Design of Didactic Games to Foster Student Motivation, Engagement and Performance in Classrooms: A Case of Hong Kong Primary English Language Subject (ELS) Classrooms

Gupta Paridhi (2015)

Research conducted in formal and routine classrooms reveals that children lack motivation, attention, and concentration during learning. This research aims to address this problem by adopting “learning through didactic games” as a child-centred pedagogical approach within the context of Hong Kong’s local primary schools. This study comprises three major phases. The first two phases involve a series of literature reviews and in-depth case studies on several teaching/learning scenarios within local Hong Kong’s primary ELS classrooms. Afterwards, four “learning through didactic games” experiments are conducted, which reflect on how the design of didactic games can guide and steer tactile qualities, sensory aesthetics, educational goals, defined rules, and evaluation in didactic games. These insights are then translated into a logical, empirical framework highlighting ten crucial factors for ‘designing’ didactic games for classroom use. This research contributes to the field of game design and education. It is valuable to educators and game designers that motivate them to adopt, test and explore this approach within other socio-cultural contexts.