SYMBO GAMIFICATION: A PROMISING INNOVATIVE

TEACHNIQUE IN TEACHING AND LEARNING APPROACH

OF STUDENTS PERFORMANCE IN CHEMISTRY

An Action Research Proposal

Submitted to the
Schools Division Research Committee (SDRC)
Schools Division of Zamboanga del Sur
Provincial Government Center, Dao, Pagadian City

NANCY M. FONTANIL
Research Lead Proponent

NENITA S. RADAN
Member

KABATAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Kabatan, Vincenzo Sagun, Zamboanga del Sur
Vincenzo Sagun District

DECEMBER 2022
 I. Context / Rationale

Chemistry is one of the major subjects in Science Technology

Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Chemical formulas are part of

chemistry’s everyday language but they may be like a foreign language

to novice learners. Expert chemists easily switch between the many

types of formulas, systematic names and common names for chemicals,

but students have difficulties with chemical formulas at school and

university. Although some students gain fluency with relative ease,

others struggle, which may hinder their achievement and engagement

with Chemistry. (Turner, 2018).

Writing and naming chemical formulas is often said to be difficult

to remember. Teachers most of the times heard conversations between

learners that they really find difficult times towards the subject. Seldom

of those learners saying they enjoyed doing activities during classes’ time.

In this situation, it seems like Chemistry subject made their student’s life

restricted. The lack confidence in writing chemical symbols and formulas.

This problem was aggravating especially with the Grade-12 STEM

students.

Chemistry enables us to understand the properties of different

materials and to transform materials into new and useful substances.

Through chemistry, we can understand changes that we observe in the

natural and physical world. Chemistry gives us understandings on which

to base educated choices about consumer products and management of

resources.
 Chemistry as a subject is conceptual. Students learning chemistry

at school level, or in colleges and universities, are taught about, and

asked to master, a wide array of concepts. Concepts are central to

understanding chemistry, and the understanding of chemical concepts is

therefore a core concern in chemical entities. Yet, learning chemical

concepts is not straightforward. Students at all levels often do not

understand; or only partially understand; or, indeed, misunderstand; key

concepts they meet in their studies of chemistry. For many students,

chemistry is seen as a difficult, complex and an abstract subject that

requires special intellectual talents and a too much effort to be

understood (Ben-Zvi, Eylon & Silberstein, 1987; Gabel, 1999; Johnstone,

1991; Nakhleh, 1992). However, perhaps more than other sciences,

understanding chemistry relies on making sense of the invisible and un-

touchable (Kozma & Russell, 1997, p. 949).

This difficulty has caused paramount consequent problems in

turn. For instance, when students were unable to write the correct

chemical statements in any consecutive courses that they take, it was

difficult for the teacher to measure whether the objective of the STEM

strand were attained or not. In addition, during assessment and

examination, some students lose their confidence and trying to copy from

friends, their own short notes or from the internet. And this was the

major task where the researcher and most teachers get busy especially

on final examination that comprises 40% of the complete semester STEM

strand. Therefore, working with improving students` ability in writing the

chemical symbols and formulas for most frequently used species is the

point I preferred to start in reducing this problem.

Studies argued that success in studying Chemistry depends

upon the familiarity of students with a few basic ideas, conventions, and

methods upon which later studies are built. When a student has

achieved mastery of them, further studies can be pursued with greater

confidence. One of the studies---- further adds that without mastery of

these concepts, students are likely to find higher levels of study in

Chemistry difficult. Specially, the use of chemical symbols, formulas,

writing chemical equations are areas where students of chemistry

beginners face most challenges.

So, the actual concepts met in chemistry courses will change.

