Int. J. Technology Enhanced Learning, Vol. 6, No.

1, 2014 5

The potential of treasure hunt games to generate

positive emotions in learners: experiencing local
geography and history using GPS devices

Pirita Ihamäki
Degree Program of Cultural Management and Landscape Studies,
University of Turku,
Siltapuistokatu 2, Pori, Finland
Email: Pirita.ihamaki@utu.fi

Abstract: This paper presents the experiences of 2nd and 4th-class pupils in
centrally located schools in Pori, Finland (110 students); here, the self-report
method was used to collect information about student’s experiences on the Pori
Cultural Heritage Road. This paper gives a descriptive account of children’s
interactions using letterboxing and geocaching treasure hunt games as a
creative pedagogical design where technology was exploited to solve clues.
The study findings demonstrate that the children reported most positive
experiences of this treasure hunt game. To summarise the results, the
application of treasure hunt games for education as a new pedagogical design
allows a new, innovative educational culture to emerge and invites further
exploration of the learning impact of such games.

Keywords: experiential education; technology-enhanced learning; treasure

hunt games; students’ experiences; SAM; self-assessment manikin; experiential
learning cycles; creative pedagogical design.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Ihamäki, P. (2014) ‘The

potential of treasure hunt games to generate positive emotions in learners:
experiencing local geography and history using GPS devices’, Int. J.
Technology Enhanced Learning, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp.5–20.

Biographical notes: Pirita Ihamäki holds an MA degree and MSc (Economy)

degree from the University of Turku, Department of Cultural Production and
Landscape Studies, Finland. She is a PhD student of Digital Culture. Her
research interests include: human–computer interaction, user-centred design,
social media, digital education applications and adventure tourist applications.
This paper builds on her doctoral dissertation.

1 Introduction

Scavenger hunts have gone high-tech and the old method of following clues has taken a
digital turn through worldwide letterboxing and geocaching games. The treasure hunt
game of letterboxing is an intriguing mix of hiking, puzzle solving, treasure hunting, and
rubber stamp artistry, topped off with the thrill of discovery (Hall, 2004). Geocaching is a
high-tech treasure hunt game which allows players to use a Global Positioning System
(GPS) receiver or a smartphone with a geocaching application to find an object (usually
it is a plastic box with some little toys) hidden by other players (Geocaching.com)

Copyright © 2014 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

6 P. Ihamäki

Within the past three decades, adventure pursuits on public lands have developed,
both in terms of overall popularity and activity diversity (Attarian et al., 2006).
Understanding what makes children enjoy an educational treasure hunt game is perhaps
the most important issue for the development of successful local history and geography
studies. The importance of this issue is specifically highlighted in the area of experiential
education. Understanding student enjoyment of treasure hunt game activities allows an
understanding of user experiences derived from the treasure hunt game context.
There is a need to assess the motivation and engagement effected by digital games
for learning (Prensky, 2001). This study is based on the Treasure Hunting Included in
the Teaching of Geography and History project, whose aim is to create an innovative
educational package with the emphasis on the geography and history of the Finish town
Pori, eventually with some long-term influences on the positive image of this town.
The treasure hunt game is played through several waypoints rooted in the history,
culture and landscape of the city. At the waypoints, pupils are given some educational
tasks connected with the history of Pori and changes in its landscape. The game is
included in a teaching package with letterboxing and geocaching, that is, a lead and a
map, and older students have a teaching package with geocaching using smartphones
with GPS to find the cache locations. The game is good for pupils in constructing their
identity, dealing with the concept of time and understanding human efforts, both in terms
of intellectual and material work. The historical focus of the project is on one’s own
heritage and local history. Familiarity with the history of Pori and the application of
history to present life gives pupils the opportunity to understand and explore both the
past and present of the city.
Geocaching game users employ smartphones to play the game. The Goecaching.com
website has data formats available to allow users to download geocaches and other
waypoints for use with the various applications. To mention a few applications in the
smartphones used, Quo Mobile XT is a free digital mapping application with a dedicated
geocaching tool for managing geocaches, importing/exporting geocaches in various
formats and uploading to Lowrance/Garmin/Magellan GPS devices. Another application
is Geocaching Intro, which we used in our Pori Cultural Heritage Road. The Geocaching
Intro application leads the user through the geocaching experiences and provides users
with a basic introduction to the hobby of geocaching. For example, it allows access to
three geocaches near the user’s current location, gives the geocache description and hints
on the mobile phone screen and shows the user’s location and the geocache location on
the embedded map eject.
The application of technology-supported treasure hunt games involves environmental
education as a new pedagogical design, which creates an innovative educational culture.
Treasure hunt games provide pupils with an opportunity to make their own observations
and learn things that would otherwise have been read in books. On the other hand, the
urban environment is challenging and demanding in many ways. Urban environment
gives possibilities to extend the geocaching application in education at many levels. In
addition, it is now possible for pupils to put their own favourite things first. Thus, the
combination of subjects and innovative teaching methods can motivate students to realise
good learning results. Thanks to the practical involvement of the environment in
teaching, students will be educated to be responsible citizens in the information society.
 The potential of treasure hunt games to generate positive emotions in learners 7

