Interactive Lecturer Approach

Students lose willingness and interest towards lessons will put a major barrier in front of effective learning (Dağgöl, 2013). Motivation is a complicated and dynamic process to show students’ willingness in studies. Therefore, the aim of this activity was to focus on evaluating student’s emotional needs by using a gamification method called Interactive Learning Approach (ILA). It also gives an insight idea about the level of effectiveness of ILA in teaching concept of prefixes in sciences through a set of Pre and Post-test.

Before the program was being carried out, the story line was designed based on the fantasy world of Lumerian. The non-player characters were being assigned and trained among the senior students in school. With the Jumanji-like Live-Action-Role-Play (LARP) setting, the participants start to explore the imaginative world freely within the time frame provided. While communicating among their peers, participants also obtain extra assistance by attending lessons provided during the event to help themselves in constructing ideas to solve the puzzle tasked by the game modulator. ILA is hoping that participants will not only learn knowledge, which they can learn in normal classes, but also get a chance to acquire the survival skills they need for the future.

The activity was conducted on 80 Form 1 students of SMK St Columba. Preliminary review suggested that if the emotional needs are fulfilled, students will have the motivation to learn through their own self-directed play and exploration (Glasser, 1965). The outcome of this activity was values by a 5-Likert scale with a 50-item questionnaire. Results show values of 3.77/5.00 in average regarding basic needs fulfilled when attending ILA classes compared to 2.83/5.00 with traditional methods. The overall mark scored by participants in post-test increased 40% confirming that students with high motivation were able to perform well in their academic study.

ILA had been designed so that the participant can drive their energy into a fun way to explore new skills required in daily life. Participants are able to plan their own ways and communicate among their peers freely. On the other hand, they are encouraged to ask questions to game modulator when necessary. In a therapeutic environment, the module drives participant curiosity and encourages them to sign up for classes voluntary. The time frame provided to participants enabled them to ask-test-observe-analyse-conclude repeatedly until they solved the puzzle given. Last but not least, participants will always feel a sense of belonging throughout the module.

Inspired by the movie Jumanji, ILA was designed based on a fictional story to expand the participants’ imagination. Based on literature, library research, and interviews, story line and tasks had been designed carefully. ILA aims to not only prepare students for academic excellence, but also provides them with skills useful in life. Thus, students are required to form a team and create a model of their dream empire using reusable materials and present their ideas before the session ends. Collective feedback shows that the usage of ICT and big data is important to improve the sustainability of the module.