CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter presents the related theories, related literature and studies which were

reviewed to attain a clearer perspective and direction of this study and to arrive at an adequate

background for it. This also includes the conceptual framework and the research paradigm, as well

as the hypotheses of this study.

RELATED THEORIES

This study, which aims to determine the effectiveness of Bio-cards as a conceptual

understanding enhancer in learning Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration, will be anchored in

the following theories: ADDIE Model of Instructional Design and Gamification Motivation Theory

by Surendeleg, et al. (2014).

ADDIE Model of Instructional Design

ADDIE stands for Analyse, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate. It is an Instructional

Design (ID) method that is used as a framework in designing and developing educational and

training programs. Educators, instructional designers and training developers find this approach

useful because of its stages that are clearly defined and facilitate implementation of effective

training tools.

ADDIE was originally developed for the U.S. Army by the Centre for Educational

Technology at Florida State University, and was later implemented across all branches of the U.S.

Armed Forces. Throughout the years, the ADDIE model retained this five-step feature, namely,

(1) Analysis, which calls to examine the target audience and consider their level of intelligence
and skill, prior knowledge, etc., (2) Design, where planning a strategy for accomplishing the goals

and objectives happens (3) Development, where the creation of course content takes place (4)

Implementation, where the actual delivery of the course happens, including any prior training or

briefing of learner support staff, and student assessment, and lastly, (5) Evaluation which measures

how well the training worked.

The researcher desires to follow the framework of ADDIE because it has been proven to

yield good quality design, with clear learning objectives, carefully structured content, relevant

student activities, and assessment strongly tied to desired learning outcomes. The researcher seeks

to apply this framework with the development of Bio-cards to assure that its design principles will

be clearly identified, the game to be implemented on a systematic and thorough basis, and become

a high quality enhancement tool.

Gamification Motivation Theory

According to Surendeleg, et al. (2014), gamification can be a way of educators in making

students’ learning more interesting by serving as a motivation. They related this to Self-

Determination Theory of Deci et al. which states that there are two types of motivation: intrinsic

and extrinsic. Game elements are used as motivation (either as intrinsic or extrinsic factors) such

as offering of rewards, challenges and difficulty, and sense of victory.

The use of game mechanics which adopts motivational game elements can have great

contribution in various areas of education, especially to those subjects where students get

demotivated and uninvolved in learning activities. In traditional instructional methodology where

the lecture classes are perceived to be boring by students, the gamification technology has great
advantage to solve that problem. The key advantage of gamification is the possibility of making

learning content more interesting with its game elements.

The researcher desires to anchor the development of Bio-cards to Gamification Motivation

Theory as this study seeks to come up not only with an enhancement tool in learning certain topics

in Biology, but also to increase motivation and engagement among the students in the learning

process.

RELATED LITERATURE

Conceptual Understanding in Science

One of the most common challenges that elementary and secondary teachers are finding

hard to overcome is teaching the students how to use and apply the facts and vocabulary that the

students learn in Science, Social Studies, Mathematics and Language Arts subjects. Usually,

students can memorize facts and procedures, but find it difficult to use those facts and skills,

explain observed phenomena, solve real-world problems, or even read critically.

Considering this challenge to teaching Science subject, which comprise various processes

and phenomena, it isn’t enough that the teacher is able to fill students’ minds with scientific

terminologies. Even if a student gets a high score in a unit test, if he/she fails to explain how these

phenomena work, then it is senseless.

Conceptual understanding in Science goes far beyond knowing facts. As Roth (1990)

stated, conceptual knowledge becomes meaningful only when it can be used to explain or explore

new situations.

Over the years, various studies have shown that conceptual understanding in Science

Education is facilitated through learning that promotes conceptual change (Carey & Spelke, 1994;
Chi, Slotta, & deLeeuw, 1994; diSessa, 2008; Piaget, 1985; Posner, Strike, Vosniadou,

Vamvakoussi, & Skopeliti, 2008). Therefore, educators must not settle on just transferring

information to the students, but aim to deliver meaningful learning to them through various

intervention of relevant strategies and necessary instructional materials.