The Pori Cultural Heritage Road comprises five treasure hunt locations, which are the
University Consortium of Pori, the Central Church in Pori, the South Promenade, the
Kirjurinluoto Park and the Library of the University of Turku in the University
Consortium. The road is about 5 km long, which is enough for children to concentrate on
history and cultural studies. Teachers receive education packets for the children and their
duty is to share the culture heritage of Pori city as a historical story based on references
to the history of the city. The children’s duty on treasure hunt road is to find codes with a
map or smartphone, which they mark in their exercises.

Figure 1 Code from Pori Cultural Heritage Road

The treasure hunt road’s planned geography is easy to access. The treasure hunt locations
are major cultural sites in Pori city. The treasure hunt road is also suitably long for
elementary school student; meanwhile, the places are interesting and movement in the
road is relatively safe. An educational packet was created to commemorate Pori city’s
450-year anniversary. The present case study asks what kind of learning experience the
Pori Cultural Heritage treasure hunt road offers for student. What kind of emotions do
student experience from the exercises on the treasure hunt road? The treasure hunt
activities are analysed to determine how local history and geography are integrated into
the Pori Cultural Heritage Road, which extends the learning experience in classroom
studies such that children are able to construct meaning of learning by doing-method in
the road by doing exercises walking along in the road and observing landscapes.

2 Related research

This section describes some earlier work on treasure hunt games in education. The
literature presented in this paper comprises studies in which treasure hunts are the main
focus. Although there are not yet many formal studies on this topic, the treasure hunt
game has been studied extensively in the educational and tourism contexts, increasing the
importance of the present study.
Webb (2001) introduces the rapidly developing sport of geocaching and describes its
basic rules. This study concentrates on GeoSy student curricula in the undergraduate
bachelor of surveying programme by establishing nine geocaches in the Southeast
Queensland region. This task has proven valuable both as a learning tool for using
GPS and as an introduction to navigational information and internet communications
(Webb, 2001).
Mooney et al. (2002) describe Adventure Engineering (AE) as a middle grade science
and mathematics outreach initiative that entails the development and implementation of
one-day to four-week adventure-driven, engineering-based curricula for grades 5–9
8 P. Ihamäki

science and/or mathematics classes. The AE team develops an adventure-based scenario

filled with obstacles that require the learning and application of the desired science
and/or mathematical concepts. The curricula are inquiry based and open ended; activities
are designed to facilitate concept understanding and immerse students in the engineering
design experience (Mooney et al., 2002).
In another study, Webb (2002) describes the use of geocaching through a survey of
students from the School of Design and Built Environment (Webb, 2002). Moreover,
Christie (2007) provides a constructivist-learning environment which uses GPS units and
geocaching in classrooms, engaging learners in student-centred, personally meaningful,
authentic and collaborative learning. The study gives clues for teachers to use geocaches
to increase students’ understanding of the curriculum (Christie, 2007). Ihamäki (2007)
describes what geocaching is and presents an analysis of a case study on how to use it as
a rewarding approach in teaching GPS technology (Ihamäki, 2007).
Paulus et al. (2007) present the concept of a gaming event, Geogames, which focuses
on the application of different geospatial technologies to grammar school spatial
sciences. This event is part of the GIS in educational initiative (Paulus et al., 2007). In
addition, Matherson et al. (2008) give an overview of the use of GPS in popular activities
as a teaching and learning tool. Geocaching can be an exciting tool for the social
classroom, but it also requires planning (Matherson et al., 2008). Wyeth et al. (2008)
present children’s interactions with mobile technology in the context of a university-held
summer camp; in this study, children completed an outdoor treasure hunt activity using a
combination of two mobile phones and a video camera. Activities focused on solving
clues and exploration within the local environment to find examples of sustainable
energy on a university eco-campus (Wyeth et al., 2008). Chavez (2009) presents Youth
Day, held in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, in an exploratory study aimed to determine
whether technology attracts children to outdoor activities (Chavez, 2009). The present
study extends the concept of experimental education through treasure hunts as a method
where children’s enjoyment motivated local history and geography studies in the Pori
Cultural Heritage Road. This study presents the treasure hunt games of letterboxing and
geocaching as a creative pedagogical design in local geography and history studies.