However, given the nature of chemistry as a subject, teaching chemistry

will always involve teaching students a good deal of conceptual material,

and much of that will remain challenging. That is, challenging for

students to learn, and so challenging for teachers and lecturers to

effectively teach. Moreover, it seems very unlikely that some of the core

concepts of chemistry today, concepts known to often be found

challenging, will ever come to be judged superfluous or anachronistic in

chemistry courses. Certainly, concepts identified as core when I was a

school-age student (Fensham, 1975), are still core today. For example, a

serious study of chemistry as a science is likely to always need students

to learn about chemical bonding and writing the chemical formula or

symbols.

The concept of playing is a fundamental part of human activity

and can be found in various forms in all cultures and societies around

the world (Roberts, Arth & Bush, 1959). Prominent psycholo- gists and

educational researchers such as Montessori and Piaget have acknowl-

edged the value of playing for the development of students for hundreds

of years (Murray, 2018). Vygotsky (1980), for instance, described games

as providing opportunities for students to experience scenarios they are

not yet able to live through in real life. Thus, the importance of games for

one’s development has led to the inclusion of game-based settings for

learning purposes both in lower and upper secondary as well as in higher

education (Kim, Song, Locke & Burton., 2018). When it comes to overar-

ching theories, gamification elements making up effective games for

learning can be linked to the central theories of constructivism (Hayhow

et al., 2019), namely social constructivism (and communities of practice)

as well as situated learning (Kafai & Burke, 2015). While some re-

searchers even consider educational games being one of the biggest “hy-

pes” of the last decade in the educational context (Raitskaya &

Tikhonova, 2019, p. 5).

To begin with, different features of an activity that can be

considered a “game” can be traced in the literature. A quite simple

definition from over 50 years ago by Roberts et al. (1959) includes five

criteria: organized play, competition, two or more sides, criteria for

determining the winner and set of rules. Over the years, many other

criteria were developed, such as strategy, fantasy, sensory stimuli,

control, constraints, context, feedback systems or voluntary participation

(e.g., McGonigal, 2011). Kim et al. (2018) compared a number of criteria

from different publications and identified three central aspects that I

believe are also functional for our considerations as educators: goals

(desired outcomes from the game), rules and interactions (reciprocal

actions be- tween players).

When it comes to educational games, the term “serious game” is

often used to describe them. In 1970, Abt defined the term as “games

that have an explicit and carefully thought-out educational purpose and

are not intended to be played primarily for amusement” (p. 9), but, at the

same time, pointing out that the amusement aspects also don’t need to

be neglected. Serious games are also closely connected with game-based

learning (GBL) (Gros, 2007). While GBL includes a wider variety of games

such as traditional board and card games, the term “serious games”

primarily, but not always, focuses on digital games (Tsekleves, Cosmas &

Aggoun, 2016). It is certain that both terms aim at describing activities

which employ game mechanics for learning purposes, which leads us to

the concept of gamification. Gamification is commonly defined as

changing processes that are not games through implementing a game or

at least elements of one (Deterding et al., 2011). Here, game mechanics

are explicitly used to follow concrete educational goals and solve specific

problems (Kim et al., 2018).

Gamification applies elements related to game theory and

mechanics, such as the use of prizes and rewards, to increase the user

engagement and motivation, in not traditionally ludic contexts.

Motivation is an essential element in the teaching-learning process. One

of the objectives of teaching innovation is to prove that the traditional

teaching methods, where students have a passive role, do not work in an

optimal way. In contrast, a well-designed game applied in the education

context, is a ‘guided missile’ to the motivational heart of the human

psyche (Werbach and Hunter, 2012). The term gamification was used for

the first time in 2002 by Nick Pelling, but it did not begin to gain

popularity until 2010 (Rodríguez and Santiago, 2015). These authors

define gamification in the following way: ". Gamification is understood as

the process by which mechanics and game design techniques are

extended, to seduce and motivate the audience in the attainment of

certain objectives or gamification is to bring the different mechanics and

techniques found in games to contexts that have nothing to do with them

to try to solve real problems. (Rodríguez and Santiago, 2015, p.5).