Game-Based Learning

According to Meyers (2016), Game-based Learning is the introduction of both gaming

elements and game mechanics to a non-game context. This works in the classroom by introducing

games in order to make the lesson more appealing to the students and intensify their efficiency on

information recall and retention. The main reason for using game-based learning devices is to

enhance student learning. Moreover, it may also be a way to reach students who experience

difficulty in mastering skills through traditional classroom teaching methods (Barnett and Ceci,

2002).

There are four benefits of Game-Based Learning according to Bailey (2017). First, Game-

Based Learning is a student-centered learning. Playing a game in a classroom set-up enables

students to become active participants in their learning as they are exposed to a certain content.

Second, it promotes social-emotional growth through development of soft skills. Soft skills can be

defined as people skills and management skills, a group of personality traits that can include

communication skills, empathy, time management, teamwork and leadership. They may also

include other traits such as a growth mindset, self-awareness, and resilience (Bailey, 2017).

Participating in a game allows players to develop these skills in a safe and nurturing environment.

Players work as a team, practice oral communication skills, and learn to agree with each other,

strategize, build consensus, and achieve a goal. Third benefit of game-based learning is it creates
low-risk competition. Participating in a game in a low-threat environment can build confidence in

its players. Such confidence can motivate students to participate more actively not only in playing

the game, but also in other areas of their school life. And lastly, game-based learning generates

several form of feedback. Teachers may use observations and student feedback as a valuable

formative assessment of their understanding of content. Moreover, players may also practice self-

reflection. After playing any game, players may make a little time to reflect on their performance

and how to improve the next time around (Bailey, 2017).

However, though there may be various benefits that arise from utilizing game-based

learning and it has been proven to be highly effective, it won’t be as effective as it was intended

to be without a good facilitating skills by the teacher. It is strongly suggested that one of the key

factors in the academic success of students is the teacher's enthusiasm in the integration of game-

based learning (Kebritchi et al., 2010). The quality of classroom instructional tools that are being

utilized in the teaching-learning process is mainly influenced by the teacher’s effectiveness. The

game-based learning device on its own cannot successfully increase student academic

achievement. Therefore, in meeting the needs of the students, the teacher is still the chief facilitator

and instructor for the delivery of appropriate and effective instructional services (Hillard et al.,

2017). Even when games are used in the teaching-learning process, the teacher is still the key to

guiding and facilitating effective teaching and learning (Becker, 2007).

Educational Card Game

Out of the various game types, a card game in particular is the most advantageous for

enhancing student learning. First, it is because a card game is physical and can be played anywhere

with face-to-face interaction between players. Also, cards are convenient and can be easily
produced. Second, it is well structured. Game rules can be easily integrated with instructional

content to make complex concepts intuitive and simple to students. Third, a card game is

competitive. Players have to conquer their opponents through collaborating and strategizing.

Finally, it works not only by presenting the instructional content in texts, but also by creating a

simulated situation that allows learners to be absorbed in actively manipulating strategies to

construct knowledge and solve problems (Van der Linden et al., 2000; Baker et al., 2005).

However, developing an educational card game is no simple task. Various aspects such as

game mechanics, design, and content must be strongly considered.

Game Mechanics are constructs of rules and feedback loops that are intended to make an

enjoyable gameplay. They are the building blocks that can be applied and combined to gamify any

non-game context. In a book entitled Gamification at Work: Designing Engaging Business

Software by Janaki Mythily Kumar and Mario Hedger (2012), a curated list of game mechanics

was presented that can be used as building blocks, and may be combined in strategic ways to

achieve the positive engagement loop in a game. Some of them are: (a) Points. Points are the

granular units of measurement in gamification. Through this, the players keep count of everyone's

actions pertaining to the targeted behaviors in the overall gamification strategy. Points provide an

instant feedback to the player, and thus motivates him/her as his/her points count go up. (b)

Challenge. Challenge is a powerful game mechanic to motivate people to action, a certain flow of

the game that will keep the players persevering in order to win. (c) Constraints. Constraints, when

combined with urgent optimism, motivate people to action. Players are motivated by achievement

when they are faced with these constraints and are driven to overcome them. (d) The Game Plan.

According to Kumar et al. (2012), there are three main considerations in pulling together the game

plan: game economy such as cash, resources, and prizes or gifts; game rules that pull together the
mechanics into a flow to motivate the player to achieve the mission; and engagement loops which

refer to game mechanics combined with positive reinforcement and feedback loops that keep the

player engaged in the game.