3 Creativity with technology: enhancing learning with ‘geocaching’ and

‘letterboxing’ treasure hunt games

Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt game in which adventurous souls equipped with
GPS devices track down a stash hidden in a weatherproof, camouflaged box at a location
described by latitude and longitude (Ihamäki and Tuomi, 2009). The game is already
enjoyed by millions of people around the world, and is proving to be very popular
among families. There are now 2,127,377 geocaches in 220 different countries and over
5 million geocachers worldwide (Geocaching.com).
A related activity is called ‘Letterboxing’. In this activity, caches contain rubber
stamps, a logbook and often a stamp pad. Participants, called ‘finders’ record the
letterbox’s stamp in their own logbook, and add their personal stamp to the letterbox’s
logbook. The stamps can be garden-variety commercial rubber stamps, but they are often
 The potential of treasure hunt games to generate positive emotions in learners 9

unique, hand-carved stamps. Letterboxing North America reports that there are over
20,000 letterboxes hidden in North America, with over 400 in Idaho alone. The internet
and GPS technology have used in letterboxing in the same way as geocaching (Funabiki,
2009).
Geocaching and letterboxing illustrate that it is possible to hide information in our
physical environment: the fact that should interest teachers since it has an educational
potential. Thus, the virtual and physical game field have increasing influence on and can
be included in one another (Eskelinen, 2005). Through the use of geocaching and similar
treasure hunt games’ applications, teachers have the opportunity to open their classrooms
to the entire world, while at the same time teaching students something new creatively
and in accordance with the national curriculum.
Recently, geocaching has been making its way into education. There have already
been several lessons and classes that have used GPS technology and geocaching to
bring about a new brand of teaching. All over the world, teachers and instructors are
introducing GPS technology into the classroom to engage students and move away from
traditional learning styles (Christie, 2007). One article points out that geocaching
contains multiple elements that are interesting and engaging to students, such as the
treasure hunt and the use of gadgets (Dobyns et al., 2008). Geocaching can be beneficial
in several areas of learning. First, many geocaches are hidden near historical locations.
Second, to log a geocache at Geocaching.com, it is necessary for the user to write a log
entry about his or her experience in finding the cache. This could potentially help
students with their writing skills. Finally, some caches require hiking or a fair amount of
physical activity, which could be ideal for a physical education class (Dobyns et al.,
2008).
Matherson reflects on the student comments that she received after the first time she
integrated geocaching into a course assignment. In her project, students were shown how
to use the GPS unit and then create caches of their own using coordinates and clues.
Next, they had to search for caches she had placed that had questions relating to an US
history assignment. Overall, most of the students’ comments were positive. They enjoyed
the freedom and creativity of the exercise, learning new technology and the ability to go
outside and explore (Matherson et al., 2008).
The present study describes a creative pedagogical design in which GPS technology
is used with students’ smartphones (in geocaching) and poems of hints or riddles
(in letterboxing) to teach students while mobile on the Pori Cultural Heritage Road.
This study also presents students’ emotional reactions through the exercises to local
history and geography, which are of interest in this case because students at this level
(8–10 years old children) do not have history and geography classes in Finland.

4 Study design: the experiential learning cycle

Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) emphasises the central role which experience plays
in the learning process, thereby distinguishing ELT from other learning theories.
Learning is a process (Stuart and Burns, 1984; Gaidis and Andrew, 1990); Kolb’s (1984)
experiential learning model suggests that learning occurs through a cyclical process
called an experiential learning cycle which encompasses the four stages described in
Table 1.
10 P. Ihamäki

Table 1 Kolb’s four stages in the experiential learning process

Concrete Experience An actual new experience in an individual’s life.

