times they answered the questions correct and felt very proud of themselves. I based the questions on subjects they were learning at that time and then tested them afterwards and 8 out of 10 times the children did great on the test. The children responded very well and asked for me to come back the following week and play with they again.

Although I tested my game many times, there is still a lot of research that has to be done to make sure the game is fully functioning. I am eager to see where I can go with this game and hope the results remain the same. I love helping children because I was always the student who zoned out during class because a lecture setting was very boring to me. I do my best work when I have something in front of me allowing me to test my knowledge. I wish I thought of this game when I was younger because it would of been a great way to study for an upcoming test.

FA 16- Project 2: Week 14

Smarty Pants: The Trivia Game For Everyone!

Working this week with the first grade class was amazing! The children were so eager and excited to be learning. They had so much fun while doing so and were so thankful for me giving them this experience. I was in touch with the teacher and the children are begging for them to play the game again. They want to play the game before every test because the children believe it really helped them. The game seemed to be better when the children played individually. The average of correctly answered questions were higher in week 12 when the players played solo. I believe this was the result because when working together in a group some of the players had different answers but had to work together to come up with the correct answer. At times the children had the right answer but were influenced by other players and changed their minds. They seconded guessed themselves. This helped the children realize to always go with their gut feeling because majority of the time the children were right the first time. I am happy that I am having such great results with my game. I am so happy it is helping children and they are enjoying the game. I hate studying for a test and I hate having to sit for hours to read the material. I wish I thought of this early because I believe it really helps. I started using this method to study for a test as well and it seems to be helping. I am eager to review all my results not just from the last 2 weeks but from the very start. I believe the average will increase as time goes on. The game needed to be tested multiple times before great results can begin to show.

FA 16- Project 2: Week 13

This week I had the honor of testing my game out in a classroom setting. It was an amazing experience and such an honor to see the children react to my game. Since it was a large group (25 first graders) I had them broken up into 5 groups with 5 players each. Each group had 2 minute to discuss their answer before responding. This encouraged teamwork and to ensure that they worked together to get an answer. Each child in the group had to take a turn in saying their answer out loud. I wanted each player to give an answer so they all felt involved. The children were all eager to take a turn and had so much fun. The questions were all based on subjects they were currently learning. In order to make sure the children were benefitting from the game the teacher set up a short quiz to test each child’s knowledge. The children did amazing and were so proud of themselves. It was an honor too see each child’s reaction and to see them perform so well. It proved that my game is actually beneficial and helping its players. The children were very thankful that I came and played this game with them. They enjoyed learning while having fun. It was studying without all the stress and “boring” reading. The teacher also enjoyed seeing the children so excited and involved. She decided that before each test she is going to have a review based on the way my game is set up. She believes it will help the children before their test and I agree. I am so thankful that I thought of this game and that it is successful. I enjoy helping these children and look forward to testing it further. I had a lot of fun this week working on this process and working with these students. I wish I was able to capture the moment and take pictures of the children. The look on their faces as they were playing the game was priceless, they were extremely thrilled and motivated but unfortunately I was not allowed.

FA 16- Project 2: Week 12

I really enjoyed watching the children play my game and to see how much they loved it. The look on their faces when they got questions correct was priceless. They were so excited and cheerful as well as proud of themselves. They cheered for each other and were so eager to play. They were recruited based on their age and people I knew. The children were all in the same class and trying to study for their science test. The questions were based on the science topics they are currently learning and being tested on. The rules of the game have not change nor will they. The players are unaware of the questions beforehand and are told they must spin a spinner in order to move their game piece. If the player gets the questions correct they remove the game piece if they get the question wrong they do not move the game piece. Before each game the players are read the rules and conditions to make sure they understand the objective of the game. When taking notes based on the players I focused on each players involvement and focus during the game. I also documented how many questions each player had and how many they got correct. Player 1 had to answer 10 questions and got 7 correct. Player 2 had to answer 10 questions as well and got 9 correct. Player 3 had 9 questions to answer and got 9 correct as well and player 4 had 9 questions to answer and got 8 correct. Each player did very well and felt prepared for their test. The parents said they only reviewed briefly before the test and each player scored extremely well on their test. The children loved studying this way and thought it really helped. The children in the beginning did not even realize they were studying they just thought they were having fun and playing a board game. I am eager to see how much my game can help students.

FA 16- Project 2: Week 11

This week I decided to go back to the original plan for my game and test it on younger school aged children again. After receiving great results from all other trials I wanted to see if the results would repeat and be the same as they were in the past if I tried it with younger children again. Although the children were different from the previous trial, I am pleased to say that the results were the same as they have been in the past. The children enjoyed the game and really excelled when it came to answering the questions.

