The effects of teacher-made and pupil-made simulation games on student attitudes toward social studies

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of teacher-made and pupil-made simulation games on student attitudes toward social studies. A sample of seventy grades four and five students was randomly assigned to a control group, a teacher-made-simulation treatment group or a pupil-made-simulation treatment group. The control treatment group was instructed through the analytic approach while the teacher-made-simulation treatment group was instructed through the use of simulation games developed by the researcher. In the pupil-made-simulation treatment, the students developed and played simulation games within the classroom. The same objectives and instructional data were employed in each treatment. The researcher developed this unit following the procedures utilized in recent curriculum development practice. The inquiry processes incorporated in this unit were adapted from the analytic and integrative modes of inquiry. The control treatment utilized primarily the analytic mode while the teacher-made and pupil-made-simulation treatments employed primarily the integrative mode. The researcher administered the three treatments consecutively with each treatment consisting of fourteen instructional periods. Student attitudes toward social studies were evaluated by means of a paired-comparison rating scale. A pre-test was administered five months prior to the study and a post-test was administered one week after the administration of each treatment. A modified paired comparison rating scale was given as a delayed post-test to the control and teacher-made-simulation treatment groups on the same day that the pupil-made-simulation treatment received its first post-test. The post-test mean scores for the three treatments were adjusted by an analysis of covariance in comparing group performance. Duncan's Multiple Range Test was used to determine the significance and order of differences between treatment group mean scores. The study revealed that students in the teacher-made and pupil-made-simulation treatments had significantly more favorable attitudes toward social studies than did the children in the control treatment. The teacher-made and pupi1-made- simulation treatments were found to be equally effective in influencing favorable student attitudes toward social studies. Conclusions and implications were drawn relevant to classroom practice and curriculum development.Education, Faculty ofGraduat