In addition, the design of the educational card game to be developed must be highly

considered as well. Visual aesthetics is one of the key of success to a game (Kapp, 2012) .Visuals

is a very crucial part of a game since it affects the catching and keeping of the players’ interest.

Therefore, the design of the cards must not only match the content of the game, but also be

attractive and appropriate to its target players – the students.

All in all, the development of educational card game must yield to an interactive game that

can tactfully educate the students, hone their skills, and be appealing to their eyes. The process of

producing one might take a lot of considerations to acknowledge, but definitely, to be able to come

up with an educational card game that serves its full purpose is indeed a sweet fruit of all the hard

labor.

RELATED STUDIES

This section presents related studies with the relevant findings which are associated with

the problem under investigation.

Mineral Superstumps

Various researches have studied development of educational card games and their

effectiveness in teaching students, specifically in Science education.

An educational card game named Mineral Supertrumps (2016) was created and tested in

Australia. It was developed to counter the challenge of learning mineralogy, an essential

component of Earth Science education. The said card game was developed for the said topic

because of the tertiary students’ struggle to obtain adequate comprehension and knowledge of

mineralogy.

This card game was developed at James Cook University, Australia, for over a period of

18 months that involved consultation and review by geology staff and students. The game’s

categories were specifically chosen to assure that the game attributes match to the desired learning

outcomes, which is crucial to the effectiveness of education games for learning.

When this card game was used and evaluated, the insights into student perceptions and

experiences with the game were gained through the use of questionnaires that focused on the use

and learning benefits of the game. Second-year students taking the core subject of introductory

mineralogy and igneous petrology were each given a Mineral Supertrumps card pack to keep, and

then were asked to complete two separate questionnaires: Questionnaire 1 was taken directly after

playing the card game for an hour during a regularly scheduled class, and to which the participating

students were asked to respond by way of ranking from ‘‘strongly disagree’’ through to ‘‘strongly

agree’’ which was intended to measure students’ perception of the effectiveness of the game for

learning; and Questionnaire 2, consisted of five questions/statements, was taken by the same

student cohort approximately five months later.

Over 80% of students surveyed found the game easy to and enjoyable to play. The students

perceived that the game would assist learning of mineral properties (89%), but they were less

positive (60%) about the card game’s benefits to other fields of Earth Science (e.g., geophysics,

geochemistry, economic geology). Moreover, a strong majority (>85%) of students indicated that

they would use the card game outside of scheduled class times. In addition, 88% of students agreed

that the group activity of game-play leads to enhanced learning outcomes.

 However, the results of Questionnaire 2 were overall less positive than of Questionnaire 1.

The students were much less positive about their received learning benefits from the game, with

only around 40% of students agreeing that the game helped them study for their mineralogy class

and help them to obtain improvements in their knowledge of mineralogy. Nearly half of the

students had never or had rarely used the game outside of scheduled class time. The relatively low

usage rate of the game was an unexpected result for the author, because 85% of the same students

had initially agreed or strongly agreed that they would use the game outside of class times.

Therefore, for many students, their initial intentions to use the game did not become into actual

usage, and several students commented that they would have used the game but did not have time

or forgot that they had it, or they could not find a group to play with.

Nevertheless, the results lend support to the potential of Mineralogy Supertrumps to be

utilized as a tool for teaching mineralogy. Most students enjoyed playing the card game and

perceived the game-play to be promoting active learning of the properties and uses of minerals.

However, despite the students’ initial intentions, a relatively small number of the students actually

made use of Mineral Supertrumps to substantially enhance their learning. The data indicate that

game usage may have contributed to learning outcomes. Therefore, better outcomes could be

achieved if the game were integrated with other teaching material or exercises on mineralogy, or

if there were incentives and other forms of motivation to use the game beyond just the satisfaction

of winning.

Educational Card Game for Learning Human Immunology

A study conducted in Taiwan (2014) attempted to investigate the impact of the educational

card game on senior high school students’ understanding of immunology and as well as their

perceptions toward learning through playing educational card games.

 The design of this educational card game was designed with the attempt to translate the

concepts of human immunology into a game context (by presenting the scientific concepts in text

on the cards) and integrate the complex process of how the immune system works into the game

rules.