The children were all 8 years old and answered questions based on subjects they are currently learning in school. The children had a science test on Wednesday so majority of the questions asked were science related and all topics that could appear on their test. The parents loved that the questions were helping them study and loved how motivated and encouraged the children were. The children had fun studying and were doing an amazing job answering the questions. The parents also informed me that their children usually hate studying and could never sit still look enough to get through an entire chapter. They told me that the children usually get frustrated and give up but playing the game I created and answering questions they could see on their test really hoped them stay focused. The children got the results of their test back on Friday and all did extremely well. The news made me extremely happy and I can’t wait to keep up the amazing work I have already achieved.

So far I have not made any major changes to my game because the results have always been great. The rules remain the same and the game objective has not changed. I hope that children and all other players will continue to enjoy this game and succeed. I can’t wait to see how much more this game can help others.

FA16- Project 2: Week 10

This week I had 3 young adults play the game I created. They were recruited based on their ages. The players must have been college age and currently enrolled in class. The conditions did not change based on their age. The rules of the game remained the same. In order to move their game piece around the board they had to correctly answer questions and spin a spinner. The players this week were ages 20-22. The materials I used to collect my data were a pen and a notebook. I watched each player play the game and wrote down each player’s attitude at different points in the game. The was presented in the same way it has been in previous tries. The rules were explained to each player to make sure they all understood the game. The players were unaware of the questions until it was their turn to answer a question. Responds were measured based on attitudes when winning, losing or waiting for another player to take their turn. I also measured their knowledge based on the questions at hand. I noted how many questions each player got correct or wrong. I also decided to change things up this week and only study the experimental group. I wanted to focus all my time on the experimental group and focus on the game I created to see if I can make changes to better my game. I was able to compare this week to previous weeks and see results changed or remained the same. The outcome remained the same as previous tries. The players were eager to play and showed great sportsmanship. Previous players told me that the technique of this game has really helped them and they started using it for their current classes. They also told me that since they started studying using this technique their grades have improved. I am eager to see how it goes further down the line.

FA 16- Project 2: Week 9

 

The game I created, “Smarty Pants: The Trivia Game For Everyone!” was originally created to help children learn in a fun way but after testing the game on children I decided to test the game on young adults. The reason I decided to test the game on college age students was to test the results.  I wanted to see f the game had the same results as it had with the young school aged children. The purpose of the game is too ask questions based on subjects the players on learning in school and see if it benefitted them in any way. The game’s learning experience is too show its players that you can learn and have fun doing it. The game does not change based on the players age, the rules stay the same. The only thing that changes is the questions that must be asked. The players this time were all college age and currently enrolled in class. They were instructed to play by the rules and encourage sportsmanship behavior. The primary objective of the game still remains as answering questions and make your way around the board. The first player to get around the board is the winner. No items are accused during the game; the point is to make it around the board by spinning a spinner and answering all questions correctly. There is no money or other values to gain in this game. The game really encourages learning and good behavior. After comparing my notes from the first time the game was played to now they seem to remain the same. Both age groups were engager to player and for the most part always showed good sportsmanship. The game seems to be doing the job it was intended for. so far I am extremely happy with my results and my hope is for the game to continue working and benefitting its players.

FA 16- Project 2: Week 8

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Smarty Pants: The Trivia Game For Everyone!

This week I decided to test my game on teenagers, all college level. There were 2 groups, the experimental group, which had 4 teenagers who played the game I created and the control group, who played a non-educational game. They were recruited based on their age and also based on people I knew. The subjects were between the ages of 18-22. The rules of the game did not change. They still had to answer questions correctly in order to move their game piece around the board. The only thing that changed were the questions they had to answer. The players were informed of the rules and conditions before the game started and they must agree to follow them before starting the game. I told the players that the game was testing their knowledge to see if playing an educated game would help them learn. The materials I used to collect data were a pen and a notebook. I watched both groups and wrote down each player’s attitudes at different points in the game. Responses were measured based on attitudes when a player was winning, losing or waiting for another player to answer The game was presented like all other games. The rules were read to ensure each player understood how to play. The players were unaware of the questions until it was their turn to answer a question. The outcomes was just as I predicted, the group playing the game I created was very involved and had great sportsmanship throughout the game. This group felt that the questions asked during the game really tested their knowledge of the subject and challenged them. While the controlled group were at times very competitive and did not feel like their knowledge was tested. I believe my hypothesis was proven right. I predicted that the experimental group would learn more and be more involved then the controlled group.