Abstract Conceptualisation
Reflective Observation
Active Experimentation
Existing concepts and theories applied to the experience.
Feelings, emotions, reflection related to the experience.
New concepts are generated, put in practice and tested and
applied in new a situation, which leads to new experiences.

The experiential learning model portrays two dialectically related modes of grasping
experience, specifically concrete experience (CE) and abstract conceptualisation (AC),
and two dialectically related modes of transforming experience – Reflective Observation
(RO) and Active Experimentation (AE). According to the four-stage learning cycle,
immediate or concrete experiences are the basis for observation and reflections. These
reflections are assimilated and distilled into abstract concepts from which new
implications for action can be drawn. These implications can be actively tested and serve
as guides to the creation of new experiences (Kolb, 1984). This study will extend the
experiential learning model using flow experience stages, as described in Figure 2.

Figure 2 Kolb’s four stages in the experiential learning process with a treasure hunt games
pedagogical design (see online version for colours)

In the treasure hunt concept, playability increases the likelihood of experiencing task-
based flow because the student has to sacrifice attention and other cognitive resources to
inappropriate activity (Kiili et al., 2012). The paradigm, which successfully incorporates
reflection and delineates the learning cycle, is the Kolb’s (1984) model which is
previously described. For students, consideration of an experiential learning assignment,
the activity can be divided into the five stages (Kolb’s model) as shown in Table 2.
 The potential of treasure hunt games to generate positive emotions in learners 11

Table 2 Kolb’s extended model for an experiential learning assignment from a teacher’s
perspective

All five experiential learning activities, including actual experience.

Concrete
(Experience is a direct observation in Pori Cultural Heritage Road activities as
Experience
a basis of knowledge.
The students and teachers ponder their emotions, reactions, questions,
Reflective observations and judgements related to the experience. Reflection is the
Observation ability to step back, ponder, question and evaluate one’s own experiences,
then to abstract from them knowledge that is relevant to other experiences.
Abstract Relevant, existing concepts, theories and information are then applied to the
Conceptualisation experience, and tentative hypotheses or generalisations are formed.
Active The student tests, applies and puts into practice what has been learned from
Experimentation this experience in new situations, which leads to new experiences.
Flow theory provides a meaningful framework for embodying new
Flow qualities of the experience in educational games which are relevant for both
Experience educational and entertainment purposes. Flow describes a stage of
engagement in an activity and refers to the optimal experience.

Students in elementary school spent one day on the Pori Cultural Heritage Road course,
which incorporated material covering Pori history and geography, while moving
through the treasure hunt road and completing five assignments relating to the town’s
history and geography. In the ‘concrete experience’ stage, students were given five
different assignments; such activity certainly qualified as an actual experience
(Frontczak, 1998). The assignments were as follows:
1 The first exercise was to draw a part or develop an existing drawing of an old Cotton
Factory from the story of imaginary characters Sofia and Wilhelm. The factory is
nowadays University Consortium of Pori. The students learned from the history of
the building of the Cotton Factory, which teachers explained as a historical narrative.
2 The second exercise involved the Central Church of Pori. Students were asked to
tell Sofia and Wilhelm what kind of church and surroundings there were. Students
had the opportunity to draw and write out explanations in this exercise. Student
could learn about the history of the Central Church of Pori when listening to their
teacher. In addition, through the lens of this history, they were asked to describe the
current surroundings of the church, through which they were able to learn about
geographical changes.
3 The third exercise had to do with the dissemination of news by steamboat in the year
1873. News will help Sofia and Wilhelm to continue to find clues and solve the Pori
codes mystery on the cultural heritage road. The historical account was the narrative
description used for the treasure hunt game, leading children to become active
participants on the game field. The historical account was published in a local
newspaper in 1873. The children needed to continue the story from the past.
4 The fourth exercise involved writing a letter or drawing a comic strip for Sofia and
Wilhelm to answer the following question: How do you spend free time at the
Kirjurinluoto Park? The historical narrative detailed the kinds of activities which
could be done in Kirjurinluoto in the 19th century. Some of the activities can no
longer be done; for example, the wooden diving tower for swimming from the early
12 P. Ihamäki