Gamification is becoming increasingly used in educational settings for

a number of reasons. In short, it ‘makes the hard stuff more fun’,

helping to motivate students and make them more engaged with the

subject matter.

Commonly mentioned elements for gamification in learning and

education are story, dynamics, mechanics, collaboration, goal-oriented

design, set of rules and technology (Aynsley, Nathawat & Crawford, 2018;

Kim et al., 2018) – some of these are mostly applicable to digital games.

However, this does not mean that specific elements must be used for

gamification in learning and education. Also, using many gamification

elements does not ensure more effective gamification or better results

(Mora et al., 2017). Considering the given conditions, educators should

choose necessary gamification elements to create an integrated solution

that solves problems in learning and education (Kim et al., 2018).

Sometimes games in the school context are criticized for over-

emphasizing the purely entertaining and competitive aspects of the game

while neglecting the intended learning outcomes (Westera et al., 2008).

Therefore, it is of great importance to thoroughly plan the educational

use while creating or re-using a game setting. On the other hand, games

have certain positive effects such as the increase of motivation due to the

competitive character or fostering problem solving.

II. Action Research Questions

This study aims to determine the effect of using Symbo Gamifica-

tion as A promising Innovative Technique in Teaching and Learning Ap-

proach of Students Performance in Chemistry of Grade 12 STEM in Ka-

batan National High School, Vincenzo Sagun, Zamboanga del Sur

School Year 2022-2023. Further, this study is focused on how Symbo

Gamification will help increase the mastery of the concept.

Specifically, the study aims to answer the following questions:

1.) What is the level of performance of the Grade 12 STEM students in

terms of:
1.1. chemical formula writing; and
1.2. chemical formula naming?
2.) What is the level of performance of the students after Symbo

Gamification were introduce in terms of:

2.1. chemical formula writing; and

2.2. chemical formula naming?

3.) Is there a significant difference on the level of performance of the stu-

dents before the Symbo Gamification compared to adopting the Symbo

Gamification?

III. Proposed Innovation, Intervention, and Strategy

The Kabatan National High School is the only school in Vincenzo

Sagun that offers STEM Strand. The pressure in maintaining its high

standards in teaching is its topmost priority. This aims high on

promoting and helping those learners who find difficulty in naming and

writing chemical formulas. With that, the researchers think of an

innovation in teaching to help addresses the problem using Symbo

Gamification. A promising Innovative Technique in Teaching and

Learning Approach of Students Performance in Chemistry.

A pre-test will be administered which shall be used as the baseline

of the students’ level of performance. After which, for a month, the

proposed intervention will be implemented. A post-test will be given right

to gauge the increase of performance after the conduct of the

intervention.

IV. Action Research Methods

This chapter presents the research methodologies used by the

researcher. This includes the research participants, data gathering

methods, and plan for data analysis.

a. Participants and/or other Sources of Data and Information

 The participants will be the Grade 12 STEM of Kabatan National

High School, School Year 2022-2023. The researcher will employ the

bottom-up method to determine the number of participants. There will be

33 participants and this will be determined counting from the bottom

until the desired number is reached based on the performance measured.

b. Data Gathering Methods

The study will employ Quasi-Experimental one group Pre-Test–

Post-Test design. A pre-test and post-test will be taken and compared to

determine the impact of the intervention.

c. Data Analysis Plan

A Pre-test and Post-test will be conducted using mean of the scores

of students. Moreover, two-tailed paired-sample t -test of means will be

utilized to determine if there will be the significant difference between the

pre-test and post-test data.

V. Action Research Work Plan and Timelines

Table 1 presents the Action Research Work Plan and Timelines.

The drafting of this proposal started in October and was finalized until

November. The conduct of the proposed intervention will be administered

for a month.

