“If I create a game I'll learn”: online game creation as a tool to promote learning skills of students with learning difficulties

Abstract

This study describes an action research study conducted by a teacher who used a digital game generator as a tool to develop thinking skills among primary school students with learning difficulties. Ten 4th-grade students participated in the programme. The students met with the teacher twice a week for six months. The meetings included creating games using the “Sort the paperwork” game generator. During the programme, the teacher documented the students’ responses in class, her reflections on the process, and parents and teachers’ responses, in her research journal, a common method of participatory action research. This documentation underwent qualitative analysis to identify the contribution of game creation to the students. The findings indicate three main aspects of improvements in students’ skills and performances: (1) Improvement in students’ thinking skills and cognitive functioning, (2) Improvement in performance and behavioural aspects, (3) Improvement in emotional aspects. The study provide evidence that using online game generators as tools to promote learning skills is effective to students with learning difficulties.