Discovery Learning with mobile games

Students' learning experience

• Students participate in teacher-facilitated discussions to activate prior knowledge

• Students play games individually or in pairs and review feedback received

• Students discuss in groups to compare their in-game observations

• Students participate in teacher-facilitated class discussions to deduce rules

Design tips for teachers

• This discussion is for students to draw links to familiar situations, and demonstrate scientific values, culture and disposition

• Game play and timely feedback help students to discover and understand pattern and rules through self-directed learning

• Group discussion allows students to exercise observation and analytical skills by comparing examples

• Teacher-facilitated discussions allow students to construct common understanding of rules collectively

The stark difference, when the wRiteFormula game was used with the discovery-learning approach, was that students were able to elicit and learn the rules of writing formulae fairly quickly. Only one lesson was required and students were engaged the entire time. When asked, most of the students said that the game nature of wRiteFormula was the main reason they were able to stay focused and learn fast.

- Kevin Andrew Thesman, Ang Mo Kio Secondary

Senior Specialist affiliation