To assess the effectiveness of the educational card game, the researchers conducted a

quasi-experimental research design. Students were randomly selected and assigned to an

experimental group which learned human immunology through playing the educational card game,

and to a control group which was taught through traditional didactic instruction.

Two methods were used to assess the students’ concept learning: (1) a knowledge test with

30 multiple-choice questions and (2) open-ended questions.

The results of this study show that there was no significance in the scores of posttest

knowledge between the experimental and control groups, illustrating that both methods of

learning, through the use of educational card game and traditional instruction, can be effective.

However, the results also yielded that students in the experimental group significantly

outperformed the control group in terms of their understanding of the processes and connections

among different lines of defense. This implies that learning through playing the educational card

game is effective in helping the students develop their concept learning.

Moreover, results show that the students who learned through playing the educational card

game perceived the instruction to be more interesting and motivating, and agreed that the use of

card game greatly helped in their understanding of how the immune system works.
Educational Card Game as Supplementary Material in Biology

This study which was conducted at Bulacan State University-Sarmiento Campus (2014)

tested the effectiveness of an educational card game in reinforcing biological concepts in

comparison with traditional teaching methods.

The study was composed of two phases: (1) the development of the educational card game,

and (2) the actual use, testing for effectiveness, and evaluation of the developed card game. The

format of the card game comprise the topics in Biology which were selected by the researcher.

Most of the rules of the game were derived from the popular card games tong-its and pusoy-dos.

The main objective of the game is for the student-players to form combinations that demonstrate

a clear conceptual relationship between the terms on the included cards, and be able to justify

his/her combination.

The researcher made use of the pretest–posttest experimental design to test the

effectiveness of the card game. Two biology classes at Bulacan State University (BulSU)–

Sarmiento Campus who were enrolled for the first semester of academic year 2011–2012 were the

participants. One of the classes was assigned as the experimental group (BSEd English 1, n = 53),

and the other class was the control group (BEEd Generalist 1, n = 54). Both groups were taught

the same selected topics through lecture and discussion. Then, reinforcement activities were given

to the students after each lesson. Reinforcement was done through playing card games in small

groups for the experimental group. Meanwhile, traditional assignments and exercises were given

to the students in the control group. The posttest was done to both groups after the topics in the

study had been taught and reinforced. After the testing stage, students from the experimental group

evaluated the card game based on five criteria: (1) goals and objectives, (2) design, (3) components

and organization, (4) playability and playfulness, and (5) usefulness.

 The researcher prepared a 60-item, multiple-choice test to evaluate the effectiveness of the

educational card game. The results favors the experimental group with its higher mean gain score

of 12.675 compared with the 9.225 mean gain score of the control group. This shows that using an

educational card game in the learning process is a more effective method compared with traditional

methods. Moreover, the developed educational card game was evaluated “very satisfactory”, as it

obtained overall mean of 4.29.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

PHASE 1

Construction and Validation of Bio-Cards

Content

Mechanics

Design

PHASE 2

Control Group Experimental

Pre-test (Traditional Group Pre-test
Instruction (Utilization of
Post-test Method) Bio-Cards) Post-test

Conceptual Understanding of
Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

Figure 1 describes the conceptual framework as presented on the paradigm of the study

Phase 1 is going to be the construction and validation of the Bio-Cards, wherein the game

card is to be validated by experts when it comes to content, mechanics and design.

Phase 2 of the study will follow a pretest–posttest experimental design to test the

effectiveness of the card game in the enhancement of their conceptual understanding of

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration.

HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY

The null hypothesis that will be tested in this study:

There is no significant difference in the pre-test and post-test scores of the Grade 9 students

in playing the Bio-Cards. Thus, a traditional instruction method is no less effective in the learning

process of Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration compared with using Bio-Cards.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

The following were used in the study and were defined operationally:

Bio-Cards. This refers to a 2-set cards (one for Photosynthesis and the other for Cellular

Respiration) that consist of various terminologies (processes, elements, substances, organelles,

etc.) that is played by forming and justifying combinations that demonstrate a clear conceptual

relationship between the terms on the included cards.

Educational Card Game. A card game that is especially designed for educational purpose of

enhancing the students’ learning in a specific topic/subject.

Conceptual Understanding. This refers to deeper understanding and knowing more isolated facts

and methods
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