1900s is now gone, which means that people can no longer jump from it. The
children were asked to draw and create narratives to discuss their own activities at
Kirjurinluoto in the present time and compare it to the past possibilities.
5 The final exercise was to draw the route that the children had walked for the treasure
hunt on an old map of Pori (from 1920) and to indicate the treasure hunt locations
for Sofia and Wilhelm. Children looked at the Pori Cultural Heritage Road on the
map from the 20th century and learned how the landscape had changed. They needed
to indicate the location of the Pori Cultural Heritage Road on the map, as well as the
treasure hunt/geocache sites.
Student listened to the teacher’s historical account and identified clues in the story to find
the treasure hunt locations (Figure 3). These locations were related to exercises which
allowed students to complete the ‘reflective observation’ stage of learning, where
feelings about the experience are considered. As mentioned above, the reflection process
is critical to learning (Frontczak, 1998). Reflective observation was very concrete in the
second exercise, where students needed to observe the surroundings of the church and
listen to the teachers give their clues in order to find the treasure hunt location. Older
students received hints on their mobile phones according to the coordinates and tried to
find the location of the geocache.

Figure 3 Teacher reading a story for students and giving clues from the Pori Cultural Heritage
Road

The treasure hunt road itself exists as a concept, and ‘abstract conceptualisatio’ allowed
the students and teachers to experience tentative hypotheses of geography and history
subjects through learning by moving. Abstract conceptualisation has a concrete aspect in
which learning occurs by moving along the treasure hunt road, which included five
exercises that was 5 km long. The story that the teacher read on the treasure hunt road
was based on true history and included clues. Older students received coordinates and
hints on their mobile phones.
During the optimal ‘flow experience’, a student is in a psychological state where he or
she is so involved with the goal-driven activity that nothing else seems to matter. An
activity which produces such an experience is so pleasant that the student may be willing
to do something for its own sake, without being concerned with what he or she will get
 The potential of treasure hunt games to generate positive emotions in learners 13

out of this action (Kiili et al., 2012). On the Pori Cultural Heritage Road, one exercise is
to seek codes on the road, for which the students receive hints from the teachers; older
students look for the locations of the codes using smartphones with GPS. Sometimes,
students become so involved in the experience of seeking clues that it can be said that
they were experiencing the flow.
The aim of an educational game design is to create an experience which is so
interesting that it holds the student’s attention as long and as intensely as possible. Older
students could attain a flow experience when seeking a geocache, which is first done
using a mobile phone screen, where students need to understand a map and compass,
ultimately leading them closer and closer to the geocache location.

5 Methodologies

This study employed self-report methods, which can be used to evaluate the treasure
hunt educational method according to children’s experiences from the viewpoint of the
emotional responses evoked in the situation.

5.1 Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM)

Self-report instruments are especially suited for assessing subjective feelings (Desmet,
2002). Such instruments often utilise verbal scales or protocols, but non-verbal
instruments have also been developed (Lang, 1980; Desmet, 2002). Instruments relying
on self-reporting utilise rating scales, verbal protocols (verbal methods) or histograms
(non-verbal methods), which are employed by the user to describe their emotions.
Instruments like the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM; Lang, 1980) use pictograms to
measure generalised emotional states. According to Dormann (2001), the SAM
instrument has been used in marketing and for the emotional evaluation of company
home pages. In this study, self-report methods were used to collect information on user
experience in field experiments focused on a real environment. Here, the SAM method is
based on a series of pictures of smiley (Figure 4) which are used to measure dimensions
of children’s emotion (adapted from Lang, 1980).

Figure 4 The SAM self-report method in this study (Desmet, 2002)

14 P. Ihamäki

Following Desmet’s (2002) SAM method, this study used a three-point scale along
the axes of ‘fascinating’, interesting’ and ‘boring’. Children filled out the survey form
immediately after the treasure hunt with the help of their teacher using a pen-and-paper
version. This method was adopted to collect information about subjective feelings. The
SAM instrument is based on the assumption that emotions vary continuously along
certain dimensions. SAM pictures are usually presented to the user in the paper format,
as in this study, and the user selects the picture matching his/her emotional response by
ticking the corresponding picture on each dimension with a pen. This method could be
developed for digital assessment too. The SAM instrument, including some open-ended
questions, was administered to children immediately after they had completed the
Pori Cultural Heritage Road treasure hunt, because the longer the time that elapsed
between the experienced emotion and the evaluation, the more distorted the result might
be (Scherer, 1989).

5.2 Sample size

The total sample size was 110 primary school children (N = 110) from one school, 2nd
and 4th grade, three classes for each grade, aged between 7 (2nd grade) and 9 (4th grade),
in the Finish town of Pori.

