LETTERS: In the 21st century era, applying games in teaching is considered as one method in promoting STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) to students.
The gamification method is perceived to make the subjects more enjoyable and engaging for students while sparking interest for learners to continue learning the subject.
There are limitless possibilities on the type of games and the elements that could be incorporated into a game. It could include elements such as risk, challenge, mystery and emotional content.
The pandemic has also changed the paradigm of the teaching process as it prepares teachers with skills on using online platforms that could help gamify the classroom.
Although there are many benefits of educators gamifying lessons, it does come with its own set of challenges and opportunities.
To start with, the main challenge is the lack of teachers' exposure and training related to STEM gamification. Teachers have not been given sufficient training. As a result, the games were not optimised to meet the learning standard.
The authorities should provide more frequent training and coaching opportunities to ensure that teachers are able to execute the games effectively.
Senior teachers and school administration need to play a role to support and encourage teachers to explore gamification through the empowerment of teaching aids. For instance, LEGO Education should be widely promoted.
Secondly, teachers are unable to apply games in teaching as they are overburdened with teaching and non-teaching duties.
They are given tasks such as overseeing canteen operations, ensuring the cleanliness of school toilets, and submitting periodic reports to school administrators.
Work overload is the most common cause of burnout among teachers. To overcome these issues, clear guidelines should be introduced by the Education Ministry that stipulate the task needed to be done by teachers.
Hence, teachers will have more opportunities to focus on curriculum development and gamification of lessons.
Furthermore, most STEM educators face the problem of time constraint to do gamified activities. Teachers are forced to rush and teach all the syllabus content within a short time.
As a result, it is impossible for teachers to plan and do STEM games for every chapter, due to the fact that STEM games consume a lot of class time. This is crucial as it is one of the factors that could encourage students to pursue STEM.
To overcome this, the school syllabus should be compact to suit the needs of projects and activities rather than just focusing on finishing the syllabus. Not to mention that some educators face financial constraints as some games and websites can be expensive for subscription.
Based on a study, titled "Use of Gamification Applications in Science Education", many parents were unaware of gamification applications while some had distrusted it as they presumed that gamification was a waste of time.
However, at the end of the research, parents were interviewed again to view their perspective of gamification. Surprisingly, many parents gave a positive feedback and also encouraged gamification applications to be included in other classes as well.
In light of these issues, there are opportunities that could be grasped by teachers to apply gamification in STEM. Primarily, educators should acknowledge that the pandemic has boosted students' technology literacy.
A research paper, titled "Are Malaysian Youths Overdependent on the Internet?: A Narrative Review", stated that 56.5 per cent of Internet users in Malaysia were below the age of 29 and for someone born in the digital era, they were exposed to the Internet as early as the age of 5.
This could be worrisome and beneficial at the same time. Educators need to introduce to the younger generation the many ways in which they can tap the most of using mobile apps and educational websites.
One example is Sekolah Enuma, a digital learning application, that teaches students Bahasa Melayu, English and Mathematics through fun games and videos.
Moreover, schools should frequently engage with universities to seek assistance in developing ideas and projects regarding STEM teaching and learning.
Students from the Faculty of Education should be required to develop teaching aids as one of their course assignments and this should be promoted to teachers.
It should also not just be limited to them. Students from the Faculty of Computer Science, for instance, could help by building digital teaching aids for students. To further the interest of university students, more grants should be allocated to motivate these researchers.
This is important as Malaysia needs more specific research regarding gamification to promote it to local students and teachers. STEM education is crucial for the future of our nation and every stakeholder needs to support this cause.
DANIAL FAROOK
Faculty of Education, UiTM
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times