Moray House School of Education runs an annual “Interweaving” conference, this year taking place on 6th September.
The KTP associate Sihan gave a presentation for a study on primary teachers’ attitudes to digital game-based learning. The study was carried out in May 2017 as part of the analysis of stake holders’ needs for developing Tornado English platform.
Abstract: The development of information and computer technology (ICT) in recent decades has rendered digital game-mediated teaching a natural tendency in second language (L2) education. Sykes, Reinhardt and Thorne (2010) pointed out that the interactive design of digital games could greatly enhance learner motivation. So far, learning through digital games has quite rightly focused on the learners. When the games are intended to be used as part of the L2 curriculum, though, the attitudes of the teachers can also be examined. Where this requires acceptance of technologies, it can be intimidating (Neville, 2009). As an attempt to gain insight into teachers’ views of incorporating game-based learning into L2 curriculum, a research was conducted in 6 primary schools in Harbin, China. The research is part of a larger project of Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) funded by Innovate UK. Liaised with the University of Edinburgh, the project aims to design a digital platform of animated games to enhance English teaching in Chinese primary schools. 13 year-three English teachers were interviewed about their perceptions of using game-based learning in English curriculum. Five general themes emerge from the interview data, namely, feasibility of use, ease of learning, possibility of becoming skillful, pedagogical effectiveness and productivity.
Video of the presentation (coming soon)