6 Results: students’ emotional experiences on the treasure hunt road

Learning to create great game experiences for students – experiences that have meaning
for education and are personally meaningful for learners is one of the goals of successful
treasure hunt game design, perhaps even the most important one. The treasure hunt game
provides a meaningful environment for experiential and problem-based learning. The
ability to solve problems is one of the most important human skills (Holyoak, 1991).
Problem solving can be associated with discovery learning. Learning environments such
as games allow students to discover new rules and ideas rather than memorising the
material that others have presented. For example, letterboxing and geocaching games
applied in this study offer opportunities for students to interact with the game by
exploring a real environment to test their hypotheses. Thus, while experiencing a game
world, students become active participants in the learning process and their motivation
may shift from extrinsic to intrinsic rewards (Bruner, 1961).
ELT has long inspired the designers of digital learning environments (Lainema,
2003). This theory consists of several models which stress the importance of direct
experience and reflective observation. Kolb (1984) presents an experiential learning
model consisting of four stages. According to Kolb’s model, education begins with a
concrete experience, followed by the collection of data and reflective observations about
the experience. In this study, the students got involved in the first three stages and the
experience of flow, when they got engrossed in the activity. The model involves a
continuous style of learning with appropriate feedback, which provides the basis for a
continuous process of a goal-directed action, since the students always needed first to
discover and then solve clues. This study’s data showed whether students felt fascinated,
interested or bored in the Cultural Heritage Road treasure hunt.
 The potential of treasure hunt games to generate positive emotions in learners 15

Table 3 Students’ emotions related to the Cultural Heritage Road treasure hunt

Fascinating Interesting Boring

2nd Class A 4 11 3
2nd Class B 12 6 0
2nd Class C 8 4 1
Total 24 21 4
4th Class A 7 15 0
4th Class B 7 11 2
4th Class C 2 13 4
Total 16 39 6
Total: 2nd and
36% 55% 9%
4th class in %

The Cultural Heritage Road was more fascinating for 2nd class students than 4th class
ones. However, it mainly generated the feelings of fascinations and interest with only 9%
(10 out of 110) reported the feeling of boredom. Therefore most of the students were
interested in the Pori Cultural Heritage Road, which provides incentives to extended
ideas and create new kinds of education tools using the treasure hunt idea.
The SAM manikin also asked students about the emotions of the historical story with
imaginary characters Sofia and Wilhelm – the story was created with real history facts.
Many students found the story fascinating, and 2nd-class students liked the story
more than 4th-class students. This might be due to their age and the importance of
story-telling in earlier years. Some 4th-class students thought that the story was boring.
By and large, students’ feelings about the experience were positive. Only 15% (total of
17 students in both classes) reported that it was boring. To remind the reader, the students
had to complete five assignments (exercises). Table 4 shows how the children felt about
them.
Generally, all five exercises were found to be mostly interesting. For each exercise,
the students received information on the history and geography of Pori. Commonly, 2nd-
class students preferred the task to 4th-class students, but most students found the
exercise interesting. Few students found any of the exercises boring, more so for the first
and third and more among the 4th grade students. The most boring was the third exercise
in total (2nd and 4th grade students) and the most fascinating of all five was the fourth
exercise in total. In general, the pedagogical model in this study might be more
interesting for 2nd grade students than 4th grade students. An interesting finding was that
students in the 4th class C were more likely to find the third exercise boring rather than
interesting or fascinating. The results suggest that 4th-class students could be more
critical of the exercises and the exercises might be hence more interesting for younger
age students below the age of nine years.
16 P. Ihamäki

Table 4 Students’ opinions of the give exercises on the cultural heritage road

Fascinating Interesting Boring

First exercises
2nd Class A 2 13 3
2nd Class B 10 7 1
2nd Class C 6 5 2
Total 18 25 7
4th Class A 3 12 7
4th Class B 3 14 3
4th Class C 1 11 8
Total 7 37 18
Total% 23% 56% 21%
Second exercises
2nd Class A 9 8 1
2nd Class B 12 6 0
2nd Class C 4 5 4
Total 25 19 5
4th Class A 5 15 0
4th Class B 6 12 4
4th Class C 4 11 5
Total 15 37 9
Total% 36% 50% 14%
Third exercises
2nd Class A 7 8 3
2nd Class B 10 7 1
2nd Class C 2 6 5
Total 19 21 9
4th Class A 5 10 5
4th Class B 1 12 7
4th Class C 1 6 12
Total 7 28 25
Total% 24% 46% 30%
 The potential of treasure hunt games to generate positive emotions in learners 17