Table 1. Action Research Work Plan and Timelines

Target Persons Involved

Activities
Date

A. Planning and Design

 Drafting of Proposal November 2-6, 2022 Researcher

  Preparation for Oral Presenta- December 1-5, 2022 Researcher
tion
 Finalizing Proposal January 2023 Researcher
 Submission of Proposal to January 2023 Researcher
SDO thru SDRC

 Drafting of the Symbo Gamifi- October 15-22, Researcher

cation 2022
 Finalizing the Symbo Gamifi- October 22-30, Researcher
cation 2022
 Utilization of the Innovation: December 2022 Research
Symbo Gamification Participants

B. Data Collection
 Selection of participants Researcher and
using Bottom-Up method. Researcher
Participants
 Administration of pre-test Researcher
and post-test and Researcher
Participants
C. Data Analyses

 Checking of results of the Researcher

pre- and post-tests in the
two trial runs.
 Computing the mean score
of the pre-test and post-
test
 Quantitative Analysis – Researcher
testing of hypothesis
 Interpreting results and Researcher
formulating conclusions
D. Research Evaluation

 Research Presentation of Researcher

Results to SDRC
 Research Editing with Pla- Researcher
giarism Results
 Research SDO Congress Researcher
Presentation of Results

E. Dissemination
 Intervention Briefs: Symbo Researcher
Gamification
 Innovation Dissemination Researcher
  Intervention Workshops Researcher

VI. Cost Estimates

Table 2 shows the cost estimates in the conduct of this study. The

highest estimated costs for this proposal are allocated for Encoding and

Reproduction of Innovation Materials which is the Symbo Gamification

and Implementation of the innovation.

Deliverables Particulars Cost Estimate

1. Encoding of Proposal Encoding Cost 100.00

2. Proposal Reproduction Printing Cost 100.00

3. Encoding and reproduc- Printing Cost/ Bond 2000

tion of Innovation Materi- papers/Load for Mobile
als Data/Internet

4. Implementation of the in- Meals, Snacks, Load for 2000

novation strategy: Symbo
Gamification
(1 Session)
5. Data gathering
6. Interpretation and analy-
sis of the data gathered
Mobile Data/Internet
Meals, and snacks, Load 500.00
for Mobile Data/Internet
Encoding Cost, Printing, 100.00
snacks and Meals

7. Encoding final output Encoding cost and 100.00

Printing Cost
8. Reproduction of the final Encoding and Printing 100.00
Output Cost

9. Reproduction of Evaluated Encoding and Printing 200.00

Output Cost

VII. Plans for Dissemination and Utilization

The results and findings of this study will be useful to Grade 12

STEM learners and teachers handling Chemistry at Kabatan National

High School not only in the district but also in the Division, Region and

even to the national level. Should this Innovative technique be

approved/quality assured for implementation.

LAC sessions will also be conducted to orient the teacher-users of

the Symbo Gamification.

VIII. References

Department of Education. (2020). K-12 Most Essential Learning

Competencies.

Kristy Turner: By Kristy Turner (June 2018), Six tips for teaching

chemical formulas, Education in chemistry, Royal Society for

Chemistry, Retrieved from https://edu.rsc.org/ideas/six-tips-for-
teaching-chemical-formulas/3009095.article

Dolores Lopez Carrillo, Using Gamification in a Teaching Innovation

Project at the University of Alcalá: A New Approach to Experimental
Science, Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/
EJ1220168.pdf

Tolosa Geleta (2014), How can I Improve N12 Students ability to write

Chemical e=Entities Using Chemical Symbols and Formulas on

Introductory General Chemistry Course (CHEM 101),
Kamise College of Teachers Education, Department of Natural Sci-
ence, Ethiopia

Ministry of Education, TKI: Why Study Chemistry, Retrieved from

https://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz/Science/Rationale/Why-study-
chemistry

The Challenge of Teaching and Learning Chemical Concepts, Royal

Society of Chemistry: Retrieved from

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/chapterhtml/2019/bk97817826
24608-00001