CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITARETURE

Aseo, Carlo

Salinas, Kate Hazel

Gendoy, Shawn

Ocon, Nina Ira

Calabia, Kurt

Monesit, Sharmaine

12 STEM D IRON
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

In STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, there has been an
increasing focus in recent year on the development of higher-level thinking skills. Teachers are looking
for practical ways to help STEM students develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation
abilities, as there are increasingly in-demand in today’s workforce. Using mind games as a way to
enhance higher order thinking skills is one such tactic that has attracted attention.

In terms of improving higher-level thinking skills, mind games have been studied as an
instrument to improve higher-level thinking skills. Here are some relevant studies:

A. Digital Game-Based Learning

According to Kirsten Weir (2014), it has been proclaimed that children who reported playing
video games every day performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working
memory compared to those who never played. The study found that video games have a positive effect
and can be used as a teaching method. Mayer (2014) defines educational games as digital games
designed to promote students’ academic performance. This kind of digital game contains rich learning
and gaming mechanisms, providing learners with an engaging and positive learning environment.

At the same time, learners can practice problem-solving skills, develop critical thinking and
foster STEM literacy (Kayan-Fadlelmula et al., 2022; Klopfer & Thompson, 2020). For STEM education,
digital educational games are viewed as providing interactive and interesting learning environments that
help to develop students’ knowledge and skills related to STEM. According to Lave and Wenger (1991)
digital educational games can serve as a learning environment for constructing new knowledge, in which
learners can learn and practice skills through interactions within the game and with the players.

STEM education aims to train new students to improve their skills such as computational,
critical, and creative thinking (Li et al., 2016; Struyf et al., 2020). Therefore, many countries regard STEM
education as a national strategy to lead the reform and development of basic education (Dou, 2019).
New instructional methods were made because STEM education faces some issues. On one hand,
traditional STEM classroom can hardly attract students’ interest (Gao et al., 2020).

Kukulska-Hulme et al. (2021) states digital game-based learning (DGBL) which was discussed as
one of the twenty-first century global pedagogical approaches, has unique advantages in enhancing
STEM education compared with other pedagogical strategies (Ishak et al., 2021). Therefore, digital
educational games provide an engaging environment that allows learners to interact with game
mechanics in a virtual word, which provides the learners with a meaningful gaming experience and also
greatly enhance their learning motivation (Ball et al.., 2020; Ishak et al.., 2021).

Many researchers affirm the potential of digital games for STEM learning. The positive effects of
game-based STEM learning have been shown in many empirical studies (e.g., Kao et al., 2017;
Khamparia and Pandey, 2018l; Solfano et al., 2015). Kao et. al. (2017) showed that game-based learning
significantly enhanced scientific problem-solving performance and creativity compared to traditional
STEM learning.
 B. Benefits from Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL)

Digital game-based learning had a significant positive overall effect on student’s critical thinking
and showed significant heterogeneity among effect sizes. GBL allows students to try and solve real-
world problems with different strategies over time, receive feedback, evaluate their information use and
decisions, and thereby improve their future critical thinking. Some gives provide rich conflicting
information and perspectives about a controversial topic (Noroozi et al., 2016), students might create
and resolve character and plot conflicts (Yang and Wu, 2012).

Story line, incentives, or other game design elements can engage students to sustain their
critical thinking (Bonney and Sternberg, 2011; Squire and Jan, 2007). Role-playing, adventure, strategy,
and puzzles promote judgement, reasoning and critical thinking (Prensky 2001). By contrast, Romero
and colleagues (2015) argued that games requiring major decisions fostered critical thinking, while
fantasy and competition were irrelevant at best or even distracting. Digital game-based learning (DGBL)
can decrease learner cognitive load and thus increase learning performance (Chang et al., 2017, 2018;
Woo, 2014), does not cause significant cognitive load (Elford et al., 2022; Redlinger et al., 2022). Melo et
al (2020) states that applying game design principles to the context of education enhances learner
motivation and performance.

In conclusion, the study on the effects of mind games on higher level thinking skills in STEM
students at ACLC College of Ormoc has shed light on the positive impact of these activities on cognitive
development. However, a notable gap in the research is the lack of long-term studies to determine the
sustained effects of mind games on academic performance and career advancement. This highlights the
need for further research to address this gap and to assess the implications of integrating mind games
into the curriculum for STEM students. Practical solutions may involve incorporating a structured mind
games program into the college's academic framework and conducting longitudinal studies to evaluate
the lasting benefits. Overall, the findings underscore the potential for enhancing the cognitive abilities of
STEM students through the strategic incorporation of mind games into their educational experience.