Initiative of the Internal Fund for Applied Research Projects in R+D+i (DINNOVA) considers an intervention for 40 third-secondary students from two establishments.
By Javier Martínez G, Journalist UCSC.- Applying gamification elements and components, in such a way that they can be validated as a tool that strengthens the teaching-learning processes in administration subjects, is the objective of the Applied Research in R+D+i project entitled “Validation of the Gamification as a methodological tool to strengthen the Teaching-Learning experiences of administration careers, with emphasis on contexts of greater social vulnerability in the Ñuble Region”, which is carried out in the context of the Internal Fund for Applied Research Projects in R&D +i (DINNOVA).
The initiative is part of the institutional project 68-InES “Strengthening of the innovation ecosystem based on R&D and technology transfer of the UCSC”, financed by the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID).
Jairo Dote, an academic from the Administration Area of the Chillán Headquarters Technological Institute of the Catholic University of the Santísima Concepción and alternate director of the project, commented that this arises from the problem that Ñuble is the second most vulnerable region in the country, surpassed only by La Araucanía. , which was further exacerbated by the pandemic.
“This vulnerability involves the educational context, where a series of difficulties are present that make it impossible for students to take advantage of the curriculum and classroom teachings,” he commented.
However, he said that this problem requires methodologies that improve the teaching-learning process, and among those that appear with increasing force are gamified learning interventions. From a hypothetical perspective, the use of gamification tools and methodologies can have a positive and significant impact on the training and development of knowledge, skills and abilities in students from vulnerable contexts in the Ñuble Region.
He added that the initiative seeks to generate a characterization of the establishments and institutions that are present in the Ñuble Region, and that have potential and/or interest in incorporating gamification tools.
To this is added a diagnosis of the gamification tools and mechanisms that are present at a national and global level; the application of gamification elements and components in students; the elaboration of a manual that is applicable and functional in students of administration careers; a strategy for communication and dissemination of the results obtained; the request for a copyright for the Gamification Manual; the bases for the potential development of a game applicable to the context and challenges of the territory, and the identification of potential sources of financing to grant continuity to the project.
Dote added that an intervention is being considered with a total of 40 third-secondary students from the Marta Colvin Andrade High School and the Enrique Salinas Buscovich Polyvalent School, both from the Chillán commune. “The idea is that students can experience learning in a playful way, which we hope can contribute to improving some results such as motivation, commitment, concentration, healthy competition and logical thinking”, she pointed out.
The project, which has an execution period of two years, starting on December 5, 2022 and ending on November 30, 2024, is ready to generate interventions with students.
