The development of food mission: a nutritionbased card game for grade 6 students

Game-based learning is gaining popularity in elementary schools in Thailand. The use of games to teach nutrition education in elementary schools in Thailand is relatively rare. The teaching of nutrition education in the elementary school classrooms in Thailand is predominantly book-based. It can be dry and boring. Therefore, an educational card game called Food Mission is developed to teach elementary school students basic nutrition concepts. This paper explores the perceptions of educational experts, postgraduate students, an elementary science teacher and Grade 6students’ responses towards Food Mission educational card game in teaching nutrition education in the classroom. The research participants were two educational experts, eleven postgraduate students, one elementary science teacher and 45 Grade 6 students from a private school in Samut Sakorn Province, Thailand. A pilot study was carried out with seven elementary school students in a home setting prior to the classroom implementation to test the game playability. Interview data was transcribed verbatim. Participants test played the Food Mission card game and found that the educational card game was engaging and fun to play. Elementary school students enjoyed the card game and acquired new vocabulary and basic knowledge about nutrition. This paper discusses the genesis of Food Mission card game and provides guidelines for further modifications of the card game to help elementary students learn basic nutrition concepts.

Influence of Nature and History of Science Courses on Value Perceptions of Elementary Science Teacher Candidates in Conceptual Dimension in Turkey

This study aimed to determine the changes in understanding about the nature of science (NOS) and conceptual values of 28 elementary science teacher candidates who engaged in the instruction of the nature and history of science (NHOS). A values scale was used to determine the values of science teacher candidates in six areas of the conceptual dimension: Theoretical, economic, esthetic, politic, social, and religious. An open-ended questionnaire in conjunction with individual interviews was used to assess participants’ pre- and post-instruction NOS views. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six science teacher candidates who were selected from the different value levels: Low, medium, and high according to the results of the value scale. In the light of results of this study, the science teacher candidates who were engaged in the NHOS instruction received the highest score from the theoretical value dimension and the lowest score from the religious value dimension. Therefore, it can be suggested that NHOS teaching influenced the value perceptions of elementary science teacher candidates. For this reason, science teacher candidates’ value perception should be considered during the NHOS instruction planning and the teaching of science. Recommendations based on this study include explicitly addressing the NOS aspects in science