Table 4 Students’ opinions of the give exercises on the cultural heritage road (continued)

Fascinating Interesting Boring

Fourth exercises
2nd Class A 10 5 3
2nd Class B 10 5 3
2nd Class C 7 6 0
Total 27 16 6
4th Class A 11 8 2
4th Class B 4 14 2
4th Class C 8 8 3
Total 23 30 7
Total% 45% 42% 12%
Fifth exercises
2nd Class A 8 6 4
2nd Class B 9 8 0
2nd Class C 8 2 4
Total 25 16 8
4th Class A 2 16 2
4th Class B 4 11 6
4th Class C 2 11 7
Total 8 38 15
Total% 30% 49% 21%

The creative pedagogical design ‘Pori Cultural Heritage Road’ inspired by Kolb’s (1984)
experiential learning cycle involved letterboxing and geocaching, as well as geography
and history facts. This activity is in contrast to sitting in a class to learn local history and
geography. Using the letterboxing method for 2nd- and 4th-class students to teach local
history and geography provided positive emotional response from the students, more so
for the 2nd grade students; this should be extended to different places in order to obtain
more results on the subject. Students experienced learning together, solving problems
together, and completing exercises individually by moving to different treasure hunt
locations in the learning process. The result shows that studying together in different
places was by and large a positive emotional experience for students. In future study, the
next step is to involve students directly in the pedagogical design process to make the
treasure hunt an educational concept.
This study used the SAM method to reach students’ emotions through the treasure
hunt road itself and exercises that were completed on the road. Although I conducted
student interviews and survey, this paper does not report on them, which would make the
18 P. Ihamäki

data richer. A weakness of this study is that it would have been good to interview
students who found the experience boring to understand the reasons why they thought so
in order to improve the design. Another study limitation is that the learning of local
history and geography on the part of the student was not measured by any learning test.
However, this study did not concentrate to measure student local history and geography
learning but their emotions with the treasure hunt games of letterboxing and geocaching.

7 Conclusions and future work

This paper has presented the pedagogical design of the Pori Cultural Heritage Road
using letterboxing and geocaching as a new education tool, in order to teach local history
and geography to 2nd- and 4th-class students. It explored students’ emotional response
to this pedagogical activity. The students were active participators exploring their
own environment through historical narrative, walking along treasure hunt road and
completing exercises supported by mobile phones.
The Pori Cultural Heritage Road created a largely positive emotional experience for
students, although this was more so with younger grade students – 2nd grade (seven
years) rather than 4th grade (nine years). The study analysis demonstrated that even with
the emotion collection methods based on self-report instruments that were employed,
there were many possibilities for variation. When results are needed to direct the design
and create new pedagogical design solutions, more descriptive and detailed data are
needed on the relationships between evoked emotions and the design properties of the
educational product. In general, the potential of geocaching and letterboxing treasure
hunt games supported by GPS mobile devices to enhance learners’ positive emotions was
considerable. In many cases, the students reported being fascinated with the treasure hunt
road. Letterboxing and geocaching offer possibilities for students to interact with the
game by exploring a real environment in order to test geographical and historical
hypotheses. Building this link requires that the teacher and designer understand the
dynamic features of the interaction concerning emotions. Self-report instruments, which
are designed and evaluated treasure hunt solutions for education and assume that
evaluation setting can be fixed and controlled, have limitations in a mobile setting. When
applied to the mobile context, there are several challenges to capturing contextual data to
support interpretation and integrate the information collected using different methods in
dynamic mobile usage situations.
Future work is needed to fieldwork usability test the potential of geocaching and
letterboxing games not only just for positive experiences relating to local history and
geography but also for disciplinary and importantly, interdisciplinary learning.

Acknowledgements

I thank student of Ruosniemi Elementary School and teachers who was involve with Pori
Cultural Heritage Road by treasure hunting. I also thank for city of Pori, University of
Turku Degree Program Cultural Production and Landscape Studies, European Regional
Development Fund and Satakunta Council, who financed the project called Geocaching
Included in the Teaching of Geography and History. Especial thanks for Professor Päivi
Granö who get idea to make project where using treasure hunt games for tools of
education and Professor Jaakko Suominen who was helping management of the project.
 The potential of treasure hunt games to generate positive emotions in